1803 Origin and Progress of Writing by THOMAS ASTLE antique ILLUSTRATED

Astle (Thomas).

The Origin and Progress of Writing...

London: J. White; 1803

Fully illustrated, including numerous fold out plates

Frayed title page, otherwise good interior

Original leather, rebacked, repaired

Text in English

Small folio. Size 9 1/3 by 11 1/2"
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This is the second and best edition of 'The Origin and Progress of Writing', with additions, and with the astonishing full page folding copper engravings, including 8 in color.
The full color plate, XIV A, is from the 'Textus Sancti Cuthberti', a 7th century work, and has large highly ornamented capitals, engraved by J. Swaine.

John Swaine (1775 – 1860) was an English engraver noted for his facsimile engravings of old prints, such as the famous Droeshout portrait of Shakespeare.
The other engravings include antique alphabets; Greek alphabets from a variety of manuscripts; example of capitals and lower case, codice regularum S. Benedicti at the Bodleian; examples of capitals and lower case letters from four gospels circa AD 686, and more.

The chief work of Thomas Astle (1735 - 1803) British antiquary and paleographer, and Keeper of the Records at the Tower of London. Astle's remarkable private collection of illuminated manuscripts later became the foundation of the Stowe manuscripts at the British Library.
The Stowe collection consists of approximately 2,000 Anglo Saxon, Irish and medieval manuscripts.
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