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John Sartain: Friendship’s Offering 1848

John — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 13:27:58 +0000

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: John Sartain
Publisher: Phillips and Sampson
Date Published: 1848

The images below link to the gallery page where they can be downloaded in high resolution JPEG format. They have all been edited for aging and discoloration. I have included very large (3000 pixel) copies of these engravings.

Canova: Dancing Girl Reposing

Lawrence: Title Vignette

Court: The Cage

Wright: Our Cottage Home

Court: Mary

Wright: Alexina

Parris: The Roman Sisters

Wright: The Harvesters

Corbould: The Earthquake

Carnivora: Cats, Civets, and Mungooses

John — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 03:51:56 +0000

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

Lion, Felis leo

Lioness and Cubs, Felis leo

Lion-Tiger, Felis leo (hybrid)

Tiger, Felis tigris

"Tiger and Cubs"

Leopard, or Panther, Felis pardus

Ounce (Snow Leopard), Felis uncia

Jaguar, Felis onca

Puma, Felis concolor

Clouded Leopard, Felis nebulosa

Marbled Cat, Felis marmorata

Fishing Cat, Felis viverrina

Leopard-Cat, Felis bengalensis

Leopard-Cat (Javan Variety), Felis javanensis

Serval, Felis serval

Ocelot, Felis pardalis

Ocelot (variety), Felis pardalis

Tiger-Cat, Felis tigrina

Eyra, Felis eyra

Caffre Cat, Felis caffra

Wild Cat, Felis catus

Colocolo, Felis colocolo

Desert Cat, Felis ornata

Caracal, Felis caracal

Lynx, Felis lynx

Hunting Leopard, Cynaelurus jubatus

Fossa, Cryptoprocta ferox

African Civet, African Civet

Blotched Genet

Hardwicke's Hemigale, Hemigale hardwickii

Common Palm Civet, Paradoxuus hermaphroditus

Egyptian Mungoose, Herpestes ichneumon

Broad-Banded Cusimanse, Crossarchus fasciatus

John Tenniel: Through the Looking Glass

John — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 00:41:55 +0000

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.

Little Red Riding Hood – Retold

John — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 14:24:36 +0000

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 for free download, are in the gallery.

Her grandmother, who was very fond of her, made her a little red cloak and hood

Where does your Grandmother live?

when the grandmother saw his wicked face, she jumped out of bed and ran.

The better to eat you with!' cried the wolf, and leaped out of bed; but he became entangled in the bedclothes...

When the wolf found he could not reach her, he got back into bed again. It was very quiet in the little house for some time.

"And the next day Grandmother had the nicest tea party"

Sample Page of Full Text - Unedited

Michigan State University Map Library

John — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 15:39:40 +0000

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 continents; and Michigan Flood Insurance Rate Maps. The sheet map collection includes maps from the 17th to 21st centuries. A major portion of the sheet map collection consists of United States Geological Survey and U.S. Department of Defense products received through government depository programs. Many foreign topographic maps series are also collected, acquired by purchase and through Library of Congress map exchange programs. Other maps include foreign and domestic city and road maps, and maps from magazine subscriptions such as Petroleum Economist and National Geographic. Most supplementary maps from books in the Main Library are also housed in the Map Library.”

Too frequently when you discover a good archive all you can see are small thumbnails, or zoomable images which cannot be downloaded. Here though, although only a miniscule portion is digitized, those maps that are available are great quality and offered as a quick download in JPEG format as a link on the zoomable Zoomify Viewer page. This is the kind of user friendly map page that I wish more collections would offer.

I came across their Online Map Collection when I was cataloging and uploading my own African maps from various atlases. Following are some samples from their African collection. I have somewhat smaller images here, but on their site you can get them at their full scale.

Map of Africa, Mitchell 1867

Africa, J. H. Colton 1876

Afrique (Africa), Lamirault 1886

Afrika Politische Übersicht (Africa - Political Overview), Meyers 1892

Aquatorial-Afrika (Equatorial Africa), Meyers 1892

Ober-Guinea und West-Sudan (Upper Guinea and Wester Sudan), Meyers 1892

Algerien, Marokko und Tunis (Algeria, Morocco and Tunis - Tunisia), Meyers 1892

Agyptenin Darfur und Abessinien (Egypt Darfur and Abyssinia), Meyers 1892

Map of Africa, I. F. Andreevskago 1890

Africa Population, J. G. Bartholomew 1913 / J. M. Dent & Sons

Africa Religions & Missions, J. G. Bartholomew 1913 / J. M. Dent & Sons

Africa - Political, J. G. Bartholomew / Meiklejohn 1922

E. V. Monin: Atlas Universel de Géographie

John — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 01:26:30 +0000

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, but I gave up trying to find a compete index. There was nothing in this set but the maps. No title page or other front matter survived.

