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https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/ex-libris-encourage-beautiful/

Bookplate design showing a woman seen from the side about to write or draw on a piece of paper

Rhead, Louis

1857

1926

A collection of book plate designs

1907

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL7209537M/A_collection_of_book_plate_designs

Ornaments & patterns

Portrait (taller)

Encourage the Beautiful

Encourage the beautiful.

Bookplate design showing a seated woman seen from the side wearing a peplos-like gown and about to write or draw on a piece of paper among floral ornamentation. Below, a scroll bears the inscription “Encourage the beautiful, for the useful encourages itself,” allegedly quoted from Goethe.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/ex-libris-peacock/

Bookplate design showing a woman standing with a book in her hands and a peacock at her feet

Rhead, Louis

1857

1926

A collection of book plate designs

1907

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL7209537M/A_collection_of_book_plate_designs

Ornaments & patterns

Portrait (taller)

Ex-Libris with Peacock

Ex-libris with peacock.

Bookplate design framed by a border with lavish foliage and floral motifs, showing a woman standing with a book in her hands and a peacock at her feet as an idyllic landscape unfolds in front of her.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/ex-libris-oil-lamp/

Bookplate showing a woman sharpening a quill by an oil lamp as books can be seen in the background

Rhead, Louis

1857

1926

A collection of book plate designs

1907

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL7209537M/A_collection_of_book_plate_designs

Ornaments & patterns

Portrait (taller)

Ex-Libris with Oil Lamp

Ex-libris with oil lamp.

Bookplate design showing a woman with a laurel wreath sharpening a quill by the light of a suspended oil lamp as a pile of books and an inkwell can be seen in the background.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/rhead-bookplates-title/

Title page with a decorative border, showing a woman painting against a background of foliage

Rhead, Louis

1857

1926

A collection of book plate designs

1907

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL7209537M/A_collection_of_book_plate_designs

Ornaments & patterns

Portrait (taller)

A Collection of Book Plate Designs—Title

Title page of "A Collection of Book Plate Designs."

Illustrated title page framed by an elaborate decorative border, showing a hieratic female figure wearing a gown and a wreath in her hair while probably painting or drawing against a background of foliage.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/ursinia-anthemoides/

Hand-colored copper engraving showing Ursinia anthemoides, also known as solar fire

Edwards, Sydenham Teast

1768

1819

Curtis's botanical magazine, vol. 15-16

1801-1803

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL32779262M/Curtis%27s_botanical_magazine_vol._15-16

Plants

Portrait (taller)

Ursinia anthemoides

Arctotis anthemoides

Hand-colored copper engraving showing Ursinia anthemoides, also known as solar fire, with a view of the upper and under sides of its petals and of the flower-like seeds prior to their release.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/clematis-alpina/

Hand-colored copper engraving showing the leaves and flowers of the Alpine clematis

Edwards, Sydenham Teast

1768

1819

Curtis's botanical magazine, vol. 15-16

1801-1803

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL32779262M/Curtis%27s_botanical_magazine_vol._15-16

Plants

Portrait (taller)

Alpine Clematis

Atragene alpina

Hand-colored copper engraving showing the stalk, leaves, and flowers of the Alpine clematis (Clematis alpina), a plant in the family Ranunculaceae, native to Europe.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/dogwood-edwards/

Hand-colored copper engraving showing a branch of flowering dogwood with flowers and leaves

Edwards, Sydenham Teast

1768

1819

Curtis's botanical magazine, vol. 15-16

1801-1803

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL32779262M/Curtis%27s_botanical_magazine_vol._15-16

Plants

Portrait (taller)

Flowering Dogwood (Edwards)

Cornus florida

Hand-colored copper engraving showing a branch of flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) with flowers and leaves. The flowering dogwood is a tree in the family Cornaceae.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/wood-lily/

Hand-colored copper engraving showing a Philadelphia Lily, a plant native to North America

Edwards, Sydenham Teast

1768

1819

Curtis's botanical magazine, vol. 15-16

1801-1803

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL32779262M/Curtis%27s_botanical_magazine_vol._15-16

Plants

Portrait (taller)

Philadelphia Lily

Lilium philadelphicum

Hand-colored copper engraving showing a Philadelphia lily, or wood lily, (Lilium philadelphicum), a flowering plant in the family Liliaceae, native to North America.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/campanula-persicifolia/

Hand-colored copper engraving showing the peach-leaved bellflower (Campanula persicifolia)

Edwards, Sydenham Teast

1768

1819

Curtis's botanical magazine, vol. 15-16

1801-1803

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL32779262M/Curtis%27s_botanical_magazine_vol._15-16

Plants

Portrait (taller)

Peach-Leaved Bellflower

Campanula pumila

Hand-colored copper engraving showing the roots, leaves, and flowers of the peach-leaved bellflower (Campanula persicifolia), a plant in the family Campanulaceae, native to Europe.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/jovibarba-globifera/

Hand-colored copper engraving showing the rolling hen-and-chicks, a succulent native to Europe

Edwards, Sydenham Teast

1768

1819

Curtis's botanical magazine, vol. 15-16

1801-1803

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL32779262M/Curtis%27s_botanical_magazine_vol._15-16

Plants

Portrait (taller)

Jovibarba globifera

Sempervivum globiferum

Hand-colored copper engraving showing the leaves, rosettes, and flowers of the rolling hen-and-chicks (Jovibarba globifera), a succulent in the family Crassulaceae, native to Europe.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/deaths-hot-house/

Death glides through the air carrying a baby over a lake, toward a greenhouse overlooking a garden

Tegner, Hans

1853

1932

Fairy tales and stories

1900

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL6775384M/Fairy_tales_and_stories

Narratives

Portrait (taller)

Death’s Large Hothouse

On the other side of the lake stood a wonderful house,—It was Death's large hot-house.

Death, depicted as an old bearded man with a scythe, a pair of wings, and wearing a cloak, glides through the air carrying a winged baby over a lake, toward a greenhouse overlooking an elegant garden planted with cypresses.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/lighted-new-match/

A girl squatting on a snowy pavement looks at a Christmas tree around which children are dancing

Tegner, Hans

1853

1932

Fairy tales and stories

1900

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL6775384M/Fairy_tales_and_stories

Narratives

Portrait (taller)

She Lighted a New Match

She lighted a new match. Then she was sitting under a beautiful Christmas tree, with thousands of candles burning upon the green branches.

