Abstract

Samuel Pepys’s calligraphy collection comprises numerous textual fragments pasted and bound into three volumes, which together document a history of handwriting and textual forms. The calligraphy volumes evidence a deep and multifaceted interest in visual criticism trained on the written word within Pepys’s social and intellectual milieu. In particular, micrographic texts and trompe l’œil ‘Medley’ images offered educated gentleman a body of delightfully curious material on which they could practise and hone communal, comparative, and repeatable modes of critical observation. The article also provides new evidence to show that early Medley images emerged in tandem with the rise of calligraphic collections and were developed by penmasters in collaboration with the interests of seventeenth-century collectors who were fascinated by the impact that optical devices, drawing instruments, and developments in printing techniques could have on the aesthetic rendering of text. From the mid-1690s to the early eighteenth century, the appearance of the written word played a vital role in discussions about visual discernment within English intellectual circles.

摘要

塞缪尔·佩皮斯（Samuel Pepys）的书法作品集包含众多文本片段，这些文本片段粘贴并绑定成三册，一起记录了笔迹和文本形式的历史。书法作品证明了对视觉批评的深刻而又多方面的兴趣，这些批评是在佩皮斯的社会和知识环境下对书面文字进行训练的。特别是缩微文字和错别字“梅德利”图像为受过教育的绅士提供了令人愉悦的好奇心，他们可以在上面练习并磨练公共的，比较的和可重复的批判性观察方式。本文还提供了新的证据，表明早期的Medley图像是随着书法收藏的兴起而出现的，并且是由笔大师与17世纪收藏家的利益共同开发的，他们对光学设备，绘图仪和电子设备的影响着迷印刷技术的发展可能会对文字的美学呈现产生影响。从1690年代中期到18世纪初，书面文字的出现在英语知识界关于视觉识别的讨论中起着至关重要的作用。