Initial A and a New Year's Wish 1483

This New Year’s wish, framed by the initial A, was printed sometime in the late fifteenth century. The print is made from a woodcut, a process where the artist carves an image into a block of wood, then inks and presses it onto paper. Look closely, and you’ll see how the carved lines define the image, giving it a bold, graphic quality. The letter A itself is filled with delicate foliage, hinting at the natural world and the cycle of seasons. The text surrounding the initial is a calendar, marking important dates and religious festivals. Printed texts like this were becoming increasingly common in this period, thanks to the rise of mechanical printing. This allowed for the mass production of images and information, making them more accessible to a wider audience. The combination of text and image reflects a society grappling with new technologies and ways of disseminating knowledge, blurring the lines between art, craft, and commerce.