A girl squatting on a snowy pavement looks sideways at a bright Christmas tree, around which gossamery figures of children are dancing, as the flame from a match glows in her hand and burned out sticks lay scattered around her.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/lifted-dog/

A man wearing trunk hose stands in a clearing and heaves a large dog off a locked chest

Tegner, Hans

1853

1932

Fairy tales and stories

1900

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL6775384M/Fairy_tales_and_stories

Narratives

Portrait (taller)

The Soldier Lifted the Dog

The soldier lifted the dog down on the floor and opened the chest.

A man wearing a coif, a ruff, and trunk hose stands in a clearing amid a growth of intricate branches and heaves a large bulldog-like dog off a locked chest.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/attack-toothache/

Three satyr-like imps are hacking away at three molar teeth with gusto and construction tools

Tegner, Hans

1853

1932

Fairy tales and stories

1900

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL6775384M/Fairy_tales_and_stories

Humor

Landscape (wider)

A Grand Attack of Toothache

A grand attack of toothache was coming on.

Three satyr-like imps are hacking away at a premolar and two molar teeth with gusto and tools more commonly used in construction work, such as a saw, a bit brace, and a cold chisel.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/fly-away/

A bird has found its way to the frame of an open window, drawing the attention of the house cat

Tegner, Hans

1853

1932

Fairy tales and stories

1900

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL6775384M/Fairy_tales_and_stories

Animals

Portrait (taller)

Fly! Fly Away!

"The upper window is open," said the canary. "Fly! fly away!"

A bright and cozy interior is enlivened by the presence of a parrot and other birds, one of which has found its way to the frame of an open window, drawing the attention of the house cat, which is already leaning on the chair next to the window ledge.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/it-was-death/

Death is sitting on the belly of a man lying in bed as ghostly faces float around in the background

Tegner, Hans

1853

1932

Fairy tales and stories

1900

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL6775384M/Fairy_tales_and_stories

Narratives

Portrait (taller)

He Saw It Was Death

The emperor felt as if someone was sitting on his chest. he opened his eyes and then he saw it was death.

A palace complex can be seen from the window of the bedroom where Death, in the guise of a crowned skinny figure with bulging eyes protruding from a skull, is sitting with his scythe to his side, a sword in one hand and a flag in the other, on the belly of a man lying in bed as ghostly faces float around in the background.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/lifted-lid/

Two men lean over a chest and peek at the man hiding inside as a woman watches from another room

Tegner, Hans

1853

1932

Fairy tales and stories

1900

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL6775384M/Fairy_tales_and_stories

Narratives

Portrait (taller)

Fairy Tales and Stories—Frontispiece

The farmer lifted the lid a little and peeped under.

Two cheerful-looking men lean over a chest and, by the light of a candle, take a peek at the man hiding inside as a woman keeps an eye on the scene from another room.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/husbandmen-afield/

Women form a line in a field while looking toward men reaping wheat with their sickles

Dalziel, Thomas

1823

1906

North coast, and other poems

1868

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL7082631M/North_coast_and_other_poems.

Narratives

Portrait (taller)

At the Sunrise

... And at the sunrise

Women are seen in a field forming a line with their children as they look to the side, in the direction of men reaping wheat with their sickles and moving away.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/widow-screams/

A woman kneels and hugs a stork as a group of people gather behind her, among which a priest

Houghton, Arthur Boyd

1836

1875

North coast, and other poems

1868

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL7082631M/North_coast_and_other_poems.

Narratives

Portrait (taller)

Here Is Wrought a Miracle Indeed

They loose it then with eager hands, they open it and read,—

A woman moved by strong emotions is seen kneeling and hugging a stork as a group of people gather behind her, among which a priest holding a piece of paper and taking off his hat.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/left-me-dark/

A young woman stands on a doorstep and holds up a lantern in front of her to peer into the night

Houghton, Arthur Boyd

1836

1875

North coast, and other poems

1868

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL7082631M/North_coast_and_other_poems.

People

Portrait (taller)

The Wind Swung to the Door

And, while I paused, and pinched my e'en to mark,

A young woman stands on a doorstep with her back to the door and holds up a lantern in front of her to peer into the night.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/tonight-beware/

An older woman is sitting opposite a fireplace and tells stories to children gathered around her

Houghton, Arthur Boyd

1836

1875

North coast, and other poems

1868

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL7082631M/North_coast_and_other_poems.

Narratives

Portrait (taller)

Tonight Beware

Lad and lass, to-night beware!

An older woman is sitting opposite a fireplace and tells captivating stories to youths and children gathered around her.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/cuckoo-come-again/

Two shepherds are sitting in a meadow, talking together as sheep graze in the background

Pinwell, George John

1842

1875

North coast, and other poems

1868

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL7082631M/North_coast_and_other_poems.

Narratives

Portrait (taller)

An English Eclogue

Well, here's the cuckoo come again, after the barley sewing,

Two shepherds are sitting in a meadow, talking together as sheep graze in the background and birds fly across the sky.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/closer-she-crept/

A woman with a candle leans over the bed in which a man is sleeping, to have a closer look at him

Houghton, Arthur Boyd

1836

1875

North coast, and other poems

1868

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL7082631M/North_coast_and_other_poems.

Narratives

Portrait (taller)

Closer Still She Crept

... Closer still she crept,

A woman holding a candlestick leans over the bed in which a man is sleeping, to have, as it seems, a closer look at the tattoos on his forearm.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/amazonian-motmot/

Amazonian motmot (Momotus momota), a bird in the family Momotidae, seen on a cluster of palm fruit

Descourtilz, Jean-Théodore

179?

1855

Oiseaux brillans du Brésil

1834

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL32223606M/Oiseaux_brillans_du_Br%C3%A9sil

Animals

Portrait (taller)

Amazonian Motmot

Male Amazonian motmot on a cluster of palm fruit.

Plate showing an Amazonian motmot (Momotus momota), a tropical bird in the family Momotidae found in the Amazonian forest and seen here on the branch of a palm tree. The caption reads in the original French: Momot Houtou mâle, sur une portion de régime ou grappe de fruits du Palmiste.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/red-ruffed-fruitcrow/

Red-ruffed fruitcrow, a bird in the family Cotingidae, enjoying the berries of a Jabuticaba

Descourtilz, Jean-Théodore

179?

1855

Oiseaux brillans du Brésil

1834

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL32223606M/Oiseaux_brillans_du_Br%C3%A9sil

Animals

Portrait (taller)

Red-Ruffed Fruitcrow

Red-ruffed fruitcrow on the branch of a jabuticaba.

