This is fairly common but often sought after school book or primer first published in 1832. It is a sequel to "First Book of History, by the Author of Peter Parley's Tales" which was for younger students. It went through at least 30 or 40 editions before 1850, which in this case meant printings, and often there was little to differentiate between editions. These images are from the Eleventh Edition , copyright 1835 and printed in 1836. The text is full of woodcuts or a similar type of engraving. These images are small illustrations primarily showing figures in the national dress of various countries,as well as people from English and British history. The maps are, unfortunately, the weakest part of this book. They are woodcuts or likely some other type of engraving. They are beautifully rendered, but they were bound facing each other with no tissue guards, as this was an inexpensive textbook for children. The result is a great deal of shadowing or bleeding from adjacent maps, resulting in a ghost image on each page. I have not tried to correct for this. A feature I find particularly nice about these maps is the mountains. A light black, the detail is sort ...

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: ...

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="" ...

Tenniel's drawing are the classic images many of us associate with both Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. Reproduced here are the 50 images, along with the cover art, from Through the Looking Glass. The main folder in the Gallery is HERE, and there are 3 sub folders each with a different version of the images. The cleaned up images are HERE.  They are all about 1800 pixels on the longest side, so are nicely high resolution for many purposes. Smaller, PNG versions are in a subfolder, HERE.  These have the background removed, or set to transparent, which is useful for a lot of applications and uses. The originals were a bit dirty, and when I first posted this I said I would replace them if and when I got the chance.  I have now done so, but have kept the earlier versions.   The original, dirtier images are now in a subfolder, HERE.   They are a bit lower rez and not as sharp, but closer to the original as seen in the book. 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 ...

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 of 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 ...

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. I am sure it is online somewhere, ...

64 illustrations of fish, birds and mammals. I found this tattered and broken book in a lot of old books sorted into moldy and decrepit boxes. The book was not salvageable and many plates were missing, but those remaining were free of any major defects or stains. The illustrations of the fish, birds and mammals are not the best quality, but I was able to get good scans without having to any major editing or restoration, and the range of species was good enough for me to make an album out of it. Title: Five Hundred Fascinating Animal Stories: With Numerous Colored Plates Author: Alfred H. Miles Artist: Various. Publisher: The Christian Herald Date Published: 1895 The images in the gallery are in the order of fish, birds, and then mammals. Below are some representative images, linked to the gallery page where you can download various high resolution sizes at no cost. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="200" caption="Lobster"][/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="200" caption="Searobin"][/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="200" caption="Sawfish"][/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="200" caption="Blowfish"][/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="200" caption="Moonfish"][/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="200" caption="Crab"][/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="200" caption="Eel"][/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="117" caption="Shaft Tailed Bunting"][/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="118" caption="Emeu Wren"][/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="116" caption="Parrot Finch"][/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="117" caption="Pine Grosbeak"][/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="125" ...

As with some other images, I was surprised that good quality reproductions of images by Phiz (Hablot Knight Browne) were not more readily available for free. Being public domain and all, and having existed for almost 200 years, one would think they would be easier to find. He illustrated a number of Charles Dickens' works, and although I found some samples on the internet there are few if any complete collections. This is a start, at least. The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, AKA The Pickwick Papers, was published serially in 1836-1837, and the first complete edition soon followed. I must confess that I have never read the complete book. The chapters are related, but reflecting their origin the are able to be read and enjoyed individually to a degree. There is a good biography of Phiz at The Victorian Web. These images are from a late 19th century reprint, although there were seemingly hundreds of editions produced from the mid 19th century and on (I'm sure someone has tallied them all). The entire book (an early 20th century edition) is digitized at Google Books HERE. Title: The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club Author: Charles Dickens Artist: Phiz Publisher: Chapman and ...

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) rewrote six famous classic Greek myths for this book, first published in 1853. It followed by a year his equally famous A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys. These two books were among his last works and were aimed specifically at a younger audience. The stories in this edition include: The Minotaur The Pygmies The Dragon's Teeth Circe's Palace The Pomegranate Seeds The Golden Fleece Sterrett (1900-1931) died tragically young from tuberculosis. During her short career she illustrated this book as well as works such as "Old French Fairy Tales" by Comtesse de Segur, and "Arabian Nights." Some of these other illustrations (which may not be in the public domain) can be found off this site HERE. Many volumes of the book are digitized on line with the full text available. This edition is available at Archive.org and Google Books also has some texts digitized. There are also sites with Sterrett's images available, although often for a fee. I have made reproductions available for sale HERE, although you may download them for no cost in the gallery by using the link below. As always, the images are free to download in a range of high ...

Robinson Crusoe certainly ranks up there as one of the favorite books for publishers to reissue with new illustrations. The adventure, the scenery, and the familiarity with the story seem to guarantee an audience no matter the era. Daniel de Foe wrote the book in the early 18th century (1719), and I don't think anyone knows how many editions there have been, nor how many well known illustrators have taken on the challenge of presenting the material in a new light over the subsequent 290 years. Google has digitized many versions, although none with good illustration reproductions of course. You can, however, browse the various editions to get an idea of the different illustrative styles. HERE is a Google Books example from 1831, a Cochrane and Pickersgill edition, where the entire text is accessible. Alexander Frank Lydon (1836-1917) was a British artist who produced a lot of natural history work, including parrots, other birds, and fish among much else. His prints and books with his work show up frequently on eBay at fairly reasonable prices. Here is a list of current Lydon items for sale there. Grooombridge put out this edition in the mid ...

Biggle's Poultry Book was published as part of the small, pocket sized Biggle Farm Library series. These images are from the 9th edition, although the plates did not change between editions (content and chapters were added over the years). It remains very collectible in addition to having a lot of great information and reference material. It is considered an essential part of the subject's historical reference works, and is on Cornell University's list of Core Historical Literature of Agriculture (CHLA). It is a very small book, yet the illustrations are so detailed that they scan incredibly well and can be resized to many times their original size. I do not know a lot about Louis Graham, other than he liked to draw fowl. I have heard from a number of people who have original works by him (all birds) and everyone says his the originals are keepsakes and very nice. This book has 16 chromolithographed color plates along with numerous black and white illustrations. I have reproduced just about every scannable image. The color images are at the beginning of the gallery, but some of the black and white details are nice too and would be useful for ...

Many of us, through the generations since their original publication in 1916, automatically associate Wright's drawings with the Mother Goose rhymes. For thousands of people, they are the quintessential images that come to mind whenever a Mother Goose Rhyme is recited. As with many books, I was surprised to find that these images really were not available online in large, quality format. Thumbnails are available, as at Project Gutenberg which has digitized the entire text, but high resolution copies were available only for a fee, if even then. I am grateful to Project Gutenberg in that I was able to use their text to accompany the image i scanned and posted here. Mother Goose, of course, is not the true author of these rhymes. Many have been around for half a millennium or more, and the authorship is considered "traditional." A French author, Charles Perrault, compiled a group of these in the late 17th century. English translations followed and new material was added over the years. The term Mother Goose has some to mean tradition nursery rhymes, even those not technically associated with this historic collection. For this book, I have included extra large versions ...