Original Winnie The Pooh Drawings

Winnie the Pooh [Lot]

"Pooh pushed and pushed and pushed his way through the hole..."

"Oh, help!" said Pooh. "I'd better go back."
"Oh, bother!" said Pooh. "I shall have to go on."
"I can't do either!" said Pooh. "Oh, help and bother!" [Lot]

He nodded and went out ...and in a moment I heard Winnie-the-Pooh
– bump, bump, bump – going up the stairs behind him." [Lot]

"This original illustration is reproduced on page 159 of Winnie-the-Pooh and comprises a full-page illustration in the published volume. It represents one of the iconic images of Winnie-the-Pooh and comes from the final chapter in which Christopher Robin gives a Pooh party, and we say good-bye.

..."What do you see there?"
"Tracks," said Piglet. "Paw-marks..."
Oh, Pooh! Do you thinks it's a – a – a Woozle?"

"This original illustration is reproduced on page 34 of Winnie-the-Pooh from the chapter in which Pooh and Piglet go hunting and nearly catch a woozle. This is the first drawing in the sequence of hunting illustrations." [Lot]

"What?" said Piglet, with a jump.

"This original illustration is reproduced on page 37 of Winnie-the-Pooh. It is from the chapter in which Pooh and Piglet go hunting and nearly catch a woozle. It is the third drawing in the sequence of hunting illustrations." [Lot]

A Happy New Year [Lot]

Christmas Greetings

"This illustration of Eeyore with holly, Pooh with a jar of honey and Piglet with a Christmas cracker comprises the original illustration for the only known Christmas card created by E.H. Shepard featuring the A.A. Milne characters." [Lot]

"Do You See Piglet? Look At Their Tracks!"

"This original illustration is reproduced (at a different angle to the original) on page 38 of Winnie-the-Pooh. It is from the chapter in which Pooh and Piglet go hunting and nearly catch a woozle. It is the fourth and final drawing in the sequence of hunting illustrations." [Lot]

"...there was a little left at the very bottom of the jar,
and he pushed his head right in..."

"This original illustration is reproduced on page 64 of Winnie-the-Pooh. It is from the chapter in which Piglet meets a Heffalump.
The reverse of the drawing includes a note that this drawing was given by Shepard's daughter as a gift in 1974." [Lot]

"With these few words he went on tracking, and Piglet,
after watching him for a minute or two, ran after him..."

"This original illustration is reproduced on page 35 of Winnie-the-Pooh and comprises a full-page illustration in the published volume. It is from the chapter in which Pooh and Piglet go hunting and nearly catch a woozle. It is the second drawing in the sequence of hunting illustrations." [Lot]

"...Christopher Robin finished the mouthful he was eating
and said carelessly: "I saw a Heffalump to-day, Piglet."

"This original illustration is reproduced on page 55 of Winnie-the-Pooh. It is from the chapter in which Piglet meets a Heffalump." [Lot]

"I'm not throwing it, I'm dropping it Eeyore."

{"Pooh had got the biggest stone he could carry, and was leaning over the bridge, holding it in his paws."}

"This original illustration was reproduced on page 98 of The House at Pooh Corner and is from the chapter in which Pooh invents the game of Poohsticks. At this point Eeyore had fallen into the river and Pooh, Piglet and Rabbit were attempting to make waves to wash him to the bank." [Lot]

"Just the house for owl. Don't you think so, little Piglet?"

"This original illustration was reproduced on page 159 of The House at Pooh Corner and is from the chapter in which Eeyore finds the Wolery and Owl moves into it. It shows Eeyore suggesting to Piglet that Piglet's house, the "Wolery", would be a perfect new home for Owl."

"Lucky we know the forest so well or we might get lost." [Lot]

Piglet gets ready for the party.

"This Shepard drawing is a later version of that reproduced on page 149 of Winnie-the-Pooh from the final chapter of the book in which Christopher Robin gives a Pooh party." [Lot]

The Bath

The Bathmat

Christopher Robin gave a deep sigh... At the door he
turned and said, "Coming to see me have my bath?"

