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Old England: A Pictorial Museum (page 17/52)

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[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

Author: Knight, Charles

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: 113.---The Thames at Coway Stakes.]

113.—The Thames at Coway Stakes.

Tall trees sway either side of a dirt road down which a cart is pulled way from us by a pair of heavy horses; two women and a dog approach us on the same road. In the background a barge is pulled along a wide, winding river by a team of maybe five horses walking along the riverbank. All [...] [more...] [$]

[picture: 114.---Conflict between Romans and Barbarians.]

114.—Conflict between Romans and Barbarians.

The wood engraving shows men with curved square shields and helmets fighting men with round shields at close range. The winners are always the ones to call the losers barbarians. [more...] [$]

[picture: 115.---Rome---A fragment after Piranesi.]

115.—Rome—A fragment after Piranesi.

An engraving showing a fragment of a statue, or, more likely, a reproduction of a drawing by Piranesi of a Roman statue. [more...] [$]

[picture: 116.---Roman Victory.]

116.—Roman Victory.

Succeeding emperors left the Britons in the quiet advancement of their civilization, until Claudius (Fig. 118) was stirred up to the hazard of an invasion. In the sonorous prose of Milton—“He, who waited ready with a huge preparation, as if not safe enough amidst the flower of all his Romans, like a great Eastern king with armed elephants marches through [...] [more...] [$]

[picture: 117.---Augustus.]

117.—Augustus.

For ninety-seven years after the second expedition of Cæsar the country [England] remained at peace with Rome. Augustus (Fig. 117) threatened an invasion; but his prudence told him that he could not enforce the payment of tribute without expensive legions. The British princes made oblations in the Capitol; and, according to Strabo, “rendered almost [...] [more...] [$]

[picture: 118.---Claudius.]

118.—Claudius.

Succeeding emperors left the Britons in the quiet advancement of their civilization, until Claudius (Fig. 118) was stirred up to the hazard of an invasion. In the sonorous prose of Milton—“He, who waited ready with a huge preparation, as if not safe enough amidst the flower of all his Romans, like a great Eastern king with armed elephants marches through [...] [more...] [$]

[picture: Claudius Looks On]

Claudius Looks On

Detail of the Portrait of the Roman Emporer Claudius showing just a face looking out to empty space; I made this so it could be used as a computer desktop, wallpaper, or root image. [more...] [$]

[picture: 119.---Coin of Claudius, representing his British triumph.  From the British Museum.]

119.—Coin of Claudius, representing his British triumph. From the British Museum.

One side of this coin shows the head of the Roman emperor Claudius and the other a chariot pulled by four horses and with the wording DE BRITANNIS on it. [more...] [$]


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