Friendship's Offering was an annual anthology that appeared for at least a few decades in the mid 19th century, starting in the early 1820's.   Regular contributors and editors over the years included Mary Shelley, M. A. Browne, Mary Roberts, Alicia Jane Sparrow, Grace Aguilar and others who wrote either under their own name or anonymously.   Often, instead of by name authors were identified as "Author of 'Reveries of the Sanctum'" or some other piece. At some point, John Sartain started contributing illustrations, often engravings of famous works by classical artists (sculptors, painters, etc.).  Sartain was a pioneer of American engraving, influencing almost all who came after him.  He introduced the use of mezzotints in America, and I am fairly sure the engravings in this book are in that style.  If not, they are closely related. Some editions are available, complete with low quality Sartain plates, at Google Books. The 1852 edition is HERE.  The 1855 edition HERE. Title:  Friendship's Offering, A Christmas, New Year, and Birthday Present for MDCCCXLVIII Author:  Miss M. A. Browne, Mrs. Abdy, Calder Campbell, Esq., Anonymous, Miss Louisa H. Sheridan, N. Michell, Esq., Miss M. G. Wells, Lord Morpeth, E. Scaife, THe Hon. Charles Phipps, Fay Robinson, Mrs. Sutton. Artist: ...

Knights of the Round Table, Medieval Chivalry, Errant Warriors, Castles, Magic and Sorcery. Pyle offered one of the classic tellings of Arthurian lore and legends, profusely illustrating this and others of his own books. Pyle (1853-1911) also wrote and illustrated classic retellings of other Arthurian tales as well as Robin Hood. He also authored original stories which he illustrated, along with many other titles such as He was perhaps one of the most influential children's book illustrators, influencing such artists as N.C. Wyeth, Frank Schoonover and others. The Brandywine River Museum in Pennsylvania, just north of Wilmington, DE has a very good collection of Pyle's work along with those he influenced. Title: The Story of King Arthur and His Knights Author: Howard Pyle Artist: Howard Pyle Publisher: Charles Scribner's Sons Date Published: 1903 Below are some representative image of the found in the Gallery. Each image is linked to a page where it may be downloaded in various sized high resolution formats. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="177" caption="King Arthur of Britain"][/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="200" caption="Herald"][/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="200" caption="Angel"][/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="178" caption=" Uther-Pendragon"][/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="200" caption=" Herald"][/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="177" caption="Sir Kay breaketh his sword at ye Tournament."][/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="200" caption="Two ...

Maps? On a site about Old Book Art? Well, yes. Many maps, after all, even those you see framed and sold singly, have been removed from old atlases (either recently or hundreds of years ago). I have quite a few pre-1923 atlases and I have scanned a few of the smaller ones. (Those large folio, double folio and elephant folio atlases cannot be effectively scanned using the equipment I have.) I also own and have high quality images of hundreds of other old maps. Anyway, yes. My own appreciation of old books and their beauty started with atlases, and maps have been something I collect, albeit in a small amateurish manner, for almost my entire life. So, as I did not want to start a whole new website just for the maps that did not happen to be in an atlas, I thought I would add this category for both atlases as well as maps not from atlases. Some of the images are from other websites such as the Library of Congress. At first I was only going to post my own maps and scans, but upon consideration I decided to post others as well. There are ...

This was the first map I ever scanned and posted. It is one of f the first maps I ever acquired, sometime in the 1970's if I recall correctly. I forget what I paid for it, but it was not too expensive, and you can still pick up maps such as this for a fairly reasonable price. Again, my popular lament applies to maps such as this: why is it so hard to find good quality, high resolution images for free on the internet? Small maps such as this are easy to scan, and most are very well preserved even if they were removed from their atlases and separated for sale 200 years ago. I have often thought the answer must be some sort of proprietary selfishness. That does not make a huge amount of sense to me, although I do understand it. I have sold plenty of maps, and I do not think that people who are seeking an original will be deterred from paying if they can have a free facsimile instead. Collectors are collectors and want the real thing. Other people will probably not pay for an original anyway. Additionally, maps are such a great historic and artistic ...

Lloyd's Natural History, published in the late 19th century, had many volumes, covering almost the entire animal kingdom. The species described are quite comprehensive, and the 32 plates represent only a small part of the information in the volume. Most volumes had 30 or more color plates, about 5 by 7 inches. As with other Lloyd titles, this book can be found, usually for under $200. The plates being intact make it desirable. Title: Lloyd's Natural History. A Hand-Book to the Carnivora. Part I. Cats, Civets, and Mungooses Author: Richard Lydekker, B.A, F.R.S., Vice-President of the Geological Society, etc.,etc.,etc. Artist: Various. Publisher: Edward Lloyd Date Published: 1896 [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="200" caption="Lion, Felis leo"][/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="200" caption="Lioness and Cubs, Felis leo"][/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="200" caption="Lion-Tiger, Felis leo (hybrid)"][/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="200" caption="Tiger, Felis tigris"][/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="200" caption=""Tiger and Cubs""][/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="200" caption="Leopard, or Panther, Felis pardus"][/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="200" caption="Ounce (Snow Leopard), Felis uncia"][/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="200" caption="Jaguar, Felis onca"][/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="200" caption="Puma, Felis concolor"][/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="200" caption="Clouded Leopard, Felis nebulosa"][/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="200" caption="Marbled Cat, Felis marmorata"][/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="200" caption="Fishing Cat, Felis viverrina"][/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="200" caption="Leopard-Cat, Felis bengalensis"][/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="200" caption="Leopard-Cat (Javan Variety), Felis javanensis"][/caption] [caption id="" ...

