This is another book I posted to the gallery quite a while ago, but I never got around to making a post here on the main page. Owen Jones (1809-1874) was a British architect, decorative artist, author and educator. Through his efforts to publish his findings on the historic use of colour in decoration, he also became one of the pioneers of chromolithography. He published many seminal and definitive works, including The Grammar of Ornament (1856), a highly influential book in ornamentation and decorative arts. The borders alone make this illuminated book memorable, and the illustrations are wonderful too. These images come from a completely disbound and very discolored, spotted and darkened copy I came across. I had to do a lot of image enhancement after the initial scans, and while I have restored most of the luster there may be some distortion from the original shades. This is seen on some of the matched borders, which originally were identical but are now slightly different in some of the images. In any case, the images and the borders could have a lot of uses, so feel free to download and use however you please.  These are all public domain as I did all ...

This title is quite scarce, if not actually rare, at least in English. First published in Europe in the 1840's, these woodcut images were scanned from the 1845 American edition, likely the first edition in the U.S. but I am not sure. I am also unsure if these are all the images, as the book was damaged and missing few leaves of text. It did not look as though any illustration pages were missing, but the only bibliographic references I found were sketchy so it is hard to tell. In the preface the translator writes "The following graphic and authentic descriptions of the incredible barbarities and wickedness of the Spanish Inquisition is written by a Roman Catholic. Whilst many of the characters who figure in the following story are fictitious, the author has adhered closely to facts in every thing relating to the usages of the horrid tribunal which he describes. The portrait of the monster is exact, but the drapery is artificial. The immense popularity of the work on the continent of Europe will surprise no one who peruses its pages. They present unquestionably the most thrilling exhibition of the atrocious wickedness of the Inquisition any where recorded, and this ...

One of the most popular poems of the 19th century, and reputedly a favorite of Queen Victoria, this work has fallen into relative obscurity. It went through countless editions, and this edition is notable for its many engravings. Thorpe wrote this verse in trochaic heptameter, which has a very classic and dramatic cadence. I have included the entire text of the poem below the last image.  I have scanned about 20 or 25 images in total from this book.  Some samples are shown below.  All of the images are available in this book's album in the Gallery. Title: Curfew Must Not Ring Tonight Author: Rosa Hartwick Thorpe Artist: F. T. Merrill and E. H. Garrett; Drawn and Engraved under the supervision of George T. Andrew Publisher: Lee and Shepard Date Published: 1882 Click an image to go directly to that picture's page in the gallery album. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="192" caption="Cover Detail. Close up of the bell, with its rope, clapper and a decorative edging. "][/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="147" caption="Frontispiece. The young woman Bessie dressed in fine clothes and jewels, bordered by cherubs and angels. "][/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="200" caption=""With its walls so tall and gloomy" The prison tower set against the darkening sky. "][/caption] [caption ...

Woodroffe made these illustrations in the late 19th century.   The text is straight Shakespeare, selected and edited by Rhys.  The initial scans came through quite age toned.  It was difficult to correct, as some of the detail kept getting lost, so I have included both the raw scans as well as the edited versions in the GALLERY for this book. Woodroffe was a prolific illustrator of the period.  His work included a lot of Shakespeare, Bible stories, children's books, and the like. I have put the accompanying text with some of the illustrations. The book, including lower resolution scans of these pictures, is fully digitzed HERE. Title: Songs from the Plays of Shakespeare Author: William Shakespeare, Ernest Rhys (editor) Illustrator: Paul Woodroffe Publisher: The Guild of Women-Binders Date Published: 1901 The Images below all link to the gallery where they are available for free download in many high resolution sizes of JPEG files. YOU spotted snakes, with double tongue, Thorny hedgehogs, be not seen; Newts and blind-worms do no wrong, Come not near our fairy Queen! Weaving spiders, come not here; Hence, you long-legg'd spinners, hence! Beetles black, approach not near; Worm nor snail, do no offence. Philomel, with melody Sing in our sweet lullaby; Lulla, lulla, lullaby, Lulla, lulla, lullaby: Never harm Nor spell nor charm Come our lovely lady nigh: So, ...

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: ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...