Monday, May 18, 2009

Illustrational Multitude

Collectanea chymica Leidensia by Christopher Love Morley, Theodorus Muyckens, 1700 (dresden)

IN: 'Collectanea Chymica Leidensia' edited by Christopher Love Morley and Theodorus Muyckens, 1700. The head on that central figure could have launched a thousand 60s or 70s posters (kinda sorta reminds me of Brain Maps, in that regard). [Dresden]




Cabala, Speculum Artis Et Naturae In Alchymia by Stephan Michelspacher (1654) (dresden) b


alchemy symbol from - Cabala, Spiegel der Kunst und Natur in Alchymia


Cabala, Speculum Artis Et Naturae In Alchymia by Stephan Michelspacher (1654) (dresden) a

The above three images are from 'Cabala, Speculum Artis Et Naturae In Alchymia' by Stephan Michelspacher (1654 edition; originally published in ~1615) [Dresden] {also: AGLA}

"This alchemical work, which was often reprinted, bears the stamp of Agrippa's view of the Kabbalah and magic. The explanation in the first table teaches that 'Kabbalah and alchemy offer the highest medicine, and also the Philosophers' Stone', but the allegedly alchemical-kabbalistic tables in this work are completely unrelated to the Jewish Kabbalah." [source]


Azoth, Sive Aureliae Occultae Philosophorum by Basil Valentine (occult, alchemy)

IN: 'Azoth, Sive Aureliae Occultae Philosophorum'
by Basil Valentine, 1613. [Dresden]



Cabalae Verior Descriptio by Anon. 1680 (dresden)

IN: 'Cabalae Verior Descriptio' by Anon. 1680. [Dresden]



'A new map of Scotland for ladies needlework' 1797

A New Map of Scotland for Ladies Needlework
Published by Laurie & Whittle in 1797

Related: DIY needlepoint maps and Emma's recent post on Crazy Embroidery.

The image above (and some below) comes from the relatively new Scotlandsimages.com site -- "a picture library taken from Scotland's national collections."



Northern Circumpolar Map (Burritt, 1833)

Northern Circumpolar Map



Southern Circumpolar Map (Burritt, 1833)

Southern Circumpolar Map

The above two star/zodiac/polar maps are from 'Atlas Designed to Illustrate the Geography of the Heavens' by Elijah Burritt, 1833. [source]

Harvard University Library recently launched the excellent and extensive web collection: 'Expeditions & Discoveries: Sponsored Exploration and Scientific Discovery in the Modern Age' [which] "delivers maps, photographs, and published materials, as well as field notes, letters, and a unique range of manuscript materials on selected expeditions between 1626 and 1953". [via]



childrens book illustration from germany



german kids cartoon

The above two images come from an imaginative 1937 German children's book called 'Das Männlein Mittentzwei' by Paul Alverdes, with illustrations by Beatrice Braun-Fock. The images were scanned and uploaded by Patrick Wirbeleit for his great blog, Illuopa. [via Drawn!]



18th century wind turbine

IN: 'Abbildung und Beschreibung einer Windmaschine aus einem
Brunnen die Wasser' by Johann Stephan Capieux, 1797. [Dresden]



Architectural drawing of new fountain for Holyrood Palace

Architectural drawing of new fountain for Holyrood Palace
by Robert Matheson, Office HM Works, Edinburgh, 1858
(House Plans Register) [Scotlandsimages]



Black Watch - Scottish highlander soldier in kilt

Carbon print of an original engraving of a soldier of the Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment), published by Mayer in 1743. [Scotlandsimages] {The Black Watch (W)}



by (circle of) Jacques-Antoine-Marie Lemoine (late 18th cent.) tempera on parchment

Tempera drawings on parchment by someone in the circle
of Jacques-Antoine-Marie Lemoine - late 18th century.



by Margaretha-Barbara Dietzsch, late 18th cent. (tempera on parchment)

Tempera drawings on black parchment by Margaretha-Barbara Dietzsch - late 18th century.

I spliced both of these sets of drawings together from the Bloomsbury Old Master paintings & drawings Auction site [in Rome tomorrow] (for more on black parchment - if the above really is black parchment and not just a translational morph - see here including comments)



Horae Dive Virginis Marie (Hours of the Virgin Mary) (Paris 1505)


Horae Dive Virginis Marie (Hours of the Virgin Mary) (Paris 1505) a

Ortelius rightly highlights 'Horae Dive Virginis Marie' (Hours of the Virgin Mary) from the Polish Digital Library in his recent post. The woodcut borders in this 1505 work from Paris contain some fabulous beasties.



