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![[picture: Old England: Photograph of the book]](https://www.fromoldbooks.org/OldEngland/tn/cimg4699-old-england-book-on-eazel-q75-500x436.jpg "[picture: Old England: Photograph of the book]")
Old England: A Pictorial Museum of Regal, Ecclesiastical, Baronial, Municipal and Popular Antiquities, Charles Knight (1791 – 1873) London, Charles Knight and Co., Ludgate Street, First Edition, 1845, two volumes, folio, pp. viii, 392; vi, 386, 24 chromoxylographs (incl. frontis.). Many wood-engraved text illustrations.
My copy has contemporary (worn) half-calf with gilt backs; there is some light foxing and dampstaining to the plates and margins of some leaves. Ref. Abbey, Life, 43; purchased D. & E Lake Toronto, 1992.
This book has been reprinted, but the reprint is out of print; you can search for a used copy on Amazon.
I have typed in the index to the book so that you can ask me for other scans if you like.
I have the first few sections online as Old England: A Pictorial Museum if you want to read the actual book!
The book starts with Druidical and Prehistoric remains and continues on to have Castles, Manors and stately homes, Churches, Abbeys and Cathedrals and much more.
Charles Knight also produced an illustrated edition of the Works of Shakspere, as he spelt it.
There is an entry in the Nuttall Encyclopædia for Charles Knight.
Some of the engravings were done by the Dalziel brothers; I have some images from their autobiography, A Record of Work.
Contents
Volume I
Book I. Before the Conquest.
Chapter I. The British Period. [Fig. 1]
Chapter II. The Roman Period. [Fig. 80]
Chapter III. The Anglo-Saxon Period. [Fig. 189]
Book II. The Period From the Norman Conquest to the Death of King John. A.D. 1066—1216.
Chapter I. Regal and Baronial Antiquities. [Fig. 334]
Chapter II. Ecclesiastical Antiquities. [Fig. 491]
Chapter III. Popular Antiquities. [Fig. 795]
Book III. The Period From the Accession of Henry III. to the End of the Reign of Richard II. A.D. 1216—1399.
Chapter I. Regal and Baronial Antiquities. Fig. 814]
Chapter II. Ecclesiastical Antiquities. [Fig. 929]
Chapter III. Popular Antiquities.
Book IV. The Period From the Accession of Henry IV. to the End of the Reign of Richard III. A.D. 1399—1485.
Chapter I. Regal and Baronial Antiquities. [Fig. 1150]
Chapter II. Ecclesiastical Antiquities. [Fig. 1279]
Chapter III. Popular Antiquities. [Fig. 1335]
Although some of the images here are from Volume II, I plan to move them into their own darling little folder, and will make a second table of contents.
This book is online at archive.org (Vol I and Vol II), although the OCR has done a really bad job, and the scans are lower resolution and not cleaned up. But you could use it to request a specific image, and I will scan it for you if it’s not here yet.
Title: Old England: A Pictorial Museum
City: London
Date: 1845
Total items: 407
Out of copyright (called public domain in the USA), hence royalty-free for all purposes usage credit requested, or as marked.
![[picture: 66.---Shield in the Meyrick Collection]](https://www.fromoldbooks.org/OldEngland/wm/big/0066-Shield-in-the-Meyrick-Collection-q75-197x200.jpg "[picture: 66.---Shield in the Meyrick Collection]")
66.—Shield in the Meyrick Collection
“It is equally difficult to determine the date of those valuable relics which have been found in various places, exhibiting a taste for symmetry and nice workmanship in the fabrication of their weapons, offensive and defensive, and the ruder decorations of their persons. Such are the [...]Flintshire, now in the British Museum (Fig. 64). Such are the shields (Figs. 65, 66, 67), of one of which (Fig. 67) Sir Samuel Meyrick, its possessor, says, “It is impossible to contemplate the artistic portions without feeling convinced that there is a mixture of British ornaments with such resemblances to the elegant designs on Roman works as would be produced by a people in a state of less civilization.” (p. 22) [more...] [$]
![[picture: 67.---Circular British Shield.]](https://www.fromoldbooks.org/OldEngland/wm/big/0067-Circular-British-Shield-q75-198x200.jpg "[picture: 67.---Circular British Shield.]")
