Vintage Printable provides vintage images in the public domain for download or printing.
posted by lalex on Jul 5, 2011 - 15 comments

BibliOdyssey is a new and spectacular compendium of the printed image. From detailed posts on Rare Books of the Japanese Diet Library to a look at some strange illustrations for The Master and the Margarita, the site has a broad range and an eclectic composition authorized by the quality of the posts. Other highlights include Micrographia, a mysterious Astronomické České, the prints of Jacques Callot, and images from Sydney Parkinson's journal of his explorations of New Zealand and Australia. Be sure to look through the archives.
posted by OmieWise on Sep 30, 2005 - 13 comments

The mystery of Stefan Mart and the 'Tales of the Nations'. "The Tales of Nations" was not an ordinary book that you could buy in a book store, and it's mysterious narrator/illustrator disappeared into the darkness of Hitler's Germany, seemingly without a trace. Learn the background, read the stories, and view all 150 fabulous colour illustrations — "small in size, but strong in expression, each a microcosm packed with action, each a feast for the eyes like a beautifully set jewel".
posted by taz on Jan 9, 2005 - 20 comments

The Chromolithographs of E.L. Trouvelot. "Etienne Leopold Trouvelot (1827-1895), a French-born artist and amateur astronomer, spent 15 years observing the heavens and making original drawings from his observations: 'While my aim in this work has been to combine scrupulous fidelity and accuracy in the details, I have also endeavored to preserve the natural elegance and the delicate outlines peculiar to the objects depicted.' To illustrate his observations of celestial objects and phenomena, Trouvelot selected fifteen of his drawings to be reproduced using chromolithography, an illustration process that was at the zenith of its development in the 1880's." Heavens Above is a NYPL exhibit that compares his art and science to contemporary photos by NASA of the same phenomena.
posted by eyebeam on Sep 16, 2003 - 8 comments