The Art of Calligraphy – Gifts For Lovers of the Quill
This beautiful image of a hand holding a quill pen comes from the chapter on the Art of Writing “Art d’écrire” from Denis Diderot’s “L’Encyclopédie, ou Dictionnaire des sciences, des arts et des métiers”. This is a carefully restored high resolution scan, of the original copperplate engraving in our personal collection. 
About Diderot’s Encyclopedia: The “Encyclopédie, ou Dictionnaire des sciences, des arts et des métiers” was published in Paris between1762-1777. A masterpiece of the Enlightenment, it set out all the knowledge of the day,and was a first attempt to document the techniques of mechanical production for objects used in everyday life. Scholars from around the world, including Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson submitted chapters. Denis Diderot, the chief editor of the Encyclopedia, was a French Philosopher, man of letters, and friend of the great minds of his age including Goethe, Rousseau, and Hume. L’Encyclopédie is considered one of the principal achievements of the Age of Enlightenment and became part of the intellectual ferment in France in the lead up to the Revolution.