Plate showing a red-ruffed fruitcrow (Pyroderus scutatus), a Neotropical bird in the family Cotingidae, enjoying the berries of a Brazilian grapetree. The caption reads in the original French: Coracine Ensanglantée sur une branche de jabuticabàs.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/burnished-buff-tanager/

Burnished-buff tanager (Stilpnia cayana), a bird in the family Thraupidae, native to South America

Descourtilz, Jean-Théodore

179?

1855

Oiseaux brillans du Brésil

1834

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL32223606M/Oiseaux_brillans_du_Br%C3%A9sil

Animals

Portrait (taller)

Burnished-Buff Tanager

Burnished-buff tanager on the voluble stem of an abrus of the plain.

Plate showing a burnished-buff tanager (Stilpnia cayana), a tropical bird in the family Thraupidae, native to South America, perching on what could be a specimen of Abrus precatorius. The caption reads in the original French: Tangara Passe-Vert sur une tige volubile d’Abrus de la plaine.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/pompadour-cotinga/

Pompadour cotinga (Xipholena punicea), a bird in the family Cotingidae, native to South America.

Descourtilz, Jean-Théodore

179?

1855

Oiseaux brillans du Brésil

1834

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL32223606M/Oiseaux_brillans_du_Br%C3%A9sil

Animals

Portrait (taller)

Pompadour Cotinga

Pompadour cotinga on the branch of a pond apple.

Plate showing a pompadour cotinga (Xipholena punicea), a tropical bird in the family Cotingidae, native to South America. The caption reads in the original French: Cotinga Pacapaca sur un rameau de Corossolier des marais.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/swallow-tanager/

Swallow tanager (Tersina viridis), a in the family Thraupidae, native to South America

Descourtilz, Jean-Théodore

179?

1855

Oiseaux brillans du Brésil

1834

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL32223606M/Oiseaux_brillans_du_Br%C3%A9sil

Animals

Portrait (taller)

Swallow Tanager

Male swallow tanager on the branch of a riverside ice cream-bean.

Plate showing a swallow tanager (Tersina viridis), a tropical bird in the family Thraupidae, native to South America. The caption reads in the original French: Tersine bleue mâle, sur un rameau de sucrin du bord des eaux.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/orange-cheeked-parrot/

Orange-cheeked parrot, a tropical bird in the family Psittacidae, native to South America

Descourtilz, Jean-Théodore

179?

1855

Oiseaux brillans du Brésil

1834

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL32223606M/Oiseaux_brillans_du_Br%C3%A9sil

Animals

Portrait (taller)

Orange-Cheeked Parrot

Orange-cheeked parrot on a sloanea of the Virgin Forest.

Plate showing an orange-cheeked parrot (Pyrilia barrabandi), also known as the Barraband’s parrot, a tropical bird in the family Psittacidae, native to South America. The caption reads in the original French: Psittacule Caïca-Barraband sur un Sloanæa des Bois Vierges.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/beware-enchanted-ground/

An armored knight kneels by a man lying in a fantasy forest alive with birds and floating spheres

Rhead, George Woolliscroft

1854

1920

The pilgrim's progress

1898

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL7132723M/The_pilgrim%27s_progress_from_this_world_to_that_which_is_to_come

Narratives

Portrait (taller)

Beware of the Enchanted Ground

Do you not remember that one of the shepherds bid us beware of the inchanted [sic] ground?

A knight in armor is kneeling at the side of a man lying among the vegetation of a fantasy forest alive with strange birds, plants with sinuous stems and branches, and floating figures enclosed in translucent spheres.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/limbs-fail/

A pilgrim and a knight are runnning away from a giant who has fallen down outside a castle wall

Rhead, George Woolliscroft

1854

1920

The pilgrim's progress

1898

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL7132723M/The_pilgrim%27s_progress_from_this_world_to_that_which_is_to_come

Narratives

Portrait (taller)

Felt His Limbs to Fail

That gate, as it opened, made such a creaking, that it waked Giant Despair, who hastily rising to pursue his prisoners, felt his limbs to fail.

A pilgrim and an armored knight are running away from an angry giant who has fallen down outside a castle wall while chasing them and has dropped his cudgel.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/giant-despair/

A giant with coarse features sits on a rampart walk, his chin in one hand and a cudgel in the other

Rhead, Louis

1857

1926

The pilgrim's progress

1898

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL7132723M/The_pilgrim%27s_progress_from_this_world_to_that_which_is_to_come

People

Portrait (taller)

Giant Despair

Giant Despair.

A giant displaying coarse features and a confused expression sits on a rampart walk, resting his chin in one hand and holding a cudgel in the other.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/deserveth-die-death/

A grim-looking judge in formal attire is sitting under a canopy shaking his clenched fist

Rhead, Louis

1857

1926

The pilgrim's progress

1898

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL7132723M/The_pilgrim%27s_progress_from_this_world_to_that_which_is_to_come

People

Portrait (taller)

He Deserveth to Die the Death

He deserveth to die the death.

A sullen and grim-looking judge in formal attire is sitting under a canopy shaking his clenched fist.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/mouth-hell/

A knight holds up his shield for protection as he walks toward a cave inside which a monster lies

Rhead, George Woolliscroft

1854

1920

The pilgrim's progress

1898

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL7132723M/The_pilgrim%27s_progress_from_this_world_to_that_which_is_to_come

Narratives

Portrait (taller)

The Mouth of Hell to Be

About the midst of this valley, I perceived the mouth of Hell to be.

An armored knight has his sword in his hand and holds up his shield for protection as a cloaked skeleton hovers over him. He ignores the hissing snakes on the side of the path and keeps walking toward the entrance of a cave, inside which a monstrous head can be seen.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/rejoice-not/

A knight lying on the ground protects himself with a shield against a monster wielding flaming darts

Rhead, George Woolliscroft

1854

1920

The pilgrim's progress

1898

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL7132723M/The_pilgrim%27s_progress_from_this_world_to_that_which_is_to_come

Narratives

Portrait (taller)

Rejoice Not against Me

Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy! when I fall, I shall arise.

An armored knight lying on the ground holds on to his sword and protects himself with his shield against the assault of an airborne, lion-faced monster wielding flaming darts

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/album-galerie-39/

Composition showing symmetrical figures of dragon-like creatures arranged along the four directions

Midolle, Jean

1794

18??

Album du moyen-âge

1836

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL26603601M/Album_du_Moyen-%C3%82ge

Ornaments & patterns

Tondo

Album du moyen-âge—Part 3, Plate 36

Plate 36 of the third part of "Album du moyen-âge," devoted to compositions involving ancient and modern lettering.

