Ragtag and Whimsy

Anagram Bookshop (Prague) promotional images
from Kaspen (alas, no more bookish fare, but they
have a nifty flash site and quite a portfolio of work).

'Olmec Head', a drawing by Walter Feldman, 1963.
Feldman has been teaching at Brown University for 46 years.

'The Wages of Sin is Death - A Characteristic
Design for the Arms of Buonaparte 1804'

These 2 images come from the Brown University Instructional Image Collection
which requires a Luna Insight browser of ~30Mb download to view (the majority of their
images are Napoleonic satires which are available from a regular browser site anyway)

Plan of the first submarine used in combat (1776, unsuccessfully). The plan
was by David Bushnell but this is an updated cutaway produced for a 1996
book by C Chant: 'Submarines of the 20th century'. The image comes from
an interesting page of historical schematics of submarines at Heiszwolf. [via]

Qalam - 'The Pen in Ink' Dhikr - 'Remembrance'

Visual Dhikr, out of the UK, was founded by Ruh al-Alam and Abu Ta-Ha
and they produce contemporary Islamic art and calligraphic design work.
"Visual Dhikr artwork seeks to accomplish the simple aim of 'visual remembrance', remembrance of the Divine through beauty, light and the written word." Highly recommended - go for the ambient tabla sounds, stay for the eclectic imagery. [via the Islamic Artists Society]

Family crests from the monograph, 'Familienbuch der von Bülow', 1858
by Jakob Friedrich Joachim and Paul Bülow at the University of Göttingen.

'Elisaevs, Ionas, Abdias' c. 1550.

'Sacri in tabernaculo apparatus partes ex descriptione Mosis' by Pieter Huys,
1571 - IN: 'Dictionnaire de l'Amateur d'Estampes' by Charles Le Blanc, 1888.
Just 2 of the engravings from a wonderful collection of prints
at the Portuguese National Library [thanks Pita!].

'Exposicion Plateria Mexicana' by Adolfo Mexiac, 1952.

'Exposición. Museo Nacional de Antropología' by Francisco Mora 1922

These are from the Latin American graphic art 'Taller de
Gráfica Popular' exhibition site at Princeton University.

'Sein Denkmal Blicke in die Vergangenheit und Zukunft
beim Anfang des Jahres' 1814 -- referring to Napoleon --
('Monument to the views to the past and future from
the beginning of the year' .. or thereabouts).

'Das ist mein lieber Sohn' - Napoleon as child of the devil: hand-colored etching.

'The Order of the March of the Queen Mother and Reigning
Queen of Tunquin when they goe abroad out of Palace'
IN: 'A collection of several relations & treatises singular and curious,
of John Baptista Tevernier, Baron of Aubonne not printed among
his first six voyages' by Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, 1680.
['Tunquin' is otherwise known as 'Tonkin', in the far north of Vietnam, near the
Chinese border - one of the most beautiful places on earth I know well! .]

'Artus, Thomas, sieur d'Embry. Description de l'Isle des Hermaphrodites,
Nouvellement Découverte, Contenant les Moeurs, les Coutumes & les
Ordonances des Habitans de cette Isle, comme aussi le Discours de
Jacophile à Limne, avec Quelques autres Pièces Curieuses. Pour
Servir de Supplement au Journal de Henri III.' 1724.
There were a few more much less sophisticated (or
sympathetic) hermaphrodite images at the same site.

Woodcut of witch being abducted
IN: 'Historia de gentibus septentrionalibus', by Olaus Magnus, 1555.

The above 5 images also require the Luna Insight browser -
(from memory there are about 3 or 4 repository sites who use this
software system, which is not too bad once it's set up. But it does require
taking screencaps and splicing to get decent sized images) - in this case from
the Rare Books and Manuscript Image Collections at Cornell University.
Snagging 3 Napoleon satires was entirely accidental although they constitute
a huge body of illustrative work. Perhaps that is evidence supporting the notion
that Napoleon served as 'the pure archetype of evil in history' before Hitler?

The engraving on the left comes from a very famous book originally
published in 1655 called 'Armamentarium Chirurgicum' by Johannes
Scultetus. The renown stems predominantly from its detailing all medical
instruments of the time and also because of some of the surgical
(especially neurosurgical) procedures it depicts. The image comes from
ebay and I thought it worth collecting because I could only find one other
copy online - a slightly different and not particularly good quality version at
Clendening Library. And while searching around I stumbled across a very interesting exhibition site at the University of Nagasaki.

