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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.
2049.—Oliverian or Puritan (Jeffrey’s Dresses)
See Fig. 2045.
The Puritan is shown carrying a book, presumably the Bible, as his weapon. [$]
2050.—Helmets, 1645. (From Specimens at Goodrich Court.)
Helmets worn by soldiers in the English Civil War. See Fig. 2045 for details. [$]
2055.—Fair Lemons and Oranges.
A woman with apron tied at her waist carries two baskets, one under her arm and one balanced on her head and resting on top of her broad-brimmed hat; the baskets are filled with fruit. [...] [more...] [$]
2056.—Old Shoes for some Brooms!
A man is standing with half a dozen straw brooms on his back, tied to a stick he holds in his left hand. He wears a broad-brimmed hat and simple shoes; his coat is in holes, as is his shirt or tunic underneath it. He faces away from us, although, oddly, his right leg is twisted as if it was put on backwards, perhaps through some deformity or perhaps [...] [more...] [$]
2085.—[Samuel] Butler’s House, Pershore
The picture shows the house where Samuel Butler (1613 – 1680), the English poet, was born. It is a farmhouse like many others from the period in England, with a thatched roof and brick chimneys. it has an unevenness that adds a quality of [...] [more...] [$]
2086.—Plan of St. Giles in the Fields.
This plan of the village of St. Giles-in-the-Fields was made in or before 1840, by which time it was already becoming subsumed into London. [more...] [$]
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