Daniel Giraud Elliot’s Bird eBooks

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Daniel Giraud Elliot was a founder of the American Ornithologist Union and its 2nd President in 1890. I browsed through 7 of his well-illustrated books about birds from the later 1800s. Taxonomy has changed over the years, so they are not the ‘references’ they were when first published. But - they are historically interesting…part of the the uptick in documentation of the world’s flora and fauna in the 1800s. I looked at the illustrations as ‘art’ and wondered how many of the bird species depicted no longer exist. Enjoy the sample images…and take a look at some of the volumes via the provided links.

A Monograph of the paradiseidae or birds of paradise (1873)

A monograph of the Pittida, or family of ant-thrushes (1895)

Palmer Cox’s Brownies

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Palmer Cox (1840-1924) was a Canadian illustrator and author who created a series of Brownie books (humous verse books with comic drawings of mischievous but kind-hearted small creatures). His creations were so popular that one of the first hand-held cameras was named after them (the Eastman Kodak Brownie camera). His unique house in Quebec was named Brownie Castle. The characters are in individual costumes, sometimes very stereotypical…but they work together on their endeavors. The books depict positive interactions of very diverse individuals! The plaque on his tombstone reads: In creating the Brownies he bestowed a priceless heritage on childhood.

I browsed 6 Brownie books over the past couple of months – freely available on Internet Archive/Project Gutenberg.

The Brownies: their Book (1887)

eBotanical Prints – January 2022

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20 botanical print books browsed in January and added to the list. The month started with two flower books and one about forests in Japan. Then I found Peter Henderson’s handbook and years of catalogs from his seed business. The catalogs intrigued me. How many of the varieties of celery and melons and peppers and tomatoes…berries and flowers are still available? Some of these varieties would be considered heirloom now and prized because the seeds are suitable to save and grow in next year’s garden. I still have more of the old catalogs to browse in February; it’s a good time to be thinking about a garden.

The whole list of 2,309 botanical eBooks can be accessed here. The list for the January 2022 books with links to the volumes and sample images is at the bottom of this post.

Click on any sample images in the mosaic below to get an enlarged version. Enjoy the January eBotanical Prints!

The Flower-Finder * Walton, George Lincoln * sample image * 1914

Flowers Shown to Children * Kelman, Janet Harvey; Smith, C.E. * sample image * 1910

Forest Flora of Japan * Sargent, Charles Sprague * sample image * 1894

Henderson's Handbook of plants and general horticulture * Henderson, Peter * sample image * 1890

Everything for the garden, 1925 * Peter Henderson & Co * sample image * 1925

Everything for the garden, 1899 * Peter Henderson & Co * sample image * 1899

Everything for the garden, 1937 * Peter Henderson & Co * sample image * 1937

Everything for the garden, 1933 * Peter Henderson & Co * sample image * 1933

Everything for the garden, 1946 * Peter Henderson & Co * sample image * 1946

Everything for the garden, 1901 * Peter Henderson & Co * sample image * 1901

Everything for the garden, 1902 * Peter Henderson & Co * sample image * 1902

Everything for the garden, 1904 * Peter Henderson & Co * sample image * 1904

Everything for the garden, 1905 * Peter Henderson & Co * sample image * 1905

Everything for the garden, 1906 * Peter Henderson & Co * sample image * 1906

Everything for the garden, 1908 * Peter Henderson & Co * sample image * 1908

Everything for the garden, 1910 * Peter Henderson & Co * sample image * 1910

Everything for the garden, 1913 * Peter Henderson & Co * sample image * 1913

Everything for the garden, 1916 * Peter Henderson & Co * sample image * 1916

Everything for the garden, 1919 * Peter Henderson & Co * sample image * 1919

Everything for the garden, 1922 * Peter Henderson & Co * sample image * 1922

Paleontology of Missouri

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The late 1800s were a time of paleontology and geology publications across the US…and Missouri was no exception. Internet Archive has Charles Rollin Keyes’ two part Paleontology of Missouri (volume 1, volume 2). Keyes was the State Geologist of Missouri when they were published in 1894. Both volumes have plates after the main text of the volume.

I am interested in the paleontology of Missouri since my daughter now lives there. My idea was to learn as much about the paleontology and geology and natural history of Missouri as I know about the state where I grew up (Texas) and the one where I’ve lived for more than 20 years (Maryland). These volumes blend paleontology and a historical perspective because of when they were written.

