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Vintage Pictures, Engravings and Extracts From Old Books

Over 4,200 free images from old, rare, antique and vintage books. High-resolution images for sale.

One Bay of the “Angel Choir,” Interior, Lincoln Cathedral

Initial letter I with Transitional Capital

Title Page

11. Seal of Gusion.

Portrait of Ebeneezer Sibly, M.D>, F.R.H.S.

The white horse carried the earth king’s son and the princess over the sea

Her mirror was the smooth water of the tide pool

Decorative clip-art Victorian border, antique green

Front Cover

Front Cover

Franciscan Monk Going Down Staircase

Sir Isaac Newton

God and my Divine Right: Royal Crest

Endpaper: gold leaf with central British royal coat of arms

An Egyptian Priest and Scribe

53.8.—IHS

An Owl in the Pope’s Council

Wooden Church, Greenstead, Essex, A.D. 1013 (as it was in 1748)

A Display of Manuscripts on Reading Desks.

Dark Passion Flowers

Title Page

Summary of the Law, in gold

A genteel wheelchair in Paris

Armillary Sphere, Scanned Version

Cherub with grin and cloven hoofs

Plate XXIV.—Knowledge Is Power

Plate XVIII.—Stylized Chinese Dragon

Historiated decorative initial capital letter M in Blue

Fig. 86.—Curves.

Title Page

Front Cover, Art of Decorative Design

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

Plate XIV—Chinese Dragon

And then began a murder, grim and great

Gibeon

Full-page border with hearts and moons

Cupid with a Butterfly

December Night (Dezembernacht)

The Irmin Column in the Cathedral of Hildesheim

Floriated initial capital letter “S”

Taymouth Castle

Rustic postcard border of interleaved twigs and vines

Old Bologna (1850s)

Free clip-art: Victorian border of twigs and leaves

Isaak Newton [Portrait of Sir Isaac Newton]

Battle in the Sacred Linden Groves

Initial letter V with a mermaid

The Magical Circle of King Solomon

Front Cover, Bohemia Part Two

Title Page, Bohemia Part Two

Battle of Knights

Scrollwork Border from page 227

Full-page border of repeated vine leaves

Votivkirche, Vienna

Avenue of Sighs

Names of Angels and Days (overview)

Christmas Still Life

The Seranade

A schoolroom in Tunisia

2.—Stonehenge. – Restored Plan.

Llanthony Priory, Valley of the Honddu

The giants tore up trees

initial letter R with small girl

Portrait of King Henry the Eighth

Adrift from The Snow Queen

Dark brown fantasy watercolour border

Leicester Hospital, Warwick

Decorative clip-art Victorian border, Black and White

Scheuerfest - Spring Cleaning

Monroe Colliery Co.

Mellon’s Baby Food with baby and roses

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

Title Page

Rustic floral border with trellis and grapevines

The Virgin Mary

Chaldee Woman

Front Cover

Peasant Girl of Pays de Vaud—Type.

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

Land of the Semites. Desert and Caravan.

Cheerful double-page spread vintage colour border

Cheerful full-page vintage colour border

Decorative clip-art Victorian border, antique brown

Engraving of smiling urchin boy carrying sack and vegetables

Nazareth, Palestine

Klara Küry as Maya in The Greek Slave

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

Full-page border with roses, black and white

The thoughts of my spirit seek you

Portrait of Erasmus of Rotterdam

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

A Reminiscence

Wandering Minstrel

Choirboy singing from balcony pulpit

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

Ornate Victorian Border

Christmas Mass

Decorative initial (drop cap) D

Auf dem Weihnachtsmarkt (At Christmasfest)

Seal of Coin of Libra

Purple Victorian Vine-leaf Border

Seal of Coin of Libra (Obverse)

Seal of Coin of Virgo

Seal of Coin of Leo

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

Seal of Coin of Virgo (obverse)

Seal of Coin of Leo (obverse)

Vorfrühling - Early Spring

Title Page, Error’s Chains

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