Unlocking The Archive Logo

Creative Activities
Be Inspired by Historic Books

You’ve been exploring books from the first centuries of print. This was an extraordinary time of invention and experimentation. Now it’s your chance to continue those experiments at home…

Here you’ll find a range of creative activities for you and your family to enjoy. We’re excited to see what you make! Please share your work with @archiveunlocked and include the hashtag #UTACreativeActivities

THE RENAISSANCE COLOURING BOOK...

Select from the categories below and discover Renaissance illustrations which are wonderful and sometimes bizarre. Print out at home, colour and display! 

Characters 1

Characters 2

Characters 3

Animals 1

Animals 2

Places 1

Please share your work on Twitter and Instagram with @archiveunlocked and include the hashtag #UTACreativeActivities

LET OUR BOOKS INSPIRE YOU...

Create a Type Composition Within a Shape

Darren Leader

Create a Decorative Drop Cap

Darren Leader

Create a Title Page

Andrew Johnson

Create a Printer’s Mark

Darren Leader

Create a Printer’s Fleuron

Andrew Johnson

Create a One Sheet Book

Paul Wolterink

Please share your work on Twitter and Instagram with @archiveunlocked and include the hashtag #UTACreativeActivities

RENAISSANCE TYPE ALPHABETS

Select from one of the typefaces below and download a Renaissance alphabet. Each typeface features a range of upper and lowercase characters at various sizes. Print out at home and use with our range of creative activities.

Fell Type

Rusch

Zainer

Please share your work on Twitter and Instagram with @archiveunlocked and include the hashtag #UTACreativeActivities

MEET THE UNLOCKING THE ARCHIVE COMMUNITY

Dr Tom Roebuck

Lecturer in Renaissance Literature, UEA

Tom is delighted that Norfolk is especially rich in little-known collections of scholarly books. This led him to found the Unlocking the Archive project.

Unlocking the Archive

Dr Sophie Butler

Lecturer in Early Modern Literature, UEA

Sophie believes East Anglia's Renaissance collections are truly special, and has enjoyed getting to know them even better through co-running the Unlocking the Archive project.

Unlocking the Archive

Darren Leader

Graphic Designer

Darren specialises in visual identity and communication and sees the Unlocking the Archive project as a rich resource for design inspiration.

darrenleaderstudio.co.uk

Discover more Community Profiles