Plate showing an ornamental composition with paired symmetrical figures of snake or dragon-like creatures arranged along the four directions, radiating out from the central circular motif shaped as a rose window and containing ten figures of saints. This main design is complemented by foliage and scrolls, other mythical creatures, and animals to form a circle. More information about this book can be found at Letterform Archive (page saved to the Internet Archive).

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/album-galerie-9/

Ornamental composition including lettering, calligraphic decoration, stylized scallop shells, etc.

Midolle, Jean

1794

18??

Album du moyen-âge

1836

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL26603601M/Album_du_Moyen-%C3%82ge

Ornaments & patterns

Landscape (wider)

Album du moyen-âge—Part 3, Plate 9

Plate 9 of the third part of "Album du moyen-âge," devoted to compositions involving ancient and modern lettering.

Plate showing an elaborate ornamental composition including lettering, calligraphic decoration, stylized scallop shells, scrolls, arrowheads, etc. More information about this book can be found at Letterform Archive (page saved to the Internet Archive).

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/album-galerie-8/

Composition inspired by medieval book ornamentation, including lettering, animals, scrolls, etc.

Midolle, Jean

1794

18??

Album du moyen-âge

1836

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL26603601M/Album_du_Moyen-%C3%82ge

Ornaments & patterns

Portrait (taller)

Album du moyen-âge—Part 3, Plate 8

Plate 8 of the third part of "Album du moyen-âge," devoted to compositions involving ancient and modern lettering.

Plate showing a composition inspired by medieval book ornamentation, including lettering, Christian and architectural motifs, figures of animals and mythical creatures, scrolls, calligraphic decoration, etc. More information about this book can be found at Letterform Archive (page saved to the Internet Archive).

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/album-galerie-3/

Ornamental composition including lettering, scrolls with foliage and floral motifs, trellis, etc.

Midolle, Jean

1794

18??

Album du moyen-âge

1836

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL26603601M/Album_du_Moyen-%C3%82ge

Ornaments & patterns

Landscape (wider)

Album du moyen-âge—Part 3, Plate 3

Plate 3 of the third part of "Album du moyen-âge," devoted to compositions involving ancient and modern lettering.

Plate showing an ornamental composition including lettering, scrolls with foliage and floral motifs, trellis, etc. More information about this book can be found at Letterform Archive (page saved to the Internet Archive).

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/album-galerie-34/

Ornamental composition including lettering, scrolls, calligraphic decoration, a human face, etc.

Midolle, Jean

1794

18??

Album du moyen-âge

nan

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL26603601M/Album_du_Moyen-%C3%82ge

Ornaments & patterns

Landscape (wider)

Album du moyen-âge—Part 3, Plate 34

Plate 34 of the third part of "Album du moyen-âge," devoted to compositions involving ancient and modern lettering.

Plate showing an ornamental composition including lettering, scrolls and floral motifs, calligraphic decoration, a human face, and animal heads. More information about this book can be found at Letterform Archive (page saved to the Internet Archive).

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/album-ecrit-30/

Sample of cursive lettering inside an oval border with putti & scrolls, set in a decorative frame

Midolle, Jean

1794

18??

Album du moyen-âge

1836

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL26603601M/Album_du_Moyen-%C3%82ge

Ornaments & patterns

Portrait (taller)

Album du moyen-âge—Part 2, Plate 30

Plate 30 of the second part of "Album du moyen-âge," devoted to modern lettering.

Plate showing a sample of somewhat flourished cursive handwriting surrounded by an oval border of foliage and flowers enhanced with figures of putti, and set in a purple frame decorated with more foliage, scrolls and floral motifs. More information about this book can be found at Letterform Archive (page saved to the Internet Archive).

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/yellow-1-prospectus/

A woman whose figure is outlined by the light of a street lamp browses through books under the gaze of the shopkeeper

Beardsley, Aubrey

1872

1898

The yellow book, vol. 1

1894

nan

Ornaments & patterns

Portrait (taller)

The Yellow Book, Vol. 1—Prospectus

Prospectus for the first volume of the "Yellow Book."

Night scene showing a woman whose figure is outlined by the light of a street lamp as she browses through jumbled books in a display box, under the gaze of the Pierrot-like shopkeeper standing in the doorway who stares at her over the brim of his glasses. The prospectus consists of an eight-page leaflet bound with a single piece of string. The first two paragraphs read as follows: The aim of the publishers and editors of the “Yellow Book” is to depart as far as may be from the bad old traditions of periodical literature, and to provide an Illustrated magazine which shall be as beautiful as a piece of bookmaking, modern and distinguished in its letterpress and its pictures, and withal popular in the better sense of the word. It is felt that such a magazine, at present, is conspicuous by its absence. In point of technical excellence the “Yellow Book” will be as nearly perfect as it can be made. The present announcement shows the size and shape of the paper (now being especially woven) on which it will be printed, as well as the type that will be used, and the proportion of text and margin. It will contain 256 pages, or over, and will be bound in limp yellow cloth.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/salome-climax/

Salomé is floats in midair, holding the severed head of John the Baptist close to her face as a pool of blood forms below

Beardsley, Aubrey

1872

1898

Salomé

1907

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL5964261M/Salome

Narratives

Portrait (taller)

The Climax

The climax.

Line block print showing a Salomé with Medusa hair suspended in midair and holding the severed head of John the Baptist close to her face as a pool of blood forms below, from which a lily rises.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/toilette-salome-1/

Salomé is sitting in a flared dress at a dressing table as a coiffeur wearing a Pierrot costume attends to her hairdo

Beardsley, Aubrey

1872

1898

Salomé

1907

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL5964261M/Salome

Narratives

Portrait (taller)

The Toilette of Salomé 1

The toilette of Salomé 1.

Although appearing first in the 1907 edition, this version is chronologically the second of Beardsley’s drawings of the toilette of Salomé, coming after the first one was turned down by the publisher and dropped from the first edition. It shows Salomé in an exceedingly flared dress sitting at a dressing table in the Anglo-Japanese style as a bald coiffeur wearing a Pierrot costume and an eye mask attends to her unwieldy hairdo. Among the books to be found on the lower shelf of the table, one can see Nana by Émile Zola, works by the marquis de Sade, Manon Lescaut by abbé Prévost, and Apuleius’s Golden Ass, all titles certain to raise a few eyebrows at the time the play was first published.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/stomach-dance/

Line block print showing Salomé doing the dance of the seven veils, accompanied by a disheveled string musician

Beardsley, Aubrey

1872

1898

Salomé

1907

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL5964261M/Salome

Narratives

Portrait (taller)

The Stomach Dance

The stomach dance.