According to Wikipedia, Keyes got his PhD in 1892 from Johns Hopkins University (i.e. in Baltimore, Maryland) and worked for the states of Iowa and Missouri…later he was the President of New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (Socorro, NM).

Impressionism and the French Landscape

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My book pick this week, like last week, is from an exhibition: A Day in the country : impressionism and the French landscape presented by Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Art Institute of Chicago and Réunion des musées nationaux (France) as part of the 1984 Olympic Arts Festival. I selected 3 images as samples….encourage browsing of the whole book. The images it contains are well work a look!

On a side history note – the exhibit and its catalogue were evidently funded by a major grant from IBM Corporation; I had joined the company in 1983…so I feel an added connection to this book and the exhibition it documents.

The availability of these exhibition catalogs on Internet Archive provides a life to an exhibit long after the contents are scattered…maybe not available for viewing publicly at all.  I am grateful that institutions are making the altruistic decision to provide the books in electronic form when the physical books are no longer in print. My strategy of buying exhibition books as part of my experience of a museum is still around (although I haven’t been to any exhibitions during the pandemic!); I might buy the electronic version if one were available…and particularly if they were delivered in a form that they could be ‘played’ in slideshow mode.

Genghis Khan and the Mongol Empire

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Sometimes books associated with museum exhibits are posted to Internet Archive relatively quickly. This one – Genghis Kahn and the Mongol Empire – was done for an exhibit in 2009 and was posted in 2018. It has wonderful illustrations – great for browsing, but the text is worth reading to gain a deeper understanding of Mongolia – how it shaped Genghis Kahn…his legacy.  

I enjoyed this book as a ‘virtual’ trip to a museum since I’m in ‘staying at home as much as possible’ mode until the Omicron wave of infections burns through my community!

eBotanical Prints – December 2021

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20 botanical print books browsed in December and added to the list. The month started with 8 volumes of Edward Joseph Lowe’s Ferns: British and Exotic from the mid-1800s. Later in the month there were 7 books on New York fruits and vegetables (cherries, peaches, pears, plums, small fruits, vegetables, and grapes) from the early 1900s with U.P. Hedrick as the primary author. The range of publication dates was from 1788-1938…150 years.

The whole list of 2,289 botanical eBooks can be accessed here. The list for the December 2021 books with links to the volumes and sample images is at the bottom of this post.

Click on any sample images in the mosaic below to get an enlarged version. Enjoy the December eBotanical Prints!

Ferns: British and Exotic - V1 * Lowe, Edward Joseph * sample image * 1856

Ferns: British and Exotic - V2 * Lowe, Edward Joseph * sample image * 1858

Ferns: British and Exotic - V3 * Lowe, Edward Joseph * sample image * 1858

Ferns: British and Exotic - V4 * Lowe, Edward Joseph * sample image * 1858

Ferns: British and Exotic - V5 * Lowe, Edward Joseph * sample image * 1858

Ferns: British and Exotic - V6 * Lowe, Edward Joseph * sample image * 1857

Ferns: British and Exotic - V7 * Lowe, Edward Joseph * sample image * 1859

Ferns: British and Exotic - V8 * Lowe, Edward Joseph * sample image * 1860

A natural history of new and rare ferns * Lowe, Edward Joseph * sample image * 1871

Sertum Anglicum, seu, Plantae rariores quae in hortis juxta Londinum  * Brugiere, J.G.; Didot, Petri Francisci et al * sample image * 1788

Supplement to The ferns of southern India and British India * Beddome, R. H. * sample image * 1876

Burgess flower book for children * Burgess, Thornton Waldo * sample image * 1938

The Cherries of New York * Hedrick, U.P. et al * sample image * 1915

The peaches of New York * Hedrick, U.P. et al * sample image * 1917

The pears of New York * Hedrick, U.P. et al * sample image * 1922

The Plums of New York * Hedrick, U.P. et al * sample image * 1911

The Small Fruits of New York * Hedrick, U.P. et al * sample image * 1925

The Vegetables of New York * Hedrick, U.P.; Tapley, William Thorpe * sample image * 1928

The Grapes of New York * Hedrick, U.P.; Tapley, William Thorpe * sample image * 1908