"These original illustrations are reproduced on pages 19 and viii respectively of Winnie-the-Pooh." [Lot]

The Friend

"When offered at auction in May 1998 it was noted that a previous owner had typed the verse 'The Friend' (from Now We Are Six) and attached it to the back of the original frame (now destroyed). That poem notes that 'lots and lots of people... are always asking things' and Winnie-the-Pooh is a companion or confidant when confronted with these general knowledge questions. The published illustration shows Christopher Robin with Winnie-the-Pooh and, probably, a writing slate.

The idea of friendship through letter-writing is therefore not present in the poem and the illustration offered here may comprise an earlier illustration before Shepard had read Milne's verse." [Lot]

The Pooh Cook Book Preparatory Sketch(es)

"This preparatory sketch includes the reverse of the leaf prepared with pencil rubbing for transfer of outlines. The Pooh Cook Book, "inspired by" the A.A. Milne stories was written by Katie Stewart and published by Methuen in 1971. It was later renamed The Pooh Corner Cook Book." [Lot]

Very Small Beetle exercising round a gorse-bush

"Pooh!" he cried. "There's something climbing up your back."

"These original illustrations are reproduced on pages 52 and 47 respectively of The House at Pooh Corner. They both come from the chapter in which a search for Small is 'organdized'." [Lot]

"..then they went on to Kanga's house, holding on to each other.."

"This original illustration was reproduced on page 129 of The House at Pooh Corner and is from the chapter in which Piglet does a very grand thing. It shows Pooh and Piglet walking against the wind on the way to Kanga's house." [Lot]

"...and when Christopher Robin had nailed it on in its
right place again, Eeyore frisked about the forest..."

"This original illustration is reproduced on page 52 of Winnie-the-Pooh. It is from the chapter in which Eeyore loses a tail and Pooh finds one." [Lot]

Tailpiece illustration to AA Milne's 'Wind on the Hill'

"...But if I stopped holding
The string of my kite,
It would blow with the wind
For a day and a night..." [Lot]

"As soon as he got home, he went to the larder; and he stood on a
chair, and took down a very large jar of honey from the top shelf."

"These preparatory sketches reveal Shepard's typical working practice with the reverse of the leaf prepared with pencil rubbing for transfer of outlines. The images show some heavy pencil markings where Shepard has heavily pressed down on his pencil for the process. The images are early since the spelling of Hunny has not yet been adopted within the illustration." [Lot]

"...Winnie-the-Pooh lived in a forest all by himself under the name of Sanders.
"What does 'under the name' mean?" asked Christopher Robin.
"It means he had the name over the door in gold letters, and lived under it..."

"This original illustration is reproduced on page 3 of Winnie-the-Pooh and therefore accompanies the chapter in which Winnie-the-Pooh is first introduced." [Lot]

Preparatory sketch-map for endpapers of Winnie the Pooh.

"This is a preparatory drawing for the sketch-map reproduced on the endpapers of Winnie-the-Pooh and therefore one of the most celebrated locations in children's literature. Although the geography was not revised, several captions were evidently changed. 'Eeyores Gloomy Place' was originally 'Eeyores Pasture Land' and the 'Floody Place' was originally captioned 'Floods Might Happen Here'. Shepard also poses the question 'What sort of House is Kangas?' at the top of the map. The caption at the foot originally appeared as 'Drawn by Me helped by Mr Shepard' and shows a process of revision to 'Drawn by Me and Mr Shepard helped'. It was printed as 'Drawn by Me and Mr Shepard helpd'." [Lot]

(A version of-) 'Tiggers don't like Honey'

Oval pencil drawing of Winnie-the-Pooh, Tigger and Piglet sold on November 4, 2008 for £31200.

