Bent Petersen: Last updated 10 April, 2003 11:28 PM
Vignettes are small illustrations or decorative designs in books or on bank note and legal documents, etc. Such vignettes are sometimes blended into the background gradually at the edges. While frequently simple, vignettes may, as for example in the case of currency engravings, be fairly substantial works of art. The term is also used for photographs that are shaded off gradually at the edges, whether or not they are part of larger work.
The term vignette has come to mean many other things, some quite prosaic. For example, the term vignette is used for the small adhesive tags affixed to motor vehicle license plates to indicate when the motor vehicle registration expires.
An increasingly popular use of the word vignette is to designate a small graceful or pleasing literary sketch.
A schnipsel (sometimes papierschnipsel) is a small piece of paper schnipped, sorry snipped, off a larger sheet It is an ideal term for a small composition that is, or will be, part of a larger project.
Here I use the terms vignettes and schnipsels to indicate small somewhat literary sketches that I hope have at least an epsilon of merit. Enjoy!
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