“It is equally difficult to determine the date of those valuable relics which have been found in various places, exhibiting a taste for symmetry and nice workmanship in the fabrication of their weapons, offensive and defensive, and the ruder decorations of their persons. Such are the [...]Flintshire, now in the British Museum (Fig. 64). Such are the shields (Figs. 65, 66, 67), of one of which (Fig. 67) Sir Samuel Meyrick, its possessor, says, “It is impossible to contemplate the artistic portions without feeling convinced that there is a mixture of British ornaments with such resemblances to the elegant designs on Roman works as would be produced by a people in a state of less civilization.” (p. 22) [more...] [$]
![[picture: 68.---Ancient British Coins.]](https://www.fromoldbooks.org/OldEngland/wm/big/0068-Ancient-British-Coins-q75-314x200.jpg "[picture: 68.---Ancient British Coins.]")
![[picture: 69.---Group of Ring Coins.]](https://www.fromoldbooks.org/OldEngland/wm/big/0069-Group-of-Ring-Coins-q75-358x200.jpg "[picture: 69.---Group of Ring Coins.]")
“Ring-money, peculiar to the Celtic nations, undoubtedly existed in Ireland previous to the domination of the Romans in Britain. Although Cæsar says that the ancient Britons had no coined money, there is sufficient probability that they had their metal plates for purposes of currency, such being occasionally found in English barrows.
The Ring-money (Fig. 69) has been found in great quantities in Ireland, of bronze, of silver, and of gold. [more...] [$]
![[picture: 70.---Celt.]](https://www.fromoldbooks.org/OldEngland/wm/big/0070-Celt-q75-106x200.jpg "[picture: 70.---Celt.]")
“The weapons of the ancient Britons show their acquaintance with the casting of metals. Their axe-heads, called Celts, are composed of ten parts of copper and one of tin (Figs. 70 and 71); their spear-heads, of six parts of copper and one of tin. Moulds for spear-heads have been frequently found [...] [more...] [$]
![[picture: 71.---Celt.]](https://www.fromoldbooks.org/OldEngland/wm/big/0071-Celt-q85-138x200.jpg "[picture: 71.---Celt.]")
“The weapons of the ancient Britons show their acquaintance with the casting of metals. Their axe-heads, called Celts, are composed of ten parts of copper and one of tin (Figs. 70 and 71); their spear-heads, of six parts of copper and one of tin. Moulds for spear-heads have been frequently found [...] [more...] [$]
![[picture: 72.---Spear Mould.]](https://www.fromoldbooks.org/OldEngland/wm/big/0072-Spear-Mould-q75-65x200.jpg "[picture: 72.---Spear Mould.]")
“The weapons of the ancient Britons show their acquaintance with the casting of metals. Their axe-heads, called Celts, are composed of ten parts of copper and one of tin (Figs. 70 and 71); their spear-heads, of six parts of copper and one of tin. Moulds for spear-heads have been frequently found [...] [more...] [$]
![[picture: 73.---Spear as it would have come from the Mould.]](https://www.fromoldbooks.org/OldEngland/wm/big/0073-Spear-q75-69x200.jpg "[picture: 73.---Spear as it would have come from the Mould.]")
73.—Spear as it would have come from the Mould.
“The weapons of the ancient Britons show their acquaintance with the casting of metals. Their axe-heads, called Celts, are composed of ten parts of copper and one of tin (Figs. 70 and 71); their spear-heads, of six parts of copper and one of tin. Moulds for spear-heads have been frequently found [...] [more...] [$]
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