A 16th century alphabet from The Book of Ornamental Alphabets, Ancient and Medieval, Tenth Edition by Freeman Gage Delamotte (1883: Crosby Lockwood and Co., London). The book consists of more than fifty alphabets dating from the 8th through the 16th centuries. Delamotte (1813/14 - 1862) was a British draftsman, engraver, and typographer who was interested in making design work such as this available to a wider audience, as noted in the Preface:
“As there are no works of Ancient Alphabets of any excellence published in a cheap form, I have been induced, after many years’ study and research in my profession as a Draughtsman and Engraver, to offer this collection to the favourable notice of the public, trusting that its very moderate price and general usefulness will be a sufficient apology for the undertaking.”
The alphabet only includes 21 letters, lacking J, Q, W, X, and Z. The standard 26-letter English alphabet we use today was not finalized until the addition of the letter W in the early 17th century. The letters are designed as drop caps, intended for use at the beginning of a paragraph or chapter, where the letter drops below the first line of text.