The engravings from 'Armamentarium Chiurgicum' were hand copied in 1706 by a group, whose name (or work) translates, perhaps worryingly from a patient's point of view, as 'The Crimson Barbarian Surgical Sect'. The original engravings and hand-copied versions are laid out next to each other at the site. Normally I would have devoted a complete entry to this sort of find, but those watermarks are thoroughly intrusive and a real pain to remove. I may have few digitolegal scruples and perhaps variable taste, but maintaining some semblance of an aesthetic standard around here is pretty well fundamental.

'Backpackkopelli' © Bill Amundson via Jaf Project.

This was ready yesterday - ISP problem kept me offline (speaking of intrusiveness and a real pain). At least the desktop is now a bit more organised. It is very strange sitting at a computer without internet access. I nearly played solitaire.

Personal Animals

If the scant information online is correct, then Käthe Schönberger from Austria was 15 years old when she produced the illustrations for 'Aus Thier und Menschenleben' ('From Animal and Human Lives') in 1896. The personification of animals theme is very reminiscent of JJ Grandville's work (see particularly the uniformed chickens fighting). She picked a fine mentor, if so. The facial expressions and demeanour displayed above are really quite sophisticated at times.

I understand Käthe Olshausen-Schönberger (as she came to be called) died in 1967. There are other books around at commercial sites but they were all in german and I didn't pay much attention while searching for images.

• The whole 30 page book, 'Aus Thier und Menschenleben' is online at Universitätsbibliotheken Oldenburg.
• The last 3 images above come from NYPL -- but there are no more -- from 1907/8.
• A single 1908 print at Antique Prints (1/2 way down page).
• A single print (1915) on ebay.
• Olshausen-Schönberger is known to have produced work for the german illustration magazine 'Ulk' - Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg have digitized copies but I didn't go through looking for her illustrations.
• A film poster at the Austrian National Library.

Scene Sketches

Pencil sketch of interior with stained glass window.

Sanctum Sanctorium in mourning. Black draperies with silver teardrops.
White fence separates the stage space from the ark of the covenant,
seven candles, and twelve vessels - Freemasonry Scottish Rite.

Pencil sketch of King Solomon’s council chamber.

Interior drop with floral wainscoting. Walls are yellow and tan.

GF Moody - Egyptian backdrop with hanging tapestries and a central throne.

Olio drop with mountains in the distance. The background composition and
color theme is similar to the illustration by Maxfield Parrish, titled “Daybreak.”

Parade Float - Sketch of a cornucopia with Pillsbury Flower and grain stalks

Drop curtain. Swagged draperies with central landscape.
Titled, 'Belagona Castle, Switzerland'

Classical interior with corridor leading to double multi-panel led doors.

Ad drop depicting an Eastern wall. Oriental
type block wall by Gilboe on cardboard.

Curved colonnade depicting the five orders of architecture.
Evening sky depicts the Morning star (Jupiter), the North
Star, and the seven stars of the Great Bear.

Drop curtain. A framed composition includes a Venetian
curtain with a seascape. Titled, 'Venice' 1923

Don C Dubois - Back drop of an Egyptian temple with two practical caryatids.

"The Performing Arts Archives holds a very rich collection of scenic backdrop renderings. It consists of watercolor renderings for theatre and Masonic drops which were created in the studios of Twin Cities Scenic Design Studios, Minneapolis, and the Great Western Stage Equipment Co., Kansas City, Missouri. The Holak Collection contains more than 180 renderings of drops for Scottish Rite temples and may be the most important of its kind. All told, there is a total of almost 1500 drawings in these beautiful and fascinating collections."

Actually, there are over 2000 records in the database. It is a decidedly odd collection. The great majority of material relates to Masonic Lodges or initiation degrees and rites in freemasonry... as reflected in theatre sketches from the early 20th century (?!). Also strange was how often the word 'asbestos' came up in the notes or in the actual images.

In keeping with the odd flavour of the material is the over-instructive landing page for the University of Minnesota Scenic Collections Database. Click the 'Skip Instructions..' link. Then, for the easiest way to browse, click 'Find All Records' and click 'Next' when the 3 thumbnail results come up. Then go into the resulting URL in the address bar and change the number after "max=" from 3 to any number you want. I found it easiest to coast through the collection with 500 thumbnail images per page. [All notes below the images here are quoted from the site]

Addit: Actually this is the landing page with links to background notes that help explain the context of the material. For instance:

"The rise of fraternal orders and societies in this country was phenomenal during the late 1800s; more than 6 million Americans had become members by 1907. These societies were formed to study social issues, to promote certain political viewpoints, or to provide philanthropic frameworks for the distribution of financial aid to their members.

