MetaFilter posts tagged with Books and illustrations

"Bent and juxtaposed in ways that present the tension and dynamics of staged drama."

crossoverman — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 02:40:48 -0800

3D art made from book covers, by Thomas Allen.

1837 illustrations of South Indian castes

Rumple — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 18:35:43 -0800

"Seventy two specimens of castes in India". This illustrated manuscript made in southern India in 1837 consists of 72 full-colour hand-painted images of men and women of the various castes and religious and ethnic groups found in Madura, India at that time. Search or browse (recommended) all the images, in very good resolution, from Yale's Beinecke Library. Each drawing was made on mica, a transparent, flaky mineral which splits into thin, transparent sheets. As indicated on the presentation page, the album was compiled by T. Vardapillay, the Indian writing master at an English school established by American missionaries in Madura, and given to the Reverend William Twining. Some examples: Hindoo astronomer / Female. Mussilman beggar / Female. Hindoo milk man / Female. Wood cutter (Malabar) / Female. Mussilman jester / Mussilwoman

Book of the Month

Kattullus — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:28:17 -0800

Book of the Month is a feature that the University of Glasgow Library has been running for over a decade now. The format is simple, a single book is selected from their collections, written up and accompanied by pictures, maps and photographs scanned from the books. With over a 100 books to select from, it's hard to know where to start, but anywhere is good because they're all lovely. Still, here are a few, Charles Darwin's The Expression of the emotions in man and animals, a beautiful 15th century illuminated copy of Livy's Roman history, Treatises on Engines and Weapons, Valentines and Dabbities, The Birds of Australia, Facts and Observations on the Sanitary State of Glasgow, Ibn Jazla's The arrangement of bodies for treatment and finally, The Curious Case of Mary Toft, MetaFilter superstar.

The Saddest Bear of All

Effigy2000 — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 17:11:25 -0800

The Saddest Bear of All. A children's book about a young girl's friendship with a morose bear. [via mefi projects]

NorthWest Passage

hortense — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 20:19:13 -0800

Ice:A Victorian Romance , is an exhibition of fifty-five rare books and journals, with lovely illustrations. Online exhibition of rare books and journals commemorating the British "infatuation with the Arctic," which began in 1818 "with the Admiralty trying to find an outlet for naval officers and seamen who had been idled by the end of the Napoleonic wars." from the growing collection found at the Linda Hall Library.

2666 reasons to find your library card.

zoomorphic — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 13:34:49 -0800

With the advent of December comes the annual ranking of the book industry's over-saturated market. Along with the garden variety Best Books of 2008 lists, niche critics weigh in on the best cookbooks (baking and regular), most trustworthy business publications, best children's book illustrations, safest bets for literary holiday gifts, and, of course, the prettiest book covers.

collections of images

nickyskye — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 13:05:58 -0800

Beautiful, vintage children's books from the Netherlands. If you click on the cover you can get close-ups of the entire book, page by page. 655 picture books from 1810 to 1950. Some examples: The Willows l Bellaroontje l Flower Children l The Circus l The Sparrow and the Starling. There are 67 extraordinary collections in The Memory of the Netherlands. The Memory of the Netherlands is a project of the Koninklijke Bibliotheek, the National Library of the Netherlands, that is responsible for digitising important sources of the Netherlands' cultural heritage. The website offers easy access to more than twenty digital collections from an equal number of heritage institutions. Sometimes it's fun putting a word like "kameel" (camel) into the children's illustrated books section search box or even a number. Results for kameel for 2. Previously.

Digital Collection of the Etchings of Wenceslas Hollar

Rumple — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 09:44:33 -0800

Born in Bohemia, Wenceslas (Vaclav) Hollar (wikipedia; illustrated chronology of his life; essay on Hollar) was one of the leading etchers and illustrators of the middle 17th Century, working primarily in England and Belgium. The University of Toronto has placed almost his entire works online, including more than 4,000 images and some complete illustrated books. Some favorites: the man himself; simple, powerful Illustrations of Genesis; The Pack of Knaves; Elephants and Flowers; Shells; Fitting out a Hull; and Muffs (sfw). Most images are zoomable, and you can create marked lists and compare images side by side.

A Twisted, Twisted Kingdom

fallenposters — Tue, 08 May 2007 11:12:57 -0800

Frenzied Fauna -- Michel Gange's illustrated animal kingdom. (via)

Children's Illustration Archive

OmieWise — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 09:05:49 -0800

The children's book illustrators archive. Czeschka - Die Nibelungen; Nielsen - Hansel and Gretel; Goble - Japanese Fairy Tales; Dulac - Arabian Nights; Pavlishin - Folktales of the Amur; Finlay - The Ship of Ishtar; Detmold - The Arabian Nights; Crane - Flora Feast; Kirin - Croatian Tales of Long Ago; Clarke - Poe's Tales of Mystery and Imagination; Collard - British Fairy Tales, and; more Rackham in the gallery then you can shake a pen at.

The Memory of The Netherlands

peacay — Sun, 19 Feb 2006 10:40:35 -0800

The Memory of The Netherlands is an extensive digital collection of illustrations, photographs, texts, film and audio fragments from a large variety of Dutch cultural institutions. There are about 50 collections (in english).

Four Stories

eustacescrubb — Sat, 11 Sep 2004 10:46:41 -0800

"I follow a dog chasing some invisible bird." Four Stories: Some of the most breathtaking woodcuts I've seen a good while illustrating four sparse but moving stories. After a decade of metafiction and Raygun typography, this letterpressed book of mythic narrative is refreshing, and inspiring.

"Fickt nicht mit der Raketemensch!"

trondant — Sun, 14 Dec 2003 22:28:13 -0800

A Flash-heavy "Illustrated Complete Summary of Gravity's Rainbow". Includes an Episode Guide and a gallery of related art. See also the Wikipedia entry if you want some background, including a link to an online concordance.

Illuminated Manuscripts

thomas j wise — Wed, 30 Apr 2003 17:53:52 -0800

Illuminated manuscripts are truly a joy to behold. And there are a remarkable number of them available on the web for your viewing pleasure. The most famous illuminated MS is the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry. For galleries with multiple images, try the resources at DScriptorium, Web Gallery of Art, and the Leaves of Gold exhibition. Elyse Boucher's page is a work-in-progress detailing the history and methods of illuminating books, with both images and secondary sources; see also Sue Wood's Art and Books page.

Palmer Cox

hama7 — Tue, 29 Apr 2003 20:34:30 -0800

Palmer Cox created the famous Brownie characters in 1883, and a successful series of children's books detailing their adventures. These are the characters that George Eastman chose for promoting the Brownie line of Kodak cameras.

Braccelli's book

Pinwheel — Mon, 17 Mar 2003 13:07:41 -0800

"This vellum-bound curiosity is one of the rarest and most mysterious etching suites of the late Renaissance." Braccelli's fantastic drawings are excellent examples of early (early, early) surrealism. For higher quality images, try this link instead.