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Old England: A Pictorial Museum (page 22/52)

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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: 237.---Saxon Emblems of the Month of April.]
[picture: 238.---Ploughing, Sowing, Mowing, Gleaning, Measuring Corn, and Harvest-Supper.]

238.—Ploughing, Sowing, Mowing, Gleaning, Measuring Corn, and Harvest-Supper.

The sower follows immediately behind the ploughman. Fig. 238, which is a literal copy from another manuscript, presents, at once, the operations of ploughing, sowing, mowing, [...] [more...] [$]

[picture: 239.---Convivial Party. Harleian MS. No. 603.]

239.—Convivial Party. Harleian MS. No. 603.

Harleian MS. 603 is an Anglo-Saxon illuminated psalter from the middle of the 10th century. The party looks more like outright debauchery than just convivial to me! [more...] [$]

[picture: 240.---Chairs.  From Harleian MS. No. 603.]

240.—Chairs. From Harleian MS. No. 603.

Harleian MS. 603 is an Anglo-Saxon illuminated psalter from the middle of the 10th century. This is the same manuscript as Fig. 239. The three chairs [more...] [$]

[picture: 241.---Silver Penny of Eadgar, King of England]

241.—Silver Penny of Eadgar, King of England

King Eadgar, or Edgar the Peaceful, ruled from A.D. 959 to 975, so this coin would be a little over a thousand years old. [$]

[picture: 245.---Saxon Emblems of the Month of May.]

245.—Saxon Emblems of the Month of May.

This illustration of the month of May is taken from an Anglo-Saxon manuscript in the British Museum, Cotton Tiberius B 5. It shows people wearing simple clothing, with cloaks and shoes. At left a falconer wearing a long flowing robe sits on a horse; this would be someone of a higher or nobler class. Then in the centre we have two shepherds, one holding [...] [more...] [$]

[picture: 245 [detail].---Hand-drawn Victorian/rococo frame]

245 [detail].—Hand-drawn Victorian/rococo frame

This bizarre hand-drawn picture frame had three parts. It was part of a wood engraving that attempted (badly) to reproduce a mediaeval depiction of the month of May; see Fig. 245. [more...] [$]

[picture: 245 [detail].---Rectangular ornate sketched frame or border]

245 [detail].—Rectangular ornate sketched frame or border

This frame, border, or cartouche, is take from the central part of Fig. 245 (Saxon Emblems of the Month of May); it is a sketchy rectangular outline with large leaves [...] [more...] [$]


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