Surprisingly, some of the biggest of these organizations arose out of the theatrical community. For instance, the Benevolent and Protected Order of Elk grew out of an association of New York minstrel players and managers, while the Fraternal Order of the Eagle was initially a coalition of theatre producers who joined together to fight the musicians' union. It may have been these ties to the theatre that led many societies to create elaborately costumed and staged initiation rituals."

Hibernia

IN: "The whole works of Sir James Ware concerning
Ireland, revised and improved 1764"

Irish Crown [detail]

'The Prospect of Limerick Bearing Due West, Exactly Shewing the
Batteries Approaches & Breach etc.' IN: "A True and Impartial History
of the Most Material Occurrences in the Kingdom of Ireland During the Two
Last Years With the Present State of Both Armies" by George Story, 1693.

'The Town of Youghall' IN: "Pacata Hibernia ; or, A History of the Wars in Ireland,
During the Reign of Queen Elizabeth : Taken From the Original Chronicles.
Illustrated with Portraits of Queen Elizabeth and the Earl of Totness; and Fac similes
of all the Original Maps and Plans" [first published 1633 by Sir Thomas Stafford] 1810.

'The Tower of Ardmor[e]' IN: "Collectanea de Rebus Hibernicis"
Ed. by Charles Vallancey published in 6 volumes between 1770-1804.

IN: "Collectanea de Rebus Hibernicis" Ed. by Charles Vallancey
published in 6 volumes between 1770-1804.

IN: "Collectanea de Rebus Hibernicis" Ed. by Charles Vallancey
published in 6 volumes between 1770-1804.

IN: "Collectanea de Rebus Hibernicis" Ed. by Charles Vallancey
published in 6 volumes between 1770-1804.

'The Harp of Brian Boromh and the Irish Crown' IN: "Collectanea de Rebus
Hibernicis" Ed. by Charles Vallancey published in 6 volumes between 1770-1804.

'A Curious double-Headed Patera of Gold the Size of the Original Found
in Ireland' IN: "Collectanea de Rebus Hibernicis" Ed. by Charles Vallancey
published in 6 volumes between 1770-1804.

'The Charter Horn' IN: "Collectanea de Rebus Hibernicis"
Ed. by Charles Vallancey published in 6 volumes between 1770-1804.

'A Plan of the Lake of Kilarny in the County of Kerry' IN: "Hibernia Curiosa. A
Letter from a Gentleman in Dublin, to his Friend at Dover in Kent. Giving a General
View of the Manners, Customs, Dispositions, &c. of the Inhabitants of Ireland.
With Occasional Observations on the State of Trade and Agriculture in that
kingdom ... Collected in a Tour through the Kingdom in the Year 1764" by John Bush.

'Tortures' - miscellaneous pamphlet from the 18th century.
This is included in the collection so I'm assuming it's from Ireland.

Villanova University in Pennsylvania have a collection of 108 images from old books relating to Ireland. (full set of thumbnails on a single page) Though some of the material appears to be age-deteriorated, it's great to find any material online pertaining to Ireland.

The writings of Charles Vallancey (majority of images above) on the ethnic origins of Irish peoples and theories about Irish antiquities and oriental/aryan/linguistic tropes, are worth noting particularly because they appear to have been based entirely on imagined evidence or spurious assumptions...

"George Petrie says: "It is a difficult and rather unpleasant task to follow a writer so rambling in his reasonings and so obscure in his style; his hypotheses are of a visionary nature." The Quarterly Review declares that: "General Vallancey, though a man of learning, wrote more nonsense than any man of his time, and has unfortunately been the occasion of much more than he wrote. The Edinburgh Review says: "To expose the continual error of his theory will not cure his inveterate disease. It can only excite hopes of preventing infection by showing that he has reduced that kind of writing to absurdity, and raised a warning monument to all antiquaries and philologians that may succeed him." "[source]

• 'Orientalism and Race: Aryanism in the British Empire' by Tony Ballantyne 2002 {book review by Carolyn Neel}.
• 'The Round Towers of Ireland' - essays from 19th century (see links bottom of page) at Library Ireland.
• Just because it came up on the radar: County Waterford Image Archive - mostly photographs, but there are a number of photocopy quality book images [via].
• Ancient Ireland.
• Irish History.