Architectural motifs have always been a huge part of typography even before the dawn of printing. It took, however, until the 1880s for type foundries to start designing complete sets for printers wanting to imitate classical architecture in their works. This bundle includes digital revivals of the following original typographic ornament sets from the era:
Akanthea (named after the acanthus leaves so often used in classical arts) was one of the leading architectural ornament sets for printers during the 1880s. Designed and sold by the Schelter & Giesecke type foundry of Leipzig, Germany, the set quickly garnered international fame with its diverse selection of elements from bases through columns, cornices, sculptures and floral ornaments to roofs. The set is characterized by its plasticity (shaded forms giving a protruding look to all items). All 195 original assets have been carefully revived for use in Adobe Illustrator based on Schelter & Giesecke's 1886 type specimen book (excluding underprint pieces).
Another ornament set inspired by classical antiquity, this set includes 140 pieces designed and sold by the same type foundry during the 1880s. Although mostly flat, these pieces do go well together with the more plastic ornaments of Akanthea as proven by countless Victorian works using the same elements.
Coming from Haarlem, the Netherlands, this ornament set includes 27 ornament pieces from 1891. Carefully selected by the Enschedé en Zonen type foundry over a century ago, this set is perfect for all kinds of religious Victorian typographic work.