Title: Atlas Universel de Géographie Ancienne and Moderne en 42 Cartes
Cartographer: E. V. Monin
Publisher: Lecoffre (?)
Date Published: 1822-1835

All these images are in our gallery and available for free download in various high resolution sizes.

Afrique (Africa)

Afrique Meridionale (Southern Africa)

Sénégambie et Guinée (Senegambia and Guinea)

Afrique Septentrionale (North Africa)

Egypte (Egypt)

Egypte, Palestine, Syrie et Phoenicie (Egypt, Palestine, Syria and Phoenicia)

Carte de la Terre Sainte (Map of the Holy Land)

Europe (Europe)

Turquie D'Europe (Turkey in Europe)

Empire D'Autriche (Austrian Empire)

Suisse (Switzerland)

Italie (Italy)

France en 32 Gouvernemens (France in 32 Governments)

Espagne et Portugal (Spain and Portugal)

Suède, Norvège, et Danemark (Sweden, Norway, and Denmark)

Hollande et Belgique (Holland and Belgium)

Allemagne ou Confédération Germanique (German Confederation)

Prusse (Prussia)

Russie D'Europe (Russia in Europe

Empire de Charlemagne (Empire of Charlemagne)

Italie Ancienne (Ancient Italy)

La Gaul Sous L'Empire Romain (Gaul under the Roman Empire)

Empire Romain (Roman Empire)

Empire et Marches D'Alexandre (Alexander's Empire)

La Grèce et ses Colonies (Greece and its Colonies)

Monde Connu des Anciens (The World as Known to the Ancients)

Asie (Asia)

Turquie d'Asie (Turkey in Asia)

Perse, Kaboul, et Beloutchistan (Persia, Kabul, and Beloutchistan)

Indes (India)

Chine et Japon (China and Japan)

Sibérie ou Russe D'Asie (Siberia, Russia in Asia)

Océanie (Oceania)

Amérique Septentrionale (North America)

États-Unis de L'Amerique du Nord (The United States of North America)

Amérique Méridionale (South America)

Colombie et Guyanne (Colombia and Guyana)

Pérou et Bolivia (Peru and Bolivia)

Brésil (Brazil)

Five Hundred Fascinating Animal Stories

John — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 16:18:53 +0000

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.

Lobster

Searobin

Sawfish

Blowfish

Moonfish

Crab

Eel

Shaft Tailed Bunting

Emeu Wren

Parrot Finch

Pine Grosbeak

Linnet

Crested Malimbus

Orangutan

Aardvark

Fox Terriers

Polar Bears

Giraffes

Elephants

Phiz: The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club

John — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 15:40:00 +0000

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 Hall
Date Published: 1836

Below is a sampling of the images I have made available for free in the GALLERY. There are 43 image in total, all available for download at no cost in various high resolution sizes.

Frontispiece

Vignette Title Detail

Winkle Soothes the Refractory Mare

The Fat Boy Awake

Wardle and His Friends Under the Influence of The Salmon

The Unexpected Breaking-Up the Seminary of the Seminary for Young Ladies

Pickwick in the Pound

The Goblin and the Sexton

The Red-Nosed Man Discourseth

The Ghostly Passengers in the Ghost of a Mail

The Rival Editors

Weller and his Friends Drinking to Mr. Pell

Virginia Frances Sterrett: Tanglewood Tales

John — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 14:28:18 +0000

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 resolution sizes.

Title: Tanglewood Tales
Author: Nathaniel Hawthorne
Artist: Virginia Frances Sterrett
Publisher: The Penn Publishing Company
Date Published: 1921

Antaus and the Pygmies

Ariadne and Theseus

Cadmus and the Dragon

Europa and the Bull

Harmonia

Jason and Medea

Medea and the Snakes

Proserpina and the Sea Nymphs

Proserpina in Pluto’s Palace

Proserpina in Pluto's Palace

The Golden Fleece

Ulysses in Circe's Palace

The Second Book of History – Atlas Included

John — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 15:35:40 +0000

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 of lost in the background until you take a very close look.

Title: The Second Book of History, Including The Modern History of Europe, Africa, and Asia
Author: “Designed as a Sequel to the ‘First Book of History, by the Author of Peter Parley’s Tales.’”
Artist: Illustrated by Engravings and Sixteen Maps
Publisher: Charles J. Hendee
Date Published: 1836 (1835)

Image Gallery

Map Gallery