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Pictures, Engravings and Extracts From Old Books

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

Title Page

Summary of the Law, in gold

A genteel wheelchair in Paris

11. Seal of Gusion.

Cherub with grin and cloven hoofs

Plate XVIII.—Stylized Chinese Dragon

Fig. 86.—Curves.

Decorative clip-art Victorian border, antique green

Title Page

Front Cover, Art of Decorative Design

Plate XIV—Chinese Dragon

Sir Isaac Newton

Plate XXIV.—Knowledge Is Power

And then began a murder, grim and great

Gibeon

53.8.—IHS

Cupid with a Butterfly

December Night (Dezembernacht)

The Irmin Column in the Cathedral of Hildesheim

Dark Passion Flowers

Taymouth Castle

Rustic postcard border of interleaved twigs and vines

Old Bologna (1850s)

Armillary Sphere, Scanned Version

Isaak Newton [Portrait of Sir Isaac Newton]

Initial letter V with a mermaid

Battle in the Sacred Linden Groves

Historiated decorative initial capital letter M in Blue

Title Page, Bohemia Part Two

Front Cover, Bohemia Part Two

Battle of Knights

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

Full-page border of repeated vine leaves

Votivkirche, Vienna

Avenue of Sighs

Full-page border with hearts and moons

Christmas Still Life

The Seranade

A schoolroom in Tunisia

Floriated initial capital letter “S”

Llanthony Priory, Valley of the Honddu

Adrift from The Snow Queen

Dark brown fantasy watercolour border

Free clip-art: Victorian border of twigs and leaves

initial letter R with small girl

The giants tore up trees

Leicester Hospital, Warwick

The Magical Circle of King Solomon

Scheuerfest - Spring Cleaning

Mellon’s Baby Food with baby and roses

Scrollwork Border from page 227

Monroe Colliery Co.

Title Page

Chaldee Woman

Names of Angels and Days (overview)

Rustic floral border with trellis and grapevines

Land of the Semites. Desert and Caravan.

Front Cover

2.—Stonehenge. – Restored Plan.

Peasant Girl of Pays de Vaud—Type.

Cheerful full-page vintage colour border

Cheerful double-page spread vintage colour border

Portrait of King Henry the Eighth

Engraving of smiling urchin boy carrying sack and vegetables

Nazareth, Palestine

Klara Küry as Maya in The Greek Slave

Decorative clip-art Victorian border, Black and White

Full-page border with roses, black and white

The thoughts of my spirit seek you

Portrait of Erasmus of Rotterdam

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

A Reminiscence

Choirboy singing from balcony pulpit

Cherub playing a grand piano

The Virgin Mary

Wandering Minstrel

Auf dem Weihnachtsmarkt (At Christmasfest)

Free clip-art: Eighteenth-century Border from Figures pour les Missels

Ornate Victorian Border

Seal of Coin of Libra (Obverse)

Decorative clip-art Victorian border, antique brown

Seal of Coin of Libra

Seal of Coin of Leo (obverse)

Seal of Coin of Virgo (obverse)

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

Seal of Coin of Leo

Seal of Coin of Virgo

Vorfrühling - Early Spring

Title Page, Error’s Chains

Front Cover

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

Gods of our Saxon Ancestors.

Ancient Druidic Worship at Stonehenge, England

Frontispiece: Alnwick Castle

Knight, Death and the Devil (1513)

Front Cover, Morris, Picturesque Views

Cholmondeley Castle

Title Page, Osteographia

Early Victorian Border from Book Cover

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

Deer Skeleton from 18th century engraving

Crusaders conquor Jerusalem

[Ancient] Greek Marble Mosaics 1: Olympia

Murder in the Castle

My Dearest Child (My Love)

Angel of the New year

Victorian vine-leaf page border

Saint Bonaventura as a Monk

Vignette: crucifix with skull and prayer book or bible

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