[click on any image - except the last - for a larger version]

All illustrations are by EH Shepard. {It is more probable than likely that they remain protected by copyright although I'm not sure I can determine just who (or which entity) owns those rights; nor am I sure what the extent of those rights might be. Suffice it to say that I accept that a variety of entities have a potential interest, and it is possible that this post may be removed if valid objections are raised. A wise man once told me that regions of universal harmony can be generated within the confluence of homage, fair use and free publicity, however. I'm banking on his having been sober at the time.}


These delightful illustrations are from the Sotheby's catalogue - click 'browse catalogue' - pertaining to the auction of forty two items, 'That sort of Bear': E.H. Shepard's Winnie-the-Pooh From the Collections of Stanley J Seeger and Christopher Cone, which will be held at New Bond Street in London on 17th December, 2008.

Ernest Howard Shepard (1879-1976) was born in London and encouraged to draw from a young age by his artist mother. He won a scholarship to the Royal Academy at the age of eighteen.

In the early years of the 20th century Shepard achieved some success with illustrated editions of Dickens and Aesop's fables. By 1907, Punch Magazine had accepted some of his drawings for publication although he wasn't a permanent Punch employee until 1921. He would remain there for more than thirty years.

In WWI, Shepard earned a Military Cross for bravery during service with the Royal Artillery in France and Belgium but he continued to sketch humorous vignettes which he submitted to Punch. In the 1920s, he was introduced to Alan (AA) Milne who reluctantly commissioned Shepard to do some line drawings for a children's book he had written. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Shepard and Milne were never particularly close but their collaboration on the four books - 'When We Were Very Young' (1924); 'Winnie the Pooh' (1926); 'Now We Are Six' (1927) and 'The House at Pooh Corner' (1928) - ensured that their names would be associated for eternity. Characters included Christopher Robin, Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, Piglet, Owl, Rabbit and Kanga.

The character of Winnie the Pooh was based on Milne's son's (Christopher) teddy bear, but the drawings were inspired by a toy bear named Growler, belonging to Shepard's own son. Growler would be mauled to death by a neighbour's dog, but Christopher's bear (and other stuffed Winnie the Pooh animals) circuitously made their way to the New York Public Library where I believe they still live. Late in life, Shepard was said to have voiced some resentment that the "silly old bear" had overshadowed his other illustration work, but he had expressed his fondness for the characters on many more occasions, so this phrase may have been more affectionate than has been reported*.

Although he pursued book and magazine illustration all through his life, Shepard's most notable work, beyond the AA Milne quartet, were the line drawings he produced for Kenneth Grahame's 'The Wind in the Willows', published in 1931.

I have taken the liberty of cleaning up all the images above (except for the map) which may have included removing some original ink splatters and charcoal or pencil smudging. Nothing too drastic, but they look better this way. I was surprised to find myself smiling often during the process. These simple line drawings retain an innocent magic about them and bring back fond childhood memories. There are a couple more drawings in the flickr set not seen above.

• Amazon:☼☼ 'When We Were Very Young' ☼☼ 'Winnie the Pooh' ☼☼ 'Now We Are Six' ☼☼ 'The House at Pooh Corner' ☼☼
• Biographies: one; two; three {wiki}.
• The Adventures of the Real Winnie-the-Pooh at NYPL.
• A Short History of Pooh and Winnie by Peter Dennis.
• 'Winnie-the-Pooh at Sotheby's - Colin Gleadell on a bear of very substantial value' {UK Telegraph}
• AA Milne & Winnie the Pooh at Wikipedia.
• 'The Original Wind in the Willows' exhibition site at the Bodleian Library, Oxford University.
• Previously: Beatrix Potter Rarities / kids.

Roots and Trunks

To the end we may know and clearly underſtand what the Trunk, Stalk, or Branch of a Plant is; I ſhall, by theſe figures here before us, deſcribe the ſeveral Parts whereof it is compounded.

And, for examples ſake, I ſhall in the firſt place, deſcribe the Trunks of ſix ſeveral kinds of Plants, as they appear to, and are obſervable by the naked eye. Which having done, I ſhall next proceed to a more particular Deſcription of divers other Trunks and Branches as they appear through the Microſcope I made uſe of.