Line block print showing Salomé with peacock feathers in her hair doing the dance of the seven veils in an attire which leaves bare her midriff and breasts. A disheveled and grotesque string musician accompanies her, seemingly enjoying her performance a trifle more thoroughly than might be deemed appropriate.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/eyes-herod/

Salomé stands in a robe and a headdress with peacock feathers as two putti holdi a candelabra between her and Herod

Beardsley, Aubrey

1872

1898

Salomé

1907

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL5964261M/Salome

Narratives

Portrait (taller)

The Eyes of Herod

The eyes of Herod.

Line block print showing Salomé wearing a robe and a headdress adorned with peacock feathers. Standing on the lower frame of the picture, two impish-looking putti hold a tall and elaborate candelabra fitted with five candles swaying their flames between her and the figure of Herod. Together with Salomé’s garment revealing one of her breasts and the symbolism evoked by the peacock at her feet and the erect trees, they might help answer the question she asks at the beginning of the play: Why does the Tetrarch look at me all the while with his mole’s eyes under his shaking eyelids?

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/enter-herodias/

A hieratic Herodias is introduced by a buffoonish herald and accompanied by an embryo-faced character and a page

Beardsley, Aubrey

1872

1898

Salomé

1907

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL5964261M/Salome

Narratives

Portrait (taller)

Enter Herodias

Enter Herodias.

Line block print showing the hieratic figure of Herodias introduced by a buffoonish master of ceremonies and accompanied by an embryo-faced character and an almost naked page. The first version of this drawing didn’t include the fig leaf covering the androgynous page’s genitals, which was added on the demand of John Lane, the publisher. This latter, however, either missed or tolerated the phallic candlesticks and the spectacular erection unsuccessfully concealed beneath the clothes of the princess’s bizarre attendant. Beardsley didn’t appreciate Lane’s way of impinging on his work: to his friend Alfred Lambart, he gave a proof of this illustration printed before the addition of the fig leaf (and kept at the Princeton University Library), on which he wrote the following epigram: Because one figure was undressed This little drawing was suppressed It was unkind — But never mind Perhaps it all was for the best — The owl-capped jester holding a copy of Salomé has the caricatured features of Oscar Wilde.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/black-cape/

Profile view of the S-shaped figure of a woman wearing a black skirt and cape, and a tiny hat strapped to her hairdo

Beardsley, Aubrey

1872

1898

Salomé

1907

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL5964261M/Salome

People

Portrait (taller)

The Black Cape

The black cape.

Line block print showing the S-shaped and excessively elongated figure of a woman seen from the side wearing a black skirt and cape enhanced with sparse decorative motifs, and a tiny hat strapped to her extravagant hairdo.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/november-meteors/

Plate showing a shower of Leonid meteors observed in November 1868

Trouvelot, Étienne Léopold

1827

1895

The Trouvelot astronomical drawings: atlas

nan

nan

Science & technology

Portrait (taller)

Meteor Shower

The November meteors.

Plate showing a shower of Leonid meteors observed in November 1868. This event is described as follows by the author:[1] In the years 1866, 1867 and 1868, there were also extraordinary meteoric displays on the night of November 13th. It was on the last mentioned date that I had the opportunity to observe the remarkable shower of shooting-stars of which I have attempted to represent all the characteristic points in plate XII. My observations were begun a little after midnight, and continued without interruption till sunrise. Over three thousand meteors were observed during this interval of time in the part of the sky visible from a northern window of my house. The maximum fall occurred between four and five o’clock, when they appeared at a mean rate of 15 in a minute. In general, the falling stars were quite large, many being superior to Jupiter in brightness and apparent size, while a few even surpassed Venus, and were so brilliant that opaque objects cast a strong shadow during their flight. A great many left behind them a luminous train, which remained visible for more or less time after the nucleus had vanished. ^ The Trouvelot astronomical drawings manual. Trouvelot, Étienne Léopold. New York: Charles Scribner’s sons, 1882, p. 116-117.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/comet-1881/

View of the great comet of 1881 as it travels through the night sky past an observatory

Trouvelot, Étienne Léopold

1827

1895

The Trouvelot astronomical drawings: atlas

1882

nan

Science & technology

Portrait (taller)

The Great Comet of 1881

The great comet of 1881.

View of C/1881 K1 (also known as 1881 III), the great comet of 1881, as it travels through the night sky past an observatory. The author gives the following account of his observation:[1] On July 2d, 1881, at 9 o’clock, the nucleus of comet 1881, III., which is represented on plate XI., appeared sharply defined, bright and considerably flattened crosswise; but half an hour later it had considerably enlarged and had become so diffused that it could hardly be distinguished from the coma, with which it gradually blended. It is perhaps worth mention that, at the time this last observation was made, an aurora borealis was visible. This comet 1881, III., underwent other very important changes of its nucleus, coma and tail. On June 25th, the nucleus, which was bright and clearly defined, was ornamented with four bright diverging conical wing’s of light, as shown on plate XI. ^ The Trouvelot astronomical drawings manual. Trouvelot, Étienne Léopold. New York: Charles Scribner’s sons, 1882, p. 104.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/planet-saturn/

Plate showing a view of the planet Saturn with its ring system at a slight angle

Trouvelot, Étienne Léopold

1827

1895

The Trouvelot astronomical drawings: atlas

1882

nan

Science & technology

Landscape (wider)

Saturn

The planet Saturn.

Plate showing a view of the planet Saturn with its ring system at a slight angle. Saturn is described as follows by the author:[1] Seen with the naked eye, Saturn shines in the night like a star of the first magnitude, whose dull, soft whiteness is, however, far from attaining the brilliancy of Venus or Jupiter, although it sometimes approaches Mars in brightness. Saturn hardly ever exhibits the phenomenon of scintillation, or twinkling, a peculiarity which makes it easily distinguishable among the stars and planets of the heavens. ^ The Trouvelot astronomical drawings manual. Trouvelot, Étienne Léopold. New York: Charles Scribner’s sons, 1882, p. 83.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/mare-humorum/

View of Mare Humorum, a lunar basaltic plain formed by ancient volcanic eruptions

Trouvelot, Étienne Léopold

1827

1895

The Trouvelot astronomical drawings: atlas

1882

nan

Science & technology

Landscape (wider)

Mare Humorum

Mare Humorum.