Joel Tyler Headley is remembered in the annals of Adirondack history, and by book collectors and aficionados, as one of the first writers, if not the first, to draw true, widespread attention to the region. The Adirondack; or Life n the Woods, written after a pair of trips north in the 1840’s, sold well and promoted interest in the Adirondacks as an unspoiled wilderness and a potential health and recreational retreat. Headley’s long career, though, was hardly defined by the book. He went on to work in the New York City newspaper business, he was elected to the assembly, and he served as New York’s Secretary of State for a brief term. His trips, enforced vacations taken soon after his ordination as a Presbyterian minister, were dictated by what was apparently over-work, a mental breakdown, or some similar situation. In his words, an “attack on the brain first drove me from the haunts of men to seek mental repose and physical strength in the woods.” Whatever the reason, the book is seminal. He paints the mountains and the journey in the light of similar European tours historically taken to the Scottish Highlands or the Alps, and helps set the tone ...

Evelyn Paul lived in the late 19th and the early 20th century and worked to beautifully illuminate and illustrate many books. Many had art with Christian themes such as this, but her work was much broader as well. Most if not all of her work was done in the first quarter of the 20th century. Many people feel that she did her best work for the books (such as La Vita Nuova) put out by Harrap. Because the text is available elsewhere, I have not scanned or included that much here. The complete texts and illustrations of this as well as some of the other manuscripts she illuminated are available (off this site) CLICK HERE. I have included two versions of most images. The paper and colors were fairly age toned, so I removed some of this. I tried to fix any color distortion or brightness issues, but I cannot say how well teh touched up images reflect the original state of the illustrations. The only copies I have seen have been similarly ages. Some images, such as the angel from page 115, I have posted in a few versions to reflect the colors brought ...

Tenniel's drawing are the classic images many of us associate with both Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. Reproduced here are 50 images. I apologize that some are a bit dirty. I have cleaned them up as well as reasonably possible, and will replace them if and when I get another, less aged, early edition. I also seem to have misplaced the text that went with each image, so for now they are untitled with anything other than the image number I gave them when I scanned them. I am creating this post now though as I have no idea when I will get to the captions and descriptions. To see or download the full text of the book (off this site and without illustrations) at Project Gutenberg CLICK HERE. Title: Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There Author: Lewis Carroll Artist: John Tenniel Publisher: Henry Altemus Date Published: 1897 All 50 images are in the GALLERY for this title and ready to be downloaded. Here are some samples, each of which leads to the image page for that picture.

The University of Oldenburg has digitized and made available a wonderfully extensive collection of old children's books, mostly from the 19th century. I came across the collection a couple of years ago when I was researching an old German children's picture book a colleague had come across. The title was vague enough to begin with, but even with a fairly accurate (if overly literal) translation I could not find any information. Finally I came across the Oldenburg site, and was very pleased with the extent of titles and images available. I found the book, too, one out of about 400 titles they have scanned and posted. Oldenburg's images are not the highest quality. For about 20 euros they will sell you a CD of a title with higher resolution images, which is not a bad deal if you need (or want) them. Most books available for free online will yield usable images of between 800 and 1500 pixels, though, so many people will be perfectly happy with what is available. The images are dirty rough though, and need a lot of cleaning. I here have pulled the images from this 1876 guide ...

The Oz books have, of course, gone though countless reprintings and adaptations. As with some other books, I was surprised that the images were not more readily and freely available online. This, the second book in the series, introduces many of the major characters who appear throughout the rest of the books. It also revises the history of Oz a bit, re-casting the Wizard in a less flattering light and changing the history to get Ozma (Tip) into the framework. The entire text of the book (no illustrations) online at Project Gutenberg. Links to the the full text of the first 15 books in the Oz series are available through Gutenberg as well HERE. Title: The Marvelous Land of Oz: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman and Also the Strange Experiences of the Highly-Magnified Woggle-Bug, Jack Pumpkinhead, the Animated Saw-Horse and the Gump Author: L. Frank Baum Artist: John R. Neill Publisher: Reilly & Britton Date Published: 1904 All the images are available for download at full resolution in the GALLERY. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="149" caption=""Tip stood the figure up and admired it""][/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="151" caption=""The boy stretched himself upon the grass""][/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="147" caption=""'It's the fashion here,' said ...