Probier Buch (Aula Subterranea) by Lazarus Ercker, 1673 (dresden)

Frontispiece from the mining book,
'Probier Buch (Aula Subterranea)'
by Lazarus Ercker, 1673 [Dresden]



Choanites in Flint from the coast of Sussex

Choanites in Flint from the coast of Sussex



Eocene Shells of Bracklesham (Sussex fossils + geology)

Eocene Shells of Bracklesham


The above two images are from 'The Geology and Fossils of the Tertiary and Cretaceous Formations of Sussex' by Frederick Dixon, 1850 [Dresden]



Die Gesandtschaft der Ost-Indischen Compagnen...Sinesischen Keiser (Jacob Moeurs) 1666


Die Gesandtschaft der Ost-Indischen Compagnen...Sinesischen Keiser (Jacob Moeurs) 1666 a

The above two images come from a German edition of one of Jacob Moeurs' travel books; in this case about the Dutch East India Company in Asia (and particularly China). I can't quite recall if I've seen these images before. The work from 1666 is called 'Die Gesandtschaft der Ost-Indischen Compagnen...Sinesischen Keiser'. The images are from a current Ebay auction and the seller has (at least at the moment) a gallery of images from the book online.



Framed engraving of 'Clarinda (Mrs Agnes McLehose)' a

Framed engraving of 'Clarinda' (Mrs Agnes McLehose)
(late 18th/early 19th century, from a 1788 sitting
for the original cut-out silhouette: Scotlandsimages)

This image is slightly cropped and the background was cleaned up but I resisted the temptation to restore the faded areas of the silhouette. Clarinda was the pseudonym of a correspondent (and perhaps liaison) of the Scottish poet, Robert Burns (and; and; and).



Koalo (1810) in Arcana... (NLA)

Europe was introduced to the Australian koala (misspelled as Koalo) for the first time with this engraving from the 1810 book by George Perry, 'Arcana, or, The Museum of Natural History..'. The catalogue record at the National Library of Australia doesn't note that the name of one of the artists is 'Cruikshanks' (clearly visible at the bottom of the plate), presumably (??) a member of the famous family of print artists (esp. George). It is certainly not an accurate depiction of the animal so I suspect it was a 2nd or 3rd hand effort. (see also)



Mapa del Cerro de Barrabás donde se fortificó Don Vicente Guerrero después de retirarse de Zacatula, Mayo 1819

'Mapa del Cerro de Barrabás donde se fortificó Don Vicente
Guerrero después de retirarse de Zacatula, Mayo 1819'
"Map depicting the battle on the hill of Barrabás, near Zirándaro, now in the state of Guerrero. The map shows where Don Vicente Guerrero, Commander in Chief of the Revolutionary troops of the South set up his fortifications from which his troops defeated the royalist troops in the battle for Mexico’s Independence from Spain. The map is a schematic depiction of the buttresses built on a steep and mountainous landscape."
The image and quote come from the University of Arizona web exhibition site, 'Páginas de la Historia de México'.



The Pencil of Nature

I saved this cover image because I liked the lettering and decoration but it turns out that it is a very significant book in printing history. 'The Pencil of Nature', 1844-1846, by William Henry Fox Talbot, was the first photographically illustrated book to be published commercially. [image source] See the University of Glasgow Book of the Month entry.



Dessins Grotesques - Gustave Doré, 1855 - (coconino)

Drawing by Gustave Doré from his 'Dessins Grotesques' series (~1850). The image comes from one of the new uploads to the indefatigable Coconino World.



I'm sorry that I didn't remember to collect all the direct Scotlandsimages and Dresden links, but title searches in google or at the respective site will reveal them.

More? The shared feeds are worth an occasional skim.

7 comments :

M.M.E. said...

Absolutely gorgeous illustrations! I'm so happy to see people still appreciate the greats. They're the reason I became an illustrator myself.

Unknown said...

I found this Blog only now and i'm astonished. Seems that i have another way to consume my precious time, and what a great way - thanks.
Question though - why don't you write more about the blog and about yourself?

peacay said...

==why don't you write more about the blog and about yourself?==

Let's just say that I have and do say things about the blog and myself; it's just that they are mostly subtle. I have no doubt that close readers will have formed some opinions about 'me'. But really, I think the blog speaks for itself fairly well; certainly better than I can speak for myself, at least, and what it has to say about itself is far more interesting than anything I might say about 'me'. In other words, I have a long standing belief that the quality of this site is inversely proportional to the magnitude of my presence. Or something along those lines..

act 3 scene 8 said...

Just want to say i love this blog - and it's nice with the resource links. I work as a graphic designer, and i find a lot of inspiration in history.. and this site helps me find many great things. And lots of it ends up in my scrap/inspiration book :)

Thanks!

alaine@éclectique said...

Ditto all of the above - it's one of my favourite peeps.

silvergirl said...

those daffodils slayed me...

maclancy said...

those daffodils had me staring as well. My 17 yr old spends a great deal of time with a very fine point pen and bottle of ink drawing protozoa and now to find your site with all these wonderful treasures.. unlimited happiness for one science/art girl! she will look again and again and I keep finding myself coming back as it is like a labyrinth of information in visual.. and I am thrilled!

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