Plate showing a view of Mare Humorum, a lunar basaltic plain formed by ancient volcanic eruptions. It is described as follows by the author:[1] The “Mare Humorum,” or sea of moisture, as it is called, which is represented on plate VI., is one of the smaller gray lunar plains. Its diameter, which is very nearly the same in all directions, is about 270 miles, the total area of this plain being about 50,000 square miles. It is one of the most distinct plains of the moon, and is easily seen with the naked eye on the left-hand side of the disk. The floor of the plain is, like that of the other gray plains, traversed by several systems of very extended but low hills and ridges, while small craters are disseminated upon its surface. ^ The Trouvelot astronomical drawings manual. Trouvelot, Étienne Léopold. New York: Charles Scribner’s sons, 1882, p. 51.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/eclipse-sun/

Solar eclipse showing the Moon covering the entire Sun's disk, with light radiating from behind

Trouvelot, Étienne Léopold

1827

1895

The Trouvelot astronomical drawings: atlas

1882

nan

Science & technology

Landscape (wider)

Total Eclipse of the Sun

Total eclipse of the sun.

View of a solar eclipse showing the shadow cast by the moon covering the entire sun’s disk, with light radiating from behind. This phenomenon is described as follows by the author:[1] A total eclipse of the sun is a most beautiful and imposing phenomenon. At the predicted time the perfectly round disk of the sun becomes slightly indented at its western limb by the yet invisible moon. This phenomenon is known as the “first contact.” The slight indentation observed gradually increases with the advance of the Moon from west to east, the irregularities of the surface of our satellite being plainly visible on the border of the dark segment advancing on the sun’s disk. With the advance of the Moon on the sun, the light gradually diminishes on the earth. Every object puts on a dull and gloomy appearance, as when night is approaching; while the bright sky, losing its light, changes its pure azure for a livid grayish color. ^ The Trouvelot astronomical drawings manual. Trouvelot, Étienne Léopold. New York: Charles Scribner’s sons, 1882, p. 24.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/solar-protuberances/

Gaseous prominences extending from the surface of the Sun, as observed through spectroscopy

Trouvelot, Étienne Léopold

1827

1895

The Trouvelot astronomical drawings: atlas

1882

nan

Science & technology

Portrait (taller)

Solar Prominences

Solar protuberances.

Plate showing gaseous prominences extending from the surface of the sun, as observed through spectroscopy. This phenomenon is introduced as follows by the author:[1] The chromosphere forming the outlying envelope of the sun is subject … to great disturbances in certain regions, causing considerable upheavals of its surface and violent outbursts of its gases. From these upheavals and outbursts of the chromosphere result certain curious and very interesting forms, which are known under the name of “solar protuberances” “prominences” or “flames.” ^ The Trouvelot astronomical drawings manual. Trouvelot, Étienne Léopold. New York: Charles Scribner’s sons, 1882, p. 18-19.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/narcissus-alder/

Narcissus lets his fingers brush the surface of a pond while looking at his reflection in the water

Alder, Émile

1870

1933

Le sang des dieux

1920

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL24782790M/Le_sang_des_dieux

People

Portrait (taller)

Narcissus (Alder)

Narcissus.

Narcissus, wearing a flower wreath, lies on the bank of a pond and lets his fingers brush the surface of the water while looking at his reflection.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/swans-alder/

An old king sits moodily on a rock facing the sea as a flock of swans flies through the sky

Alder, Émile

1870

1933

Le sang des dieux

1920

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL24782790M/Le_sang_des_dieux

People

Landscape (wider)

The Swans

The swans.

An old king is sitting moodily on a rock facing the sea as a flock of swans flies through the evening sky.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/bacchante-alder/

A maenad is among vines and listening delightedly to a satyr playing the pan flute

Alder, Émile

1870

1933

Le sang des dieux

1920

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL24782790M/Le_sang_des_dieux

Narratives

Portrait (taller)

Maenad and Satyr

Maenad and satyr.

A maenad is seen from the side sitting among vines and listening delightedly to a satyr playing the pan flute.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/harolds-song/

A man naked wrestles a rearing horse in the sea and drives a spear through its shoulder

Alder, Émile

1870

1933

Le sang des dieux

1920

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL24782790M/Le_sang_des_dieux

Narratives

Portrait (taller)

Harold and the Horse

Harold and the horse.

A naked man is seen from the back wrestling a rearing horse in the sea, clinging to its mane with one hand while driving a spear through its shoulder with the other. This picture illustrates a poem titled Harold’s song (Chant d’Harold) dedicated to Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/andromeda/

Andromeda hangs shackled to a rock while in the background, Perseus slays the sea monster.

Alder, Émile

1870

1933

Le sang des dieux

1920

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL24782790M/Le_sang_des_dieux

Narratives

Portrait (taller)

Perseus Rescuing Andromeda

Perseus rescuing Andromeda.

Andromeda hangs languidly from the shackle that keeps her left arm tethered to a rock while in the background, Perseus appears riding Pegasus and slays the sea monster—which looks conspicuously like a crocodile—with his spear.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/sang-frontispiece/

Orpheus is sitting on a capital, playing the lyre and singing with two lions lying at his feet.

Alder, Émile

1870

1933

Le sang des dieux

1920

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL24782790M/Le_sang_des_dieux

People

Portrait (taller)

Le sang des dieux—Frontispiece

Frontispiece to "Le sang des dieux."

Orpheus is seen from the side sitting on a Ionic capital, playing the lyre and singing with two lions lying at his feet as a temple can be seen on a hill in the background.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/hangman/

A man stands with a hand resting in the loop of a noose as a crowd can be seen in the background.

Meadows, Joseph Kenny

1790

1874

Heads of the people: or, Portraits of the English, vol. 1

1840

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL25106122M/Heads_of_the_people_or_Portraits_of_the_English

People

Portrait (taller)

The Hangman

The hangman.

A man wearing a grim expression stands facing the viewer, with a hand resting in the loop of a noose as a crowd can be seen in the background, assembled below the scaffold. At the time the book was written, the hangman of Newgate Prison—which is referred to in the written sketch associated with the picture—would have been William Calcraft. The illustration is complemented by the following words from The Clandestine Marriage, a comedy by George Colman the Elder and David Garrick: A ridiculous superfluity.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/barmaid/

A woman looks to her right while carrying a tankard in one hand and a tray in the other.

Meadows, Joseph Kenny

1790

1874

Heads of the people: or, Portraits of the English, vol. 1

1840

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL25106122M/Heads_of_the_people_or_Portraits_of_the_English

People

Portrait (taller)

The Barmaid

The barmaid.

A young woman wearing a lacy bonnet with loose ribbons looks to her right while carrying a tankard in one hand and a tray balanced with glasses in the other. This illustration is inspired by the accompanying written sketch depicting Susan Hawkins, barmaid at The Castle, a tavern in the London suburbs. It is complemented by the following quotation from William Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale: I understand the business, I hear it: to have an open ear, a quick eye, and a nimble hand, is necessary

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/landlady/

A smiling woman wearing a bonnet carries an empty glass in one hand and a bottle in the other.

