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Vintage Pictures, Engravings and Extracts From Old Books

Over 4,400 free images from old, rare, antique and vintage books. High-resolution images for sale. Mastodon M

The Prodigal Son: dog in snow

The Seal of the Vessel

Keyork Arabian in his Study

11. Seal of Gusion.

Border of women gathering rosebuds with poem

Death and the Cherubs

Capstan turned by monks at the Metamorphosis Monastery

Decorative clip-art Victorian border, antique green

Front Cover

Berlin’s Victory Avenue in Winter

Souls on the Acheron River

Sir Isaac Newton

On Vacation (Auf Urlaub)

Tea-Roses (Iheerosen)

Faith and Devotion

53.8.—IHS

Johannes Kepler (1571‒1630)

Dedication: art deco scroll in floral border

The dream they had laid out in their lives was over

Dark Passion Flowers

King Ixion naked on the burning wheel

Winged monster of the night

Weeping child

Armillary Sphere, Scanned Version

The Fairy Court

Front Cover, by Klimsch

Template: knight and castle

The Magical Circle of King Solomon, Coloured

Frontispiece: Hindoo Temple at Goruckinath

clipart: initial letter E from beginning of 16th Century

clipart: initial letter D from beginning of 16th Century

Historiated decorative initial capital letter M in Blue

clipart: initial letter C from beginning of the 16th Century

The man in the iron mask.

932.—Salisbury

clipart: initial letter S from late 15th century printed book

Chapterhead: angel, or truth breaking free

Destruction of Printing Presses in Mayence

Chapterhead for Opening of Chapter One of Homer’s Odyssey

Full-page border with hearts and moons

Withdrawal from Troy

Front Cover, Homer’s Odyssey

Title page from Homers Odyssey

Floriated initial capital letter “S”

Inside the Imperial Palace, Delhi

Pentagram of Solomon

Decorated. Stoke Golding. Leicestershire.

Free clip-art: Victorian border of twigs and leaves

257.—Harrowing and Sowing (Bayeux Tapestry.)

The Royal Porter dressed for an event

Border with cherubs, arrow piercing hearts, flowers and leaves

The Magical Circle of King Solomon

Emperor of Germany Three Days at the Pope’s Gate

At the Wine Festival

Mazeppa

Scrollwork Border from page 227

Lion Face, detail from Lions in a Cage

Lions in a Cage

Initial Letter W With Demon and Woman and Crescent Moon

The Magical Circle of King Solomon

Hexenschlaf (Witch’s Sleep, or, Burning a Witch)

Front Cover, Volume Three of Modern Art

Border with flowers

Names of Angels and Days (overview)

Harvest-time

Penrhyn Castle

Jesus with raised hand: holy admonition

2.—Stonehenge. – Restored Plan.

owl from full-page border

Angel with thurible from full-page border

Coucy Castle, Bird’s Eye Drawing with labels

Portrait of King Henry the Eighth

Full-page border with flowers, vines, figures

2113.—James I.’s Cradle. (From a Print inNichols’s Progresses.)

A giant wooden statue of a warrior with shield and sword

Decorative clip-art Victorian border, Black and White

Front Cover, Pied Piper of Hamelin

Into the cellar, into the dungeon!

Chilren on the beach, with full-page border

Clip-art: calligraphic decorative initial capital letter R from XIV. Century No. 1

Sounding the irons

London Driving

The founding of Paris

The Virgin Mary

Thomas William Crackfort is cut into six pieces

Decorated Initial letter C with holly

Old College, Warwick Lane, London

Free clip-art: Eighteenth-century Border from Figures pour les Missels

Portrait of Sir Christopher Wren

Haunted Chest of Drawers

Decorative clip-art Victorian border, antique brown

He blew out his lantern

Man with hand in darkness

Christmas Choir

Clip-art: calligraphic decorative initial capital letter B from XIV. Century No. 1

Bibury, Arlington Row

In the Forest Cathedral

Full-page border, hillside path through ruined castle

Clip-art: calligraphic decorative initial capital letter N from XIV. Century No. 1

Ornament with Roses

Danaë

Family with barefoot boy

Free clip-art: Victorian border of brown twigs and green leaves

Barefoot boy guzzles beer

Lady Justice (Justitia)

The Dragon of Putrefaction

Decorative initial (drop cap) D

castle medallion with ribbons

Strawberry Season (Erdbeerenzeit)

Córdova: The Door of the Mosque

Purple Victorian Vine-leaf Border

Chiquon and Cochegrue, from Count Dracula

Cupid’s Hunting Fields

The Catapult, Painted by E. J. Poynter, R.A.

Clip-art: calligraphic decorative initial capital letter D from XIV. Century No. 1

Don Quixote in his Study

Reconciled

Queen Dagmar of Denmark

Knight, Death and the Devil (1513)

An Orphan Family’s Christmas

Art Nouveau Bookplate

Bookplate without name

Early Victorian Border from Book Cover

Effect of the League

Three Queens

Visit the full list of Recently added images and of the most popular images.

Vintage Borders and Initials

Decorative Initials and Drop Caps: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T Th U V W X Y Z
See all initials, or all alphabets, or the Decorative borders and frames

Quirky Old-Time Holiday Images

Curious Old Texts, Slang and Dictionaries

A Provincial Dictionary by Francis Grose (1790); 66 regional proverbs.
Dictionary of Phrase and Fable by E. Cobham Brewer (1894); over 17,000 entries! New 2008-02-15.
Smiley's Recipe and Housekeeping Guide, historical recipes transcribed and annotated by CatamountClyde Studios.
Canting Dictionary by Nathan Bailey (1736), a dictionary of the slang of the underworld, of thieves, gypsies and vagrants. Text complete
Dictionary of the Canting Tongue by Francis Grose (1811)
Musa Pedestris: Three Centuries of Canting Songs and Slang Rhymes [1536-1896] edited by John S. Farmer, 1896.
The Nuttall Encyclpædia, by the Rev. James Wood (1907) (over 14,000 entries)
Oratio Dominica, or, The Lord’s Prayer in over a hundred Languages, Versions and Characters (Scripts) by Dan Brown (1713). I have scanned every page, and also an insert folded in the back, so this book is complete.
Dictionary of Proverbs by Nathan Bailey, 1721. The whole book in text and images (complete)
The Grammar of Heraldry, by Samuel Kent 1718. I have typed the first chapter on how to Blazon, etc., and will do more if requested.
Universal Etymological English Dictionary, edited by Nathan Bailey, 1736. A little under 500 entries, but very incomplete; this is a transcription I started in 1991. It is a different book than the dictionary containing the Canting Dictionary.
The Itinerary of John Leland the Antiquary edited by Thomas Hearne, 1745. 122 page images including cover and title page; I have started to transcribe names that appear in the text.
More wonderful old texts at words.fromoldbooks.org

The Pictures: Woodcuts, Engravings & Clip art

Pictures of Old Books