Chrysanthemums * Stevenson, Thomas * sample image * 1912

Philip Henry Gosse Books

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Back in October, I enjoyed browsing 8 volumes published in the mid-1800s by Philip Henry Gosse available on Internet Archive. He was an active naturalist and popularizer of natural science with his ability to create appealing/accurate scientific illustrations for his books. I found out from Wikipedia’s biography of him that he was the inventor of the saltwater aquarium in early Victorian England too. Enjoy browsing a Gosse book or two or three…

A Year at the Shore (1865)

The Rotifera (or, wheel-animalcules) volume 1 and 2 (1889 assisting Charles Thomas Hudson)

Old Faithful at Yellowstone (1880s-1909)

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Internet Archive has 4 volumes of images of Yellowstone National Park produced by F. Jay Haynes from the 1880s to 1909. It is interesting to think about what it must have been like to visit the park during those early years. It would have taken a lot more effort to get there than it does today! At the same time – the facilities would have been minimal/primitive….there would not be crowds of people or problems with vandalism either.

I selected pictures of Old Faithful as sample images – a wonderful variety of depictions: 2 in color, 1 at sunrise. Each volume is well worth browsing for the other images as well.

Yellowstone National Park: in water colors (188?....the volume does not have a title or copyright page but presumably it was sometime after fall 1881 when he spent 2 months in the park and took over 200 photographs; he had a lease for a small photography studio in the park by 1884).

Yellowstone National Park: the world's wonderland (1889 with Truman Ward Ingersoll and Charles Frey)

Haynes souvenir album : Yellowstone Park (1909)

I’ve only been to Yellowstone once…and it was before I photography became a hobby…thinking about what time of year I want to go next time and hone my plans for the type of photography I want to attempt there.

Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration

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There are 45 volumes of Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration (German Art and Decoration) magazine available on Internet Archive published from 1897 to 1929. They were edited/published by Alexander Koch in Darmstadt, Germany. Below I provide links and sample images (click on the image to see a large version) for the 45 volumes grouped by decade.

Some observations:

  • There seemed to be more color in the earlier volumes….more photography as time progressed.

  • World War I did not seem to impact the publication very much.

  • Lots of ideas for Zentangle patterns.

  • In the early 1900s, there were many of examples of making a room into an entire living space…hiding the bed behind curtains, screens, or boxing it in.

  • Sometimes lampshades seemed to be made of light weight fabric. This migh be more practical than ever with LED bulbs.

  • The art and decoration in the magazines were not limited to German-made. There were examples from around the world: Japan and China, Africa, North America, and the rest of Europe.

  • Enjoy a bit of history…and maybe some ideas worth reusing in 2022!

Deutsche kunst und dekoration V1 (10/1897-3/1898)

Deutsche kunst und dekoration V2 (4-9/1898)

Deutsche kunst und dekoration V4 (4-9/1899)

Deutsche kunst und dekoration V5 (10/1899-3/1900)

Country Life (magazine) Christmas

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Back in August and September, I was browsing through volumes of Country Life magazines on Internet Archive and collected Christmas/winter images from the first half of the 1900s. It occurred to me that none of the images fit into what my grandparents or parents would have experienced in those decades; they lived in rural or small town areas in Oklahoma and Texas….not where there were deep drifts of snow every winter…and their houses would have been much smaller and single story dwellings. It’s interesting how the images still evoke the idealized version of Christmas and winter. Enjoy!

Country Life V51 (1926 - 1927)

eBotanical Prints – November 2021

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20 botanical print books browsed in November and added to the list. There were several topics that show up several times in the list this month: grasses and grasslands, language of flowers, rock gardens,  ferns, and plants in particular geographical areas if the US. The age range of the publications is from 1808 to 2007…just under 200 years.

The whole list of 2,269 botanical eBooks can be accessed here. The list for the November books is at the bottom of this post.

Click on any sample images in the mosaic below to get an enlarged version. Enjoy the November eBotanical Prints!

