Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717)

She was a female artist specializing in natural sciences. I don't want to write too much about it, because I'm angry with myself for blowing off an exhibition of her work at the Getty.

Joris Hoefnagel

Joris (George) Hoefnagel was a 16th century painter and illustrator. His forte was nature. He illustrated a gorgeous miniature book, Mira calligraphiae monumenta, a model book of calligraphy. A master calligrapher did the writing (which is incredible), and 30 years later, Hoefnagel was commissioned to illustrate it. The above illustration is not from that book but is in the same style.

Digital Scriptorium

The Digital Scriptorium is a collection of medieval & renaissance handwriting that can be magnified very large. I only discovered it, and have much exploring to do. By the way, this initial is not from the site but it's representative.

Napoleon's Scientific Expedition to Egypt

Who knew? Napoleon's engineers and artists studied ruins of ancient Egypt --- discovered the Rosetta Stone -- and introduced Europe to the mysteries of this ancient world. This was an exhibit at the Linda Hall Library in Kansas City.

Illustration: The Zodiac of Dendera is a large carved stone slab showing the constellations of the zodiac. It was discovered in a small chapel at Dendera by Vivant Denon in 1799. Denon made a drawing, and subsequently another was made by Prosper Jollois and Edouard Devilliers. In 1822, the zodiac was wrested from its chapel ceiling and taken to Paris, where it became an object of intense interest to astronomers, who hoped to use the star positions to date the artifact.

Victorian etiquette

This is a pretty funny description of some ill-mannered guests. Times haven't changed much.

Ernst Haeckel - Art Forms in Nature

From the website http://www.mblwhoilibrary.org/haeckel/wall_charts.html:

Ernst Haeckel was the preeminent proponent of Darwinism in Germany. His watercolors and drawings, made during his sojourn in Ceylon (Travel Pictures) and on his scientific journeys (Art Forms in Nature), are landmarks in the field of naturalist illustration, although many would not pass strict scientific muster. Indeed, much of naturalist illustration is not natural at all but permits stylization and distortion for decorative effect. Haeckel aimed Art Forms in Nature at a broad audience rather than specialists. Each of the 100 plates was accompanied by a short, readable commentary that made biological concepts accessible to the public. Moreover Haeckel's use of Art Nouveau techniques made the book even more appealing and "fashionable." The publication was an immediate success and remains a treasure to this day.

Gustave Doré (1832-1883)

When I was a teenager, my parents gave me a book of Doré illustrations. I loved it and looked at it hundreds of times. Well, I had good taste because (a) I still have the book; and (b) it holds up as beautiful, fantastic art. What a storyteller, what an illustrator!
http://dore.artpassions.net

Charles Altamont Doyle

The artist Charles Altamont Doyle was the father of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. He was institutionalized in mental hospitals from middle age onward, although by today's standards he was not insane. Nor did he think he was insane, and tried to prove with his art that he wasn't. It didn't work. Basically, he was an alcoholic and depressed. He was a trained artist and his works are poignant and delicate. There's an interesting book called The Doyle Diary by Michael Baker (1978) that reproduces Charles Doyle's journal sketches from his time in Sunnyside mental institution in Scotland. If you think these works are strange, his brother Richard "Dicky" Doyle was a famous Victorian artist well known for his fairy illustrations. Years later, Arthur Conan Doyle publicized "fairy photographs" which he believed were real. By today's standards, these photographs are pretty fake looking. Even back then, they were debunked. My point being that the entire family (not just the one who was institutionalized) had a "thing" for fairies.

St. Giles His Bells (unknown location).

Meditation, Self Portrait (V&A Museum, London). This watercolour comes from one of the sketchbooks used by the artist during his stay in the Royal Montrose Lunatic Asylum in Scotland. His son, the writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, organised an exhibition of the artist's work in London in 1924. http://www.vam.ac.uk/images/image/16458-popup.html

Retro design site

Raybelle Linoleum, Surfray No. 80, Armstrong Cork, 1954
http://www.plan59.com

Ivan Bilibin (3)

Vassilisa outside Baba Yaga's House. Note the amanita mushrooms in the margins.

Ivan Bilibin (2)

DOBRYNIA NIKITICH FREES ZABAVA PUTIATICHNA FROM GORYNYCH THE DRAGON. Illustration to "The Tale of the Capital City of Kiev and of the Russian Bogatyrs" by N. Vodovozov. 1941. http://www.auburn.edu/academic/liberal_arts/foreign/russian/art

Ivan Bilibin

This 1920's Russian artist created gorgeous illustrations for Russian folktales.

A Christmas Carol

Okay, I've pretty much forgotten the story, but this is an adorable Victorian illustration for it.

'Tis the season...

For pretty Christmas pictures.

Dick Tracy

There was an article about surreal 1930s comic strips...where was it? I have to find it.

October bats

Aren't they cute? From site Bibliodyssey (in links list).

Theater Poster (c. 1894)

Image at NYPL Digital Gallery.

Liam's Images From Old Books

This person has scanned a lot of images from antique books, including their covers. Really great stuff.
http://www.fromoldbooks.org/

Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám - Elihu Vedder

From the moment of its publication, Elihu Vedder's Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám achieved unparalleled success. The first edition appeared in Boston on 8 November 1884; six days later, it was sold out. Critics rushed to acclaim it as a masterwork of American art, and Vedder (1836 - 1923) as the master American artist. (from Smithsonian website)

Adrienne Segur

Another beautiful illustration. http://segur.artpassions.net/