Skip to main content

This site is in danger of going away; please consider the Donate link above...

Pictures, Engravings and Extracts From Old Books

Over 4,200 free images from old, rare, antique and vintage books. High-resolution images for sale.

December Night (Dezembernacht)

The Irmin Column in the Cathedral of Hildesheim

Taymouth Castle

11. Seal of Gusion.

Rustic postcard border of interleaved twigs and vines

Old Bologna (1850s)

Isaak Newton [Portrait of Sir Isaac Newton]

Decorative clip-art Victorian border, antique green

Battle in the Sacred Linden Groves

Initial letter V with a mermaid

Title Page, Bohemia Part Two

Sir Isaac Newton

Front Cover, Bohemia Part Two

Battle of Knights

Full-page border of repeated vine leaves

53.8.—IHS

Votivkirche, Vienna

Avenue of Sighs

Christmas Still Life

Dark Passion Flowers

A schoolroom in Tunisia

Llanthony Priory, Valley of the Honddu

Armillary Sphere, Scanned Version

initial letter R with small girl

Adrift from The Snow Queen

The giants tore up trees

Historiated decorative initial capital letter M in Blue

Dark brown fantasy watercolour border

Leicester Hospital, Warwick

Scheuerfest - Spring Cleaning

clipart: initial letter S from late 15th century printed book

Mellon’s Baby Food with baby and roses

Monroe Colliery Co.

Full-page border with hearts and moons

Title Page

Front Cover

Land of the Semites. Desert and Caravan.

Floriated initial capital letter “S”

Chaldee Woman

Rustic floral border with trellis and grapevines

Cheerful double-page spread vintage colour border

Cheerful full-page vintage colour border

Engraving of smiling urchin boy carrying sack and vegetables

The Magical Circle of King Solomon

Nazareth, Palestine

Klara Küry as Maya in The Greek Slave

Full-page border with roses, black and white

Scrollwork Border from page 227

The thoughts of my spirit seek you

Portrait of Erasmus of Rotterdam

A Reminiscence

Names of Angels and Days (overview)

Auf dem Weihnachtsmarkt (At Christmasfest)

Ornate Victorian Border

Cherub playing a grand piano

2.—Stonehenge. – Restored Plan.

Christmas Mass

Seal of Coin of Libra

Seal of Coin of Libra (Obverse)

Decorative clip-art Victorian border, Black and White

Seal of Coin of Leo

Seal of Coin of Virgo

Vorfrühling - Early Spring

Front Cover

Gods of our Saxon Ancestors.

Ancient Druidic Worship at Stonehenge, England

Clip-art: calligraphic decorative initial capital letter N from XIV. Century No. 1

Title Page, Error’s Chains

Front Cover, Morris, Picturesque Views

Cholmondeley Castle

Free clip-art: Victorian border of brown twigs and green leaves

Frontispiece: Alnwick Castle

Skeleton sitting on a tree stump and waving, from 18th century engraving

Deer Skeleton from 18th century engraving

Decorative initial (drop cap) D

Title Page, Osteographia

Crusaders conquor Jerusalem

Murder in the Castle

Purple Victorian Vine-leaf Border

My Dearest Child (My Love)

Saint Bonaventura as a Monk

Clip-art: calligraphic decorative initial capital letter D from XIV. Century No. 1

Vignette: crucifix with skull and prayer book or bible

Summer Evening

Sir Christopher Hatton

Knight, Death and the Devil (1513)

Atrolabe: scientist and boy

Full-page border with bird, flowers, ivy

Collection of alms at the funeral of don Álvaro de Luna

Early Victorian Border from Book Cover

Eagle Tower, Caernarfon

They Crossed the Delaware in Safety

The figures of the Divine Letters

[Ancient] Greek Marble Mosaics 1: Olympia

William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke

Sir Philip Sidney

Corner Bookcase Ornament

Victorian vine-leaf page border

The Blizzard in America; Dead Boy in the Snow

Front Cover, Le Musée Artistique et Littéraire

Visit the full list of Recently added images and of the most popular images.

Borders and Initials

Decorative Initials and Drop Caps: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T Th U V W X Y Z
See all initials, or all alphabets, or the Decorative borders and frames

Holiday Images

Curious Old Texts, Slang and Dictionaries

A Provincial Dictionary by Francis Grose (1790); 66 regional proverbs.
Dictionary of Phrase and Fable by E. Cobham Brewer (1894); over 17,000 entries! New 2008-02-15.
Smiley's Recipe and Housekeeping Guide, historical recipes transcribed and annotated by CatamountClyde Studios.
Canting Dictionary by Nathan Bailey (1736), a dictionary of the slang of the underworld, of thieves, gypsies and vagrants. Text complete
Dictionary of the Canting Tongue by Francis Grose (1811)
Musa Pedestris: Three Centuries of Canting Songs and Slang Rhymes [1536-1896] edited by John S. Farmer, 1896.
The Nuttall Encyclpædia, by the Rev. James Wood (1907) (over 14,000 entries)
Oratio Dominica, or, The Lord’s Prayer in over a hundred Languages, Versions and Characters (Scripts) by Dan Brown (1713). I have scanned every page, and also an insert folded in the back, so this book is complete.
Dictionary of Proverbs by Nathan Bailey, 1721. The whole book in text and images (complete)
The Grammar of Heraldry, by Samuel Kent 1718. I have typed the first chapter on how to Blazon, etc., and will do more if requested.
Universal Etymological English Dictionary, edited by Nathan Bailey, 1736. A little under 500 entries, but very incomplete; this is a transcription I started in 1991. It is a different book than the dictionary containing the Canting Dictionary.
The Itinerary of John Leland the Antiquary edited by Thomas Hearne, 1745. 122 page images including cover and title page; I have started to transcribe names that appear in the text.
More wonderful old texts at words.fromoldbooks.org

The Pictures: Woodcuts, Engravings & Clip art

Pictures of Old Books