Rich Grasslands for Missouri Landowners * Missouri Department of Conservation * sample image * 2007

The Floral forget me not; A gift for all seasons * H.F.Anners (publisher) * sample image * 1854

The Language of flowers : an alphabet of floral emblems * T. Nelson and Sons (publisher) * sample image * 1858

The Language and poetry of flowers : with beautiful illustrations * Geo. A. Leavitt (publisher) * sample image * 1867

Collectio plantarum tam exoticarum, quam indigenarum, cum delineatione, descriptione culturaque earum V3 * Wendland, Johann Christoph * sample image * 1808

The Gentians of Canada, Alaska, & Greenland * Gillett, John M. * sample image * 1963

Plant studies for artists, designers, and art students * Haite, George Charles * sample image * 1886

Alpines and bog plants * Farrer, Reginald John * sample image * 1908

My Rock Garden * Farrer, Reginald John * sample image * 1907

The English Rock Garden * Farrer, Reginald John * sample image * 1919

Hortus gramineus Woburnensis or, an account of the results of experiments on the produce, and nutritive qualities of different grasses, and other plants, used as the food of the more valuable domestic animals - 1816 * Sinclair, George * sample image * 1816

Hortus gramineus Woburnensis or, an account of the results of experiments on the produce, and nutritive qualities of different grasses, and other plants, used as the food of the more valuable domestic animals - 1826 * Sinclair, George * sample image * 1826

Flora of West Virginia * Millspaugh, Charles Frederick * sample image * 1892

An illustrated guide to the flowering plants of the middle Atlantic and New England states * Stevens, George Thomas * sample image * 1910

Toadstools at Home * Hastings, Somerville * sample image * 1906

The vines of northeastern America : fully illustrated from original sketches * Newhall, Charles Stedman * sample image * 1897

The shrubs of northeastern America * Newhall, Charles Stedman * sample image * 1897

Our Native Ferns V1 * Lowe, Edward Joseph * sample image * 1865

Our Native Ferns V2 * Lowe, Edward Joseph * sample image * 1865

A Natural History of British Grasses * Lowe, Edward Joseph * sample image * 1858

National Park Service Publications on Internet Archive

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Last September - I browsed 18 publications from the National Park Service that have been scanned and are freely available on Internet Archive. They are all decades old….reflect history of the places. The oldest one is from 1917 (The National Parks Portfolio) which is clearly a snapshot from the early years of National Parks. I was particularly interested in the “Astronomy and astrophysics national historic landmark theme study” published in 1989 – the year my daughter was born and she has grown up to be an astrophysicist! The only park I visited before the publication was Yosemite; the publication is from 1990 and I visited in 1984. I’ve provided a sample image for each volume. Enjoy some armchair traveling with some browsing via Internet Archive…find some correlations in the publications and your own life.

Wind Cave, 1979

Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, Nebraska, 1980

Astronomy and astrophysics national historic landmark theme study, 1989

Country Life (magazine) in 1918

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The two volumes of Country Life Magazine from 1918 (V34 and V35) include articles about World War I as it was ending. The illustrations are in color and worth a look --- a window into the way people were thinking about the war just as it was ending…before the passing of time made it into history.

There are also photographs. The one of the US Capitol at night with a reflection of the dome is appealing; photography has always been a technology that can be art as well as utility.   

The other articles in the magazines depict life continuing in relatively ‘normal’ fashion for wealthy people of the time.

It was a very different time than we find ourselves a little over 100 years later although there are similarities too. The 1918 flu was continuing and would eventually kill more people than the war; there were few effective treatments and no vaccine as we have for COVID-19. The capitol in 1918 was not a place a crowd of people would attack although there was a frenzy in the country with social change (increasing industrialization and a migration of population to the cities, electricity becoming more widespread, etc.) that led to the roaring 20s and then the crash into the Great Depression of the 1930s.

eBotanical Prints – November 2021

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20 botanical print books browsed in October and added to the list. The browsing seemed to clump by topic and some series. There were 2 volumes about plant fossils, 2 about flower/plant art, 2 books about apples, 5 about the flora of Austria (from the 1770s) 5 about flora around London from the same time period, and 2 about the grasses of Iowa.  Both the apple and grasses volumes were from the early 1900s; I wondered how many of the varieties in these publications still exist. Overall – a lot of variety in the October 2021 books.  

The whole list of 2,249 botanical eBooks can be accessed here. The list for the October books is at the end of this post.

Click on any sample images in the mosaic below to get an enlarged version. Enjoy the October eBotanical Prints!