In both ſhewing, not only what their ſeveral Parts are, as belonging to a Branch; but alſo by a comparative proſpect, in what reſpects they are ſpecifically diſtinugiſhed one from another, in the ſeveral ſpecies of Branches.

Sumach

Pine Tree Branch

The Stalk of the Common Wormwood

Wallnut Tree Branch

Plum Tree Branch

Ash Tree Branch

Barberry Branch

Figg Tree Branch (sic)

Oak Tree Branch

If we take into account of the degrees whereunto the knowledge of Vegetables is advanced, it appeareth that their Descriptions, Places, and Seaſons are with good preciſeneſs and curioſity ſet before us. Likewise, that we are informed of the Natures and infallible Faculties of many of them. Whereunto ſo many as have aſſiſted, have much obliged by their Poſterity.

By due reflection upon what they have performed, it alſo appears, what they have left is imperfect, and what undone. For the Vertues of many Vegetables are with much uncertainty, and too promiſcouſly aſcribed to them. And of the Vertues of many they are altogether ſilent. And although, for the finding out and just appropriation of them, they have left us some Rules, yet not all. The Deſcriptions likewise of many are yet to be perfected; as alſo their Draughts, eſpecially as to their Roots. And their proper ranks and affinities much undetermined. But for the Reaſon of Vegetation, and the Cauſes of all thoſe infinite varieties therein obſervable (I mean ſo far as matter, and the various affections hereof are inſtrumental thereto) almoſt all men have ſeemed to be unconcerned.

That nothing hereof remaineth further to be known, is a thought not well calculated. For if we consider how long and gradual a Journey the knowledge of Nature is, and how ſhort a time we have to proceed therein; as on the one hand, we ſhall conclude it our eaſe and profit to ſee how far others have gone before us: ſo ſhall we beware on the other, whilſt we have a juſt value for thoſe who were but her Diſciples and inſtructed by her. Their time and abilities both being ſhort to her, which as ſhe was firſt deſigned by Divine Wiſdom, ſo may her vaſt dimenſions beſt be judged of, in being compared therewith. It will therefore be our prudence, not to inſiſt upon the invidious queſtion, which of her Scholars have taken the faireſt meaſure of her; but to be well ſatiſfied, that as yet ſhe hath not be circumſcribed by any.

Nor doth it more behove us to conſider how much of the Nature of Vegetation may lie before us yet unknown, than to believe a great part thereof to be knowable: not concluding from acknowledged, much leſs ſupported inſucceſſfulneſs of any mens undertakings; but from what may be accounted poſſible as to the Nature of things themſelves; and from Divine Providence, by infinite ways conducting to the knowledge of them. Neither can we determine how great a part this may be; becauſe it is impoſſible to meaſure what we ſee not. And ſince we are most likely to under-meaſure, we ſhall hereby but intrench our endeavours, which we are not wont to carry beyond the Idea which we have of our Work.

And how far ſoever this kind of Knowledge be attainable, its being ſo far alſo worthy our attaintment will be granted. For beholding the many and elegant varieties wherewith a Field or Garden is adorned, who would not ſay, That it were exceeding pleaſant to know what we ſee; and not more delightful to one who has eyes, to diſcern that all is very fine; and to another who hath reaſon, to underſtand how. This ſurely were for a man to take a true Inventory of his Goods, and his beſt way to put a price upon them.

Yea it ſeems that this were not only to be partaker of Divine Bounty; but alſo, in ſome degree, to be Copartner in the Secrets of Divine Art.

What?!

An attempt at explication:

Consider what's known about vegetables: the facts relating to their description, location and seasonal activity have been already established, right? And of course we should be grateful that people in the past have compiled and passed on this information for us, right? Right?! Or maybe we should give this some more thought.

