The Celebrated Hans Holbein's Alphabet of Death

This book is a reproduction of an 1856 edition put together by nineteenth-century French librarian and art historian Anatole de Courde de Montaiglon. Hans Holbein (1497-1543) created the Alphabet of Death at a time when the Latin alphabet did not distinguish between I and J or U and V-the separation into vowels and consonants came after the Renaissance. Therefore youll notice Holbeins alphabet has only twenty-four letters. Further details are offered by De Montaiglon in his introduction to the book. Following the original edition each letter of the Alphabet of Death is enlarged to allow a closer look at Hans Holbeins meticulously detailed work.