Atlas to the coal flora of Pennsylvania, and of the carboniferous formation throughout the United States * Lesquereaux, Leo * sample image * 1879

The Palæontological report : as prepared for the Geological report of Kentucky * Lesquereaux, Leo * sample image * 1857

Lessons in Flower Painting * Andrews, James * sample image * 1836

Sketchbook on pines and cactus * Roetter, Paulus * sample image * 1848

Art forms in nature : examples from the plant world photographed direct from nature * Blossfeldt, Karl * sample image * 1929

The bamboo garden * Freemon-Mitford, Algernon Bertram * sample image * 1896

The Apples of New York V1 * Beach, Spencer Ambrose; Booth, Nathaniel Ogden; Taylor, Orrin Morehouse * sample image * 1905

The Apples of New York V2 * Beach, Spencer Ambrose; Booth, Nathaniel Ogden; Taylor, Orrin Morehouse * sample image * 1905

Florae Austriacae V1 * Jacquin, Nikolaus Joseph; Scheidl, Franz Anton von (illustrator) * sample image * 1773

Florae Austriacae V4 * Jacquin, Nikolaus Joseph; Scheidl, Franz Anton von (illustrator) * sample image * 1776

Florae Austriacae V2 * Jacquin, Nikolaus Joseph; Scheidl, Franz Anton von (illustrator) * sample image * 1774

Florae Austriacae V3 * Jacquin, Nikolaus Joseph; Scheidl, Franz Anton von (illustrator) * sample image * 1775

Florae Austriacae V5 * Jacquin, Nikolaus Joseph; Scheidl, Franz Anton von (illustrator) * sample image * 1778

Flora Londinensis - V1 * Curtis, William et al * sample image * 1777

Flora Londinensis - V2 * Curtis, William et al * sample image * 1777

Flora Londinensis - V3 * Curtis, William et al * sample image * 1777

Flora Londinensis - V4 * Curtis, William et al * sample image * 1777

Flora Londinensis - V5 * Curtis, William et al * sample image * 1777

The grasses of Iowa V1 * Pammel, Louis Hermann; Weems, Julius Buel; Lamson-Schribner, F. * sample image * 1901

The grasses of Iowa V2 * Pammel, Louis Hermann; Ball, Carleton R.; Lamson-Schribner, F. * sample image * 1904

Art and Archaeology – An Illustrated Magazine

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There are 11 volumes of the Art and Archaeology magazine from 1914-1923 available on Internet Archive; it was published in Baltimore. Most of the illustrations are black and white photographs but there are occasional color ones. I enjoyed finding pictures that looked familiar…and realizing how long some of the places and artifacts have been featured in magazines: the Aztec and Maya from Central America; buildings in Greece and Italy and Spain and France from Europe; Egypt, Babylon, and Petra from the Middle East; the desert Southwest and Lincoln of the US….and these are just what is represented in the 2 sample images I picked from each volume. Some of the places are probably a bit more worn from tourists and damaged by air pollution 100 years later…some have been restored. Maybe I will do a side by side look at some historical pictures of a place I visit (when I start doing that kind of traveling again).

I hope that more of volumes of this magazine become available as the copyright expires; it was published into the 1930s. For now – enjoy the sample images below by clicking through the 22 images…or go to the volumes directly by following the 11 links.

V1 (1914-1915), V2 (1915), V3 (1916-1), V4 (1916-2), V5 (1917), V7 (1918), V9-10 (1920), V11-12 (1921), V13-14 (1922), V15 (1923 - 1), V16 (1923 -2)

Hildegarde Hawthorne on Internet Archive

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Hildegarde Hawthorne was the granddaughter of Nathaniel Hawthorne and a writer as well. I found 6 of her books on Internet Archive from the early 1900s – easy to browse. She lived until 1952 and continued writing so there are probably others that will become available as their copyright expires. The last one is probably my favorite.

Girls in Bookland

Old Seaport Towns of New England with illustrations by John Albert Seaford

Rambles in old college towns with illustrations by John Albert Seaford. The second picture below is the library tower at Cornell; it’s surrounded by more buildings now…I remember it from my daughter’s undergraduate days.

New York with illustrations by Lewis Martin

eBotanical Prints – September 2021

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21 botanical print books browsed in September and added to the list. They were published over almost 300 years (1793 to 1981). The most recent volumes are documentation of threatened and endangered species. The earliest (Icones plantarum rariorum - Vol 3, sample image) was a volume from a series I had found before – but somehow missed this volume. There were some beautiful illustrations of plants I’m familiar with: tulip poplar, jack-in-the-pulpit, deciduous magnolia, maples, oaks, holly. There were also two volumes of plant imprints…geological botanical prints. I found several volumes that were fruit focused…more to come of those finds in October. Overall – a lot of variety in the September 2021 volumes.  