On closer inspection, we can see that many of the details in this so-called knowledge bank about vegetables are either missing or inaccurate. The qualities or benefits ascribed to some vegetables are simply wrong and there has been a tendency in the past to indiscriminately link specific qualities to plants without evidence. Many of their properties are in fact unknown. The process our ancestors followed in compiling the known characteristics of plants did establish some standards by which further knowledge could be acquired, but these rules are actually incomplete. The descriptions of vegetables and our comprehension of their underground properties - particularly the root systems - are likewise incomplete. Vegetables haven't been properly classified to date and there is still a lot to learn about the optimal growth conditions for each species. Despite the incredible abundance of plants in our environment, it remains baffling that most people don't seem particularly disposed to learning more about them.

It's fundamentally illogical to assume that the amount we know about plants at the moment is all that there is to be known. Mother nature has evolved over a long time in comparison to our relatively short period on earth so we are wise to have some regard for the observations passed on by our forebears. The age and complexity of our environment reinforces the likelihood of our obtaining benefits from contrasting our discoveries with previously held 'facts'. When considering that particular body of knowledge, it's best that the emphasis not be placed on deciding which scholar or which scientist has contributed the most to our level of understanding of the natural world; rather, it should underline the fact that no single person can ever hope to accomplish the task.

We shouldn't dwell on the vastness of the natural world that remains obscure and unknown to us and conclude that because certain botanical facts weren't revealed in history that they are therefore out of reach now, because it is within our abilities to make new discoveries. We just don't know how ignorant we are and there is no way to determine the magnitude of that deficit. And because our guesses are likely to underestimate the shortfall in our knowledge of the natural world, we should refrain from attempting to impute the characteristics derived from our own studies of vegetables to plants outside of the cumulative knowledge base or outside of our own environment.

The extent of all possible knowledge about nature only serves to make our own modest educational endeavours worthy of respect. The pleasures of observing the diversity of plant life in a field or a garden are enhanced by knowing what plants we can see. For the thinking person, the pleasure is increased further by knowing how those plants came into being and how they function. Having an understanding of the properties of one's garden vegetables is surely the best way to both fully appreciate them and judge their true value.

Our destiny imposes a duty to achieve a balance with our environment that goes beyond mere exploitation.

Et Voilà! Feel free to disagree with the interpretation and rendering. It's at least as difficult attempting to comprehend the tone as it is the content of 17th century English. That was hard!

Just sidestepping any quibbles on the semantics front, we are reading some enlightened scientific writing here. The quotes (and all the images) are from books by Nehemiah Grew (1641-1712), an English physician, vegetable and plant anatomist and one time secretary of the Royal Society.

He was a contemporary of (and collaborator with) Marcello Malpighi (previously: one; two) and therefore one of the first scientists to publish a work that relied upon findings from microscope observations. Between them they were responsible for establishing plant anatomy as an academic subject.

The trunk sections (above) and root sections (below) come from two separate works but Grew's renown was secured when these shorter works were combined with further anatomical treatises in his magnum opus, 'Anatomy of Plants', published in 1682.

• The images above come from 'The Comparative Anatomy of Trunks', 1675, at SICD.
• The images below come from 'An Idea of a Phytological History Propounded, Together with a Continuation of the Anatomy of Vegetables, Particularly Prosecuted upon Roots', 1673, also at SICD. [both of these books have a few more images, beyond what's been posted and in both cases, the images are towards the back of the books]
• Grew's 'Anatomy of Plants' is online at the Botanicus website and contains more than eighty plates.
• Biography: one; two; three.
• A kindred soul to this post: The Wood Book.
• The long 'S'.

Dumpster Diving

Book Wheel

IN: 'Recueil d’Ouvrages curieux de mathématique et de mécanique..' (collection of curious mathematical and mechanical works) by Gaspard Grollier de Servière, 1751 (original version of this image appeared in 1719) [source]

The book wheel first appeared as a concept drawing in the famous machine book by Ramelli in 1588. Redesigns (or copies) were published in a number of subsequent works by other authors. (see Facetation) Nicolas Grollier de Servière had criticised Ramelli's complicated design and the present image shows a more simplified gimballed mechanism, published by Grollier de Servière's son. It was to be the final appearance of the proto-internet design in an Early Modern machine manual.