Meadows, Joseph Kenny

1790

1874

Heads of the people: or, Portraits of the English, vol. 1

1840

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL25106122M/Heads_of_the_people_or_Portraits_of_the_English

People

Portrait (taller)

The Landlady

The landlady.

A smiling woman wearing a bonnet is seen from the front carrying an empty glass in one hand and a bottle in the other. This illustration is inspired by the accompanying written sketch depicting Charlotte Chatham, landlady of The Castle, a tavern in the London suburbs. It is complemented by the following quotation from William Shakespeare’s As You Like It : You shall never take her without her answer, unless you take her without her tongue.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/medical-student/

A young man wearing his top hat tilted to the side smokes a cigar and carries a book under his arm.

Meadows, Joseph Kenny

1790

1874

Heads of the people: or, Portraits of the English, vol. 1

1840

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL25106122M/Heads_of_the_people_or_Portraits_of_the_English

People

Portrait (taller)

The Medical Student

The medical student.

A young man wearing his top hat tilted to the side, a cravat, a waistcoat, and a fluffy coat is seen smoking a cigar and carrying a book under his arm while smugly looking sideways. The illustration is complemented by the following quotation from William Wordsworth’s poem The tables Turned: We murder to dissect. The type of the medical student is described in detail by P. Leigh, in the accompanying literary sketch: A young gentleman, of about five feet eight inches in height, with dull darkish eyes, and eyebrows to match—interlacing over the root of the nose, the last-mentioned feature being large, long, and fleshy, and in excellent keeping with a couple of thick projecting lips. The complexion is a kind of smoky tallow; the forehead is narrow and sloping, but the contour of the rest of the head is concealed by a four-and-ninepenny gossamer, with a very narrow brim and sundry indentations in front, worn sideways in the most approved fashion of billiard-room frequenters, and visitors of night-houses. A black neckerchief, tied à la Ben Brace, a very high and not very clean shirt-collar, a rough flushing jacket garnished with broad black bone buttons, a very long waistcoat of a shawl pattern, and blue shaggy trousers splashed with mud at their terminations, complete the costume. The tout-ensemble forms an illustration of “December fashions for Gentlemen,” as modified in the person of a probationary guardian of the public health” in statu pupillari,”—that is, in the course of “walking the hospitals.”

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/lawyers-clerk/

A young man in a torn jacket sits at a desk and eats an apple while writing on a piece of paper.

Meadows, Joseph Kenny

1790

1874

Heads of the people: or, Portraits of the English, vol. 1

1840

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL25106122M/Heads_of_the_people_or_Portraits_of_the_English

People

Portrait (taller)

The Lawyer’s Clerk

The lawyer's clerk.

A young man in shabby clothes and untidy hair is seen from the side sitting at a desk and biting into an apple while writing with a quill on a piece of paper. The illustration is complemented by the following words from William Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice: His master and he are scarce cater-cousins.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/dress-maker/

A woman looks to her right while her hand pulls on the thread with which she sews a piece of garment

Meadows, Joseph Kenny

1790

1874

Heads of the people: or, Portraits of the English, vol. 1

1840

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL25106122M/Heads_of_the_people_or_Portraits_of_the_English

People

Portrait (taller)

The Dress-Maker

The dress-maker.

A young woman wearing her hair looped back at the sides is seen looking to her right while her hand holding a needle pulls on the thread with which she is sewing a piece of lacy garment by candlelight. The illustration is complemented by the following quotation from William Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part 1: Why hast thou lost the fresh blood in thy cheeks…

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/citadel-cairo/

View of the Cairo Citadel, a fortress complex initiated by Saladin in 1176

Roberts, David

1796

1864

Egypt & Nubia, vol. 3

1849

nan

Landscapes & places

Landscape (wider)

Citadel of Cairo

The citadel of Cairo, residence of Mehemet Ali.

View of the Cairo Citadel, a fortress complex initiated by Saladin in 1176 and seat of Egyptians rulers up to the 19th century. The authors describe it as follows: This striking view is taken from a ruined mosque near the city walls, and looking towards the rock of the citadel, which stretches along the horizon, from where it intercepts the range of the distant Mocattam hills to the Great Mosque of the Sultan Hassan. Between the observer and the hill of the citadel lies the great necropolis of Cairo, that part of the eastern desert which extends from its walls to the Mocattam range, in which the dead of ages are laid, and where those splendid religious edifices are found which are commonly called the Tombs of the sultans. The ruined mosque in the foreground is built in an angle of the city wall. From one of the gates below a caravan is seen issuing, and masses of building which intervene between the ruined mosque and the Citadel are broken by the domes and minarets of the mosques of Cairo. The citadel itself is covered with a range of buildings, that present in this view rather the appearance of a barracks than the palace and mosque of the Pasha, where he holds his court, though his domestic residence is in the isle of Shoubra.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/bazaar-silk-mercers/

Market street running between the two main buildings of the funerary complex of Sultan al-Ghuri

Roberts, David

1796

1864

Egypt & Nubia, vol. 3

1849

nan

Buildings & monuments

Portrait (taller)

The Silk-Mercers’ Bazaar of al-Ghuriya, Cairo

Bazaar of the silk mercers, Cairo.

View of the market street running between the two main buildings of the funerary complex of Sultan al-Ghuri, built in the early 16th century. The bazaar is described as follows by the authors: The actual situation of this bazaar is between the walls of these two mosques, which finish at the top with a trefoil sort of battlement whereon rafters rest, with props to support the wooden roof, that at a great height covers the Bazaar, admitting light enough, but sheltering it from the rays of the sun. Each Bazaar is generally appropriated to a particular class of merchandise, and this, the chief in Cairo, for the sale of rich silks, cottons, and embroidered stuffs, some wrought in gold-thread and other costly materials; and the articles to be bought here are the most splendid productions of this class. The Bazaars of Cairo, as in all Eastern cities, are confined to streets and passages, which are closed at night by wooden doors and a chain, and guarded by watchmen: they are, however, by day the gayest and most amusing parts of the city. Here the shopkeeper rests on a sort of dais, or shopboard, about three feet above the footway, his goods being kept in recesses behind him. He generally sits cross-legged and patient, awaiting the arrival of a customer; he uses little art to induce him to purchase; he sits in solemn silence, and will scarcely remove his pipe from his lips to answer the inquiries of the passers-by.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/hypaetral-temple-philae/

View of Trajan's Kiosk overlooking the Nile at its original location on the island of Philae

Roberts, David

1796

1864

Egypt & Nubia, vol. 2

1849

nan

Buildings & monuments

Landscape (wider)

Trajan’s Kiosk

The hypæthral temple at Philæ, called the Bed of Pharaoh.

