Abecedarium* is an online exhibit of lovely hand-made alphabet books by the Guild of Book Workers.

Given only the ‘alphabet’ theme, each participant has created a unique interpretation of the letterform, delivering two- and three-dimensional works in a plethora of materials, from acrylic to cloth, paper to leather, buttons to mylar and other unusual materials. Representing the many facets of the world known as ‘the book arts’, this exhibit includes calligraphy, typography, bookbinding and papermaking in both unique and traditional forms.

Note some of the additional links such as 26 Words by Peter D. Verheyen & Thorsten Dennerline who lithographically printed their illustrations from hand-drawn plates. Their site includes descriptions of several printmaking processes.

(Thanks to plep.)

Actually, when I first read the caption “alphabet books”, I expected to see something like this very first reader (in Finnish) from my childhood:

*Sadly, this site no longer exists and link has been removed.