Copy Book Enriched with Great Variety
Of the Most Usefull & Modish Hands
Adorned with a whole Alphabet of Great Letters,
(One before every example),
Composed of Divers New Devised Knots
and beautified with many other Curious Shapes & Flourishes
Fitted for the Profit and Delight of Ingenious Youth
by Thomas Watson Teacher of a Writing School
at Newport & Lagnell in the County of Bucks (and others)
London printed for I. Sprint and I. Nicholson, in Little Britain

Originally published in 1683, this copy-book "is distinguished from all others of his period by the gigantic capitals which appear on each page". 3rd Ed. 1707. [source]





Titlepage from 'The Illuminated Books of the Middle Ages', 1849 by Henry Noel Humphries. This lavish book is an early masterpiece of chromolithography and features illustrations by the great Owen Jones of illumination examples covering the 4th to 17th centuries. [source]. Amazon.

'The Open Door'

(before 1963, but probably early 20th century) © the Estate of Lilian Westcott Hale [bio]

A mesmerising charcoal portrait sketch on paper of an unnamed or unknown girl. [source]

'Pixie Painters'

Original watercolour sketch © the Estate of Helen Jacobs

"The fine watercolour shows three pixies armed with paint, brushes and a ladder trudging off to work. Traces of former mounting suggest that some of the picture, including the second signature, were originally obscured by the mount." [source]

Jacobs was an early 20th century fairy tale illustrator. Bio; works; works. Oddly enough, "pixie" does not appear in the archives here, but troll does.





This is one of a half dozen mask-like grotesques (after Arcimboldo) that appear in the first book devoted to shells, 'Recreatio mentis et oculi in observatione animalium testaceorum curiosus naturae inspectoribus' by Filippo Buonanni, 1684. [source]

Buonanni was an Italian Jesuit and pupil of Athanasius Kircher. He was also one of the curators of Kircher's museum and (of course) an avid collector of shells. Bio; Buonanni's Chiocciole; portrait; book.





This eccentric depiction of hats appears in a small album of engraved masks from 1688 by Agostino Mitelli. [source] His son, Giuseppe Maria Mitelli, also published a series of fantastic masks in the same year. (GM Mitelli was seen in the last post)

'Israfel'

'The Coliseum'

Scott Lindberg contacted to say that he had uploaded some illustrations by Czech graphic artist Hugo Steiner-Prag of poems by Edgar Allan Poe from 1943. Scott also recently commenced the Alvin & Elaine Lustig Design group on Flickr.





This cubo-futurist lithograph from before 1922 is (I assume) by Aleksandra Ekster.

It appears in a Russian monograph called 'Aleksandra Ekster kak Zhivopisets i Khudozhnik Stseny' (Aleksandra Ekster as an Artist and a Theatre Designer) by Iakov Tugendkhol'd. [source]

'Rigolovanovich'

'Zapatapete'

Abstract Commedia Delle'Arte-inspired figures called Polchinelles by graphic artist, Erik Nitsche. I'm glad to see that Derrick & Katie have continued to periodically upload material by Nitsche to the set that inspired a post from early last year.

[Note: Derrick set these 2 above to private so they're not visible anymore (March 2014)]

These two illustrations - also inspired by the Commedia Dell'Arte genre - appear in the 1709 work, 'Oder Hundert Ausbündige Narren' by Abraham St Clara, available from Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel (lots more illustrations available).

To the best of my understanding St Clara -(aka Ulrich Megerle: see here & here, that 2nd link also has some further Commedia Dell'Arte images)- was attempting to give a 'modern' interpretation to the classic 15th century 'Ship of Fools' ('Das Narrenschiff') book by Sebastian Brandt.








These four page images appear in the fairly obscure - perhaps that description is a little superfluous on this site - 1667 work, 'Kurtzer Entwurff des Eigentlichen Natur-Alphabets' [at HAB], by Franciscus Mercurius van Helmont (Hellmont).