A fun little retelling of this childhood classic. This was one of a series put out by M. A. Donohue & Company in the early 20th century, none of which indicated authorship or gave credit to an artist. Others in the series included Peter Rabbit, Chicken Little, The Three Bears, and other popular stories of that type. I have also scanned and reproduced here the endpapers, which include all the character from the different stories in a forest together. Granny doesn't get eaten. The woodman is homeless. Little Red Riding Hood climbs on top of the canopy bed and fall asleep there. A few things were changed for this telling. I have included at the end of the gallery full scans of the book so the text is viewable as well. Title: Little Red Riding Hood - Retold Author: unattributed Artist: unattributed Publisher: M. A. Donohue & Company Date Published: 1921 Following are some samples form the book. There are 27 in all, not including the unedited scans fo the full text. I have edited them a bit to brighten the tones and eliminate some aging and other small flaws. All the images, large format JPEG and available ...

Based on the journals of Union Army prisoners, this book was published right after the Civil War. It details the harsh conditions and atrocities of prison life in Andersonville, Florence as well as some details of the war in general. It has 13 full page illustrations, all of which have been edited to correct a lot of age toning and a few tears and spots. Title: Life and Death in Rebel Prisons Author: Robert H. Kellogg Artist: Various Publisher: L. Stebbins Date Published: 1867 The full size, high resolution images are all available for free download in the gallery. Each picture below links directly to the page for that image. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="200" caption="The Midnight Storm: Our Miserable Lodgings"][/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="127" caption="Andersonville Stockade"][/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="200" caption="Rebel Mode of Capturing Escaped Prisoners"][/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="200" caption="Prisoners Receiving Rations"][/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="200" caption="Hanging Union Prisoners"][/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="200" caption="Break Away of the Stockade by the Flood"][/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="130" caption="Plan of Hospital, Andersonville"][/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="200" caption="Interior View of Hospital"][/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="118" caption="Plan of Stockade at Florence"][/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="200" caption="Hanging by the Thumbs"][/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="200" caption="View of Libby Prison"][/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="129" caption="Execution of Captain Wirz"][/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" ...

This is one out of two or three Civil War era books I have scanned images from, each of which has a small number of nice black and white drawings. Days and Nights has eight full page illustrations, all of which I have put in the gallery and linked to using the images below. I have done a bit of touch up as the images were quite age toned and spotted. This book was written and published during the United States Civil War as an attempt to explain and describe the "Great Rebellion." "Carleton" was the pen name of Charles Carleton Coffin. These images are from the 2nd edition (1864), although the book went through many subsequent editions and publishers. It is considered a Civil War classic and remains in print to this day. The entire book (this edition in fact) is digitized at Google Books HERE. Title: My Days and Nights on the Battle-Field: A Book for Boys Author: "Carleton" Artist: Various, or unattributed. Publisher: Ticknor and Fields Date Published: 1863 (1864) [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="149" caption="The Dying Patriot"][/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="155" caption="The Great Mistake"][/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="200" caption="Capture of Fort Henry"][/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="151" caption="Charge of Lauman's Brigade at Fort Donelson"][/caption] [caption id="" ...

Most Libraries have map collections of one sort or another. Some, such as the Library of Congress (LOC), have digitized such a vast number that it seems as though you could never browse through them all. The LOC is also so big as to be unwieldy at times, and they archive their images in an assortment of formats which are sometimes cumbersome to download and convert in to a more easily readable form. Smaller collections such as Michigan State University's are often more focussed, and when you are lucky they even offer good sized images. I say "smaller" when in fact, to quote their website: "The Map Library houses a collection of general and thematic maps and atlases for every area of the world. The collection consists of approximately 212,000 sheet maps, 14,000 folded geologic maps, and 4,000 atlases, gazetteers and other reference aids including wall maps, globes, CDs and Internet-accessible resources. The collection is especially strong in Michigan, United States, Canada, Africa, Asia, and Latin America, though all areas are collected at some level. Specialized collections include 19th-21st century Michigan county atlases and plat books; a small Braille map and atlas collection of U.S. states and ...

I bought this atlas by a mistake (sight unseen). The person selling it claimed it was an atlas from the mid 1800's by Louis-Etienne Dussieux, and I got it at a price I thought was a steal. I found out soon enough that it was in fact a rebound assortment of maps, most of which cam from various editions of Monin's atlas. All but a few appear to be from the 1822 edition, while a few are from the later editions through 1835. One map, of France, was by Dussieux which led to the misidentification. The entire volume was bound up with coarse thread and sewn into a makeshift cover of two tattered boards which may or may not have been original. I did not complain; it was a nice assortment of maps and I eventually ended up selling the collection for more than a fair profit, but not before I scanned the maps. Here they are, 40 out of the 42 that should be here. Some are from a later edition, as I said, and I am not sure what the two missing maps are. It is hard to find references on the atlas. ...