A Compleat Collection of English Proverbs (page 1/3)

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Chapter Heading Woodcut Featuring Soldiers on Horesback with Spears

A decorative woodcut from above the section entitled Proverbs and Proverbial Observsations cocerning Husbandry, Weather, and the Seasons of the Year. It is not related to the text. The engraving features a battle of warriors or soldiers with spears and shields. I suspect it is based on the carved side of an ancient Hellenistic (Greek) sarcophagus thought [...] [more...] [$]

Chapter Heading Woodcut featuring Eagle

This decorative woodcut was at the start of the preface; the woodcuts do not appear to bear any relation to the text, but are purely decorative. This one features an eagle, the symbol of the Roman Empire, and,more recently, or the German [...] [more...] [$]

Chapter end decoration: eagles

A decoration centered after the text of a chapter. I’ve made lots of sizes so you can use it on Web page. The woodcut was clearly fairly old and damaged, and it is not [...] [more...] [$]

Chapter Heading Woodcut featuring Neptune and Mermaids

A decorative woodcut from above the Introduction; it is not related to the text. The engraving features Neptune, the God of the Ocean; he is naked, crowned, complete with trident, and rides a chariot with [...] [more...] [$]

Chapter head with musical instruments

Chapter headpieces like this were very popular in the eighteenth century; they remained in widespread use into the early 20th century as a low-cost way to make a book appear more expensive than it really was. There was quite a market in the engraved printing-blocks such as the [...] [more...] [$]