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An illuminated Celtic alphabet drawn by Joseph Balthazar Silvestre, the greatest calligrapher of the early 19th century and writing-master to the children of Louis-Philippe. This is from the holograph manuscript of his 1843 "Collection de Soixante Feuilles d’Alphabets Historiés". 
Four historically-based calligraphic alphabets from the original 1843 manuscript of Silvestre's "Collection de Soixante Feuilles d’Alphabets Historiés".
Aside from his historically influenced alphabets, Silvestre also specialised in zoomorphic and anthropomorphic alphabets, like this beautiful example from the same manuscript.
Silvestre's manuscript also contains some of his astonishingly modern looking alphabets, including this one, which looks as if it was developed in the 1930's, not, as it was in reality, in the 1840's.
An inventive and exquisitely detailed zoomorphic alphabet from Silvestre's manuscript. The full title of the 1843 printed version was: "Collection de Soixante Feuilles d’Alphabets Historiés et Fleuronnés, tirés des Principales Bibliothèques de l’Europe".
Another of the remarkably modern-looking 'typefaces" from the manuscript of Silvestre's "Collection de Soixante Feuilles d’Alphabets Historiés et Fleuronnés". Extraordinary to think that this was designed and drawn in 1843.