Van Helmont was a Flemish alchemist and writer with a particular interest in the Jewish Kabbalah. Although there is every possibility I'm wrong, I got the feeling that this work (which contains many more illustrations similar to the above examples) was attempting to show that Hebrew was the 'natural' language for humans to speak; hence the cross-sectional anatomical figures showing how the sounds are made. [see for instance, this translated page. Not too much else around that I could find]

UPDATE: When in doubt, consult with an oracle. I am indebted to Mo from Neurophilosophy for passing on a link to a very useful reference work available from Googlebooks. The following passages (out of sequence) give some indication of the fascinating background to this work and are quoted from chapter 4 in:
'The Impact of the Kabbalah in the Seventeenth Century: Life and Thought of Francis Mercury Van Helmont (1614-1698)' by Alison Coudert, 1998. [Amazon] --

"The full title of van Helmont's book translated into English reads as follows, 'A Most Compendious and truly Natural Draught of the Hebrew Alphabet, which at the same time furnishes a method whereby those who are born deaf may be so informed that they may not only understand others speaking but also may themselves arrive at the use of speech'.

It was not, as the title might suggest, a clinical treatise but a philosophical work arguing that Hebrew was the divine language of creation in which words exactly expressed the essential natures of things. Van Helmont contended that while time and ignorance had led to the corruption of Hebrew he had rediscovered its original form. He expected great things from this, believing it would bring an end to the religious controversies which had precipitated the Reformation and embittered its aftermath. He envisioned a natural Hebrew alphabet by which men would live in religious peace and social harmony. [..]

Van Helmont began the 'Alphabet of Nature' while imprisoned by the inquisition. The train of thought which led him to conclude that Hebrew is a 'natural' language began with speculations about teaching a deaf mute to speak: [..]

By proving he could teach the deaf and dumb to read and speak Hebrew through pictures, Francis Mercury hoped to discredit the arguments brought against the concept of 'natural language'. [..]

By showing that deaf mutes could easily learn to speak Hebrew, van Helmont thought that he could demonstrate the two premises on which his theory of the natural alphabet was based: first, that there were such things as innate ideas; they had only to be activated to come into conciousness. And second, that Hebrew language perfectly represented these innate ideas. [..]

Van Helmont's 'Alphabet of Nature' [..] is a utopian work and one of the many books written on the subject of a natural language during the seventeenth century. The belief that symbols and sounds could reflect reality and therefore be 'natural' or 'real' rather than conventional had a long history before Helmont wrote his own book."

From: 'Cours d'Hippiatrique' by Étienne Lafosse, 1772. [source]

Larosse was a French veterinarian, famed for his series of books on horse care. {related: see the Five Centuries of Veterinary Medicine site}





Detail from 'Traité des Tournois, Joustes, Carrousels, et autres Spectacles Publics' by Claude-François Menestrier, 1669. [source]

Menestrier was a Jesuit and antiquarian and director of many festivals held in honour of Louis XIV, which 'Traité..' documents.

'Vision de Bajar Riñendo'
(Vision: they go down quarrelling)

by Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes
(date is still argued: between 1797 and 1825)

I recommend reading the essay on Goya - previously - that accompanies the above image at the source site:

"In 1796 Goya, at the age of fifty, began filling pages of albums with drawings of people observed in various attitudes and occupied in various ways, singly or in groups. He was to keep up this practice until the end of his life, some thirty years later. In all he created eight albums of varying length and size which originally included some 550 drawings. [..]

Two women are falling through the air: one, grinning broadly, grabs the hair of the other who screams in pain. It is hard to know if the two figures (is it a couple?) who are floating at the top (one is holding a tambourine) are embracing each other or are in the midst of a serious fight. The descent of the figures is emphasized by the movement of their clothing. Intense patches of black and grey tones along with overlaid rapid, free strokes and the scraping creating lighter areas also help to suggest the falling movement. The two figures at the top are completely covered by dark wash almost as if they are only shadows. In contrast, portions of the bodies of the two old women in the foreground are left blank, conveying an almost sculptural quality and giving the illusion that they are ready to spring from the page."