The whole list of 2,229 botanical eBooks can be accessed here. The list for the September books is at the end of this post.

Click on any sample images in the mosaic below to get an enlarged version. Enjoy the September eBotanical Prints!

Plantae novae vel minus cognitae ex herbario Horti Thenensis V1 * Wildeman, Emile de * sample image * 1904

Plantae novae vel minus cognitae ex herbario Horti Thenensis V2 * Wildeman, Emile de * sample image * 1908

Les phanérogames des terres magellaniques  * Wildeman, Emile de * sample image * 1905

Threatened and endangered plants of Nevada : an illustrated manual * Mozingo Hugh Nelson * sample image * 1981

Illustrated manual of proposed endangered and threatened species of Utah * Welsh, Stanley; Thorne, K. H. * sample image * 1979

Aquatic plants of Illinois; an illustrated manual including species submersed, floating, and some of shallow water and muddy shores * Winterringer, Glen Spelman; Lopinot, Alvin C. * sample image * 1966

Budding Life: a book of drawings * King, Jessie M. * sample image * 1907

The century supplement to the dictionary of gardening, a practical and scientific encyclopaedia of horticulture for gardeners and botanists * Nicholson, George * sample image * 1901

Pomologie française : recueil des plus beaux fruits cultivés en France V1 * Poiteau, Antoine; Turpin, Pierre Jean Francois * sample image * 1846

Pomologie française : recueil des plus beaux fruits cultivés en France V2 * Poiteau, Antoine; Turpin, Pierre Jean Francois * sample image * 1846

Icones plantarum rariorum - Vol 3 * Jacquin, Nicolao Josepho * sample image * 1793

The family flora and materia medica botanica V1 * Good, Peter Peyto * sample image * 1847

The family flora and materia medica botanica V2 * Good, Peter Peyto * sample image * 1847

Garden trees and shrubs illustrated in colour * Wright, Walter Page * sample image * 1913

Experimental pollination; an outline of the ecology of flowers and insects * Clements, Frederic Edward; Long, Francis Louise * sample image * 1923

Minnesota trees and shrubs : an illustrated manual of the native and cultivated woody plants of the State * Clements, Frederic Edward; Butters, Frederick King; Rosendahl, Carl Otto * sample image * 1912

Botanical and palaeontological report on the Geological State Survey of Arkansas * Lesquereux, Leo * sample image * 1860

The flora of the Dakota group, a posthumous work * Lesquereux, Leo * sample image * 1891

The nurseryman's pocket specimen book : colored from nature : fruits, flowers, ornamental trees, shrubs, roses, &c * Dewey, Dellon Marcus (publisher) * sample image * 1872

A report on the trees and shrubs growing naturally in the forests of Massachusetts V1 * Emerson, George Barrell * sample image * 1846

A report on the trees and shrubs growing naturally in the forests of Massachusetts V2 * Emerson, George Barrell * sample image * 1894

Studio International

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I browsed 51 volumes of the Studio International magazines published from 1896 to 1922 over the past month or so. It was a time when the world was changing rapidly – modernizing through industrialization and the World War I years with the 1918 flu overlaying on that challenge. The volumes between 1917 and 1922 are missing. The 1920s were a frenzy of new fashions and cultural shifts. The magazines are a contemporaneous perspective of the time.  

I selected an image from each volume I browsed which are in the grid below – time sequenced; I selected color images but there are more that are pencil sketches or black/white photographs…and more architecture. The volumes are well worth browsing; links to the volumes are below the grid of images. To enlarge any image below, clink on the image in the grid.

Designs of Kyoto: a collection of design for silk and cotton textiles

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The two volumes of Designs of Kyoto: a collection of designs for silk and cotton textiles (volume 1 and volume 2) were published in 1906 and are available on Internet Archive. I’ve selected 2 sample images from both volumes.

I enjoyed the books – lots of nature themes and ideas for Zentangle patterns. Some of them looked very abstract – geometric – hits of realism. There is a modern quality to many even though they are more than 100 years old. Maybe nature images are timeless as long as the animal/plant depicted still exists in our world.

Silk and cotton are luxuries now – the inexpensive fabrics are synthetic creating a lot of ‘fast fashion’ with interesting fabric patterns….like these.