View of Trajan’s Kiosk overlooking the Nile at its original location on the island of Philae. The kiosk was moved to Agilkia Island in the 1960s to be preserved from the effects of the Aswan Dam. It is described as follows by the authors: This is one of the most beautiful objects on the island of Philae, and seems to have been built for its striking and picturesque effect. It is placed on the eastern side of the island, and, in our view, appears as it is seen by the traveller who ascends the Nile. This little temple is only sixty feet long and forty-five feet wide: the style of its proportion is elongated, as if the architect had thus intended to increase its effect as seen from the river. It has five columns on each side, and four at each end, between the centre columns at each of these is an entrance; all else around is inclosed by walls, which reach to two-thirds of the height of the columns. The architrave is raised high above the columns, being placed on upright stones, which rest upon the lotus-headed capitals; the open spaces between are out of all architectural rule or proportion, but in spite of this, it is strikingly elegant. The entrances are open to the Great Temple on the west, and to the Nile on the east; outside the river-gate is a platform, or terrace, which forms also a quay that extends nearly round the island; the principal landing-place for travellers is below this temple, and here their boats are usually moored.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/great-hall-karnak/

View of the Hypostyle Hall at the Karnak temple complex with columns showing polychrome decoration

Roberts, David

1796

1864

Egypt & Nubia, vol. 1

1846

nan

Buildings & monuments

Portrait (taller)

Great Hypostyle Hall at Karnak

Thebes. Great Hall at Karnak.

Perspective view of the Hypostyle Hall at the Karnak temple complex, with columns showing polychrome decoration.The hall was built under Pharaoh Seti I who reigned in the 13th century BCE. It is described as follows by George Henry Wathen[1]: Majestic in ruin, what must it have been when perfect? The massive stone roof is supported by a phalanx of one hundred and thirty-four giant columns, ranged in sixteen rows; most of these are nine feet in diameter, and nearly forty-three feet high; but those of the central avenue are not less than eleven feet six inches in diameter, and seventy-two feet high. The diameter of their capitals at their widest spread is twenty-two feet. The walls, columns, architraves, ceilings—every surface exposed to the eye is overspread with intaglio sculptures—gods, heroes, and hieroglyphics, painted in once vivid colours. It is easy to detail the dimensions of this building, but no description can convey an idea of its sublime effect. What massive grandeur in its vistas of enormous columns! what scenic effects in the gradations of the chiaro-scuro, and the gleamings of accidental lights athwart the aisles! ^ Wathen, George Henry. Arts, antiquities, and chronology of ancient Egypt: from observations in 1839. London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1843, p. 113-114.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/great-temple-abu-simbel/

View of the colossal statues of Ramesses II at the entrance of the Great Temple at Abu Simbel

Roberts, David

1796

1864

Egypt & Nubia, vol. 1

1846

nan

Buildings & monuments

Landscape (wider)

Great Temple of Abu Simbel

Colossal figures in front of the Great temple of Aboo-Simbel.

View of the colossal statues of Ramesses II guarding the entrance of the Great Temple at Abu Simbel, as seen from a low angle. The temple and its rediscovery in 1817 are described as follows by the authors: Belzoni and his friends removed forty feet of sand, which had accumulated above the top of the door before the recent excavations; but they carried them no further than three feet below the top of the entrance, when they effected their passage into this temple and saw the most extraordinary work that remains to us of the age of Remeses [sic] II. Belzoni describes its facade as one hundred and seventeen feet wide and eighty-six feet high… Each of these enormous statues… measures from the shoulder to the elbow fifteen feet six inches… Their height as they sit is about fifty-one feet not including the caps, which are about fourteen feet. These, the most beautiful colossi yet found in any of the Egyptian ruins, represent Remeses II. They are seated on thrones attached to the rock. On the sides, and on the front angles of the thrones, and between the legs of the statues, are sculptured female figures, supposed to be of his wife and children; they are well preserved, though the material is a coarse friable gritstone. During the execution, defects in the stone were filled and smoothed with stucco, and afterwards painted, of which traces yet remain.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/kom-ombo/

View of the the temple of Kom Ombo, Upper Egypt, as it stood in 1838 before reconstruction

Roberts, David

1796

1864

Egypt & Nubia, vol. 1

1846

nan

Buildings & monuments

Landscape (wider)

Kom Ombo Temple

Kom-Ombo.

View of the temple of Kom Ombo as it stood, half-buried in the sand, before reconstruction. Built during the Ptolemaic dynasty, Kom Ombo Temple is located 25 miles (40 km) north of Aswan and was dedicated in equal parts to the crocodile god Sobek and to Horus the Elder. It is described as follows by the authors: These ruins are finely situated on a promontory on the eastern side of the river, in a bay formed by the head of the Nile to the westward. In descending the river the temple thus seen on the high bank above it holds a striking position. There are remains of other temples below, on the verge of the Nile, but the stream which sweeps round the bend has already carried off, even within our own time, some of these interesting monuments, and will eventually remove them all by undermining the banks. Of the great temple, much is concealed by vast sand-drifts from the deserts; but enormous masses of its ruins rise above the arid and herbless surface which surrounds them, giving to the scene a character of dreary desolation in keeping with the decay of this once magnificent structure.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/birds-x-y-z/

Plate showing ornamental capital letters X, Y, and Z embellished with pictures of birds

De Sanctis, Gabriele

?

?

Esemplare di alfabeti diversi fregiati di fiori, di animali e di altri ornati

n.d. [183?]

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL31475210M/Esemplare_di_alfabeti_diversi_fregiati_di_fiori_di_animali_e_di_altri_ornati

Ornaments & patterns

Landscape (wider)

Bird Alphabet—X, Y, Z

The White heron — The crested guan (?) — The nuthatch.

Plate showing ornamental capital letters X, Y, and Z illuminated with foliage, flowers, and birds. The caption reads in the original Italian: L’airone bianco — Il yacou — Lo ziollo.

https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/birds-t-u-v/

Plate showing ornamental capital letters T, U, and V embellished with pictures of birds

De Sanctis, Gabriele

?

?

Esemplare di alfabeti diversi fregiati di fiori, di animali e di altri ornati

n.d. [183?]

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL31475210M/Esemplare_di_alfabeti_diversi_fregiati_di_fiori_di_animali_e_di_altri_ornati

Ornaments & patterns

Landscape (wider)