Cover image by G Klutsis for the radical poetry book, 'Na Bor''bu s Khuliganstvom v Literaturie' [Against Hooliganism in Literature], by Aleksei Kruchenykh, 1926. [source]

See also:
-Russian Avant-Garde books at The Getty.
-Tango with Cows: Book Art of the Russian Avant-Garde, 1910–1917 {new}
-Soviet Posters at the International Institute for Social History

Felicien Rops frontispiece for 'Les Épaves' by Charles Baudelaire , 1866. [source]

Sketches of bronze gargoyle-esque griffin heads discovered during the German archaeological dig at the Olympia site in Greece in 1875. The illustration plate appears in a volume [1890] from a series called 'Olympia: die Ergebnisse der von dem Deutschen Reich veranstalteten Ausgrabung' by archaeologist, Adolf Furtwängler; online at Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg. {click 'Titelblätter' and then 'Vorschau' for thumbnail views}





From 'Opera Chirurgica' by Hieronymus Fabricius, 1684. [source]

Fabricius was Professor of anatomy and surgery in Padua and discovered valves in veins. William Harvey - who developed the theory of circulation - was a student under Fabricius. I can't imagine a scenario in Early Modern history where injuries requiring a near-full body splinting apparatus wouldn't have killed the victim outright. Perhaps the illustration - by John George - is intended as an ostentatious demonstration of the potential of medical science rather than as a serious instrumentation regime for a singular case?





'Kirby's Wonderful and Eccentric Museum; or, Magazine of Remarkable Characters Including all the Curiosities of Nature and Art, from the Remotest Period to the Present time, drawn from every Authentic Source. Illustrated with numerous Engravings, chiefly taken from rare and curious prints or orginal drawings.' [source]

RJ Kirby's 6-volume compendium of factitious marvels was originally released as a periodical between 1803 and 1820 and joined a growing number of works that aimed to amaze and astound a receptive public. See the previous post, Remarkable Persons, for a number of related illustrations. Kirby's work (not sure if it's complete) is available from the Internet Archive.






This illustration appears in 'L'Architecture Considérée Sous le Rapport de l'Art' (1804) by the Neo-classical French architect, Claude-Nicolas Ledoux. [source] {Wikipedia}





Georges Fournier: 'Hydrographie Contenant la Theorie et la Pratique de Toutes les Parties de la Navigation', 1643. [source]

"From 1629 until 1640 Georges Fournier was professor of mathematics at La Flèche, where he had been educated by the Jesuits, and then from 1640 until 1642 at Hesdin. The present work contains sections on navigation, the construction of ships, the rules of the sea, longitude, compasses, tides etc. It enjoyed enormous success and in 1667 a second edition was published (see next lot), containing a supplementary section, La navigation du roy d'Escosse Iacques Cinquiesme du nom, autour de son royaume & Isles Hebrides & Orchades, and an extremely fine engraved plate of a French warship, which was issued separately and is sometimes found added to copies of the first edition, as here."

John Charnock (1800): 'An History of Marine Architecture. Including an Enlarged and Progressive View of the Nautical Regulations and Naval History, both civil and military, of all nations, especially of Great Britain; derived chiefly from Manuscripts as well in Private Collections as in the Great Public Repositories; and deduced from the earliest period to the present time'

"The most authoritative book on eighteenth-century ship-building published in England" [source] [Google books]

[click on any image to go direct to a larger version]

some of the images were background cleaned
and some were spliced together from screencaps

Other things...

• The link of the month (if not the year) has to be the newly available Life Magazine Collection hosted by Google. The images date back to 1750. It is an enormous archive but will get even larger over the next few months, so I think I'll wait until next year before doing some sampling. [announcement]
• The Strobridge Litho Co. Calendar Cards at the University of Cincinnati - Art Nouveau.
• Humanities websites in Japan - essentially an academic link list but there are a lot of interesting and useful resources here (in English)