Creating a d.i.y Valentine’s Day card? Here is a charming assortment of old-fashioned romantic love quotes and sayings sure to make any Valentine perfect. From Uncle Herbert’s Speaker and Autograph-Album Verses, 1887 Love Love is a subject to himself alone, And knows no other empire than his own. Look how the blue-eyed violets Glance love [...]
Are you in a pinch for a Valentine’s Day card? This beauty is printable as-is, or download and incorporate it into your own new creation. This is a lovely dimensional Victorian card. The background was die-cut, and then layered with different lacy papers atop a colorful chromolithographic insert.
A comical vintage Victorian postcard, the title of which is “When Love Grows Cold.” This version is tinted, in my postcard hunting travels I’ve seen the same image as a monotone image. This scene depicts snow. I haven’t seen much of the real thing in the Philadelphia area, so I may need to print this [...]
A charming vintage Victorian cupid postcard for your clip art crafting needs. A blond cupid, bow and arrows in hand, giving you a longing look from within a heart surrounded by little blue forget-me-nots and hearts. It reads: I Love you dearly as you can see But the question is–do you love me? To My [...]
Here is a charming old-fashioned couple in this vintage 19th century trade card. Perfect free Valentine clip art image to get a head-start on crafting those Valentine’s. Click on the image above to download the larger file. Colors restored so this is one beautiful printable as it is.
Download this free Valentine printable fortune teller, adapted from an early 20th century Valentine Party game of the same name. I’ve also made a “blank” wheel that you can use to write in your own fortunes. Print, cut and assemble by fastening the red indicator to the center of the wheel. Ask Cupid a love-related [...]
I’ve posted an assortment of authentic Victorian era scrap and ephemera in my Etsy shop, MissMary.Etsy.com. Stop by while the getting is good.
This set of six vibrant Victorian Christmas Santa Claus pinback buttons are now available in my Etsy shop. This is a seasonal item and quantities are limited. The Santa images are reproduced from vintage Victorian Christmas postcards and old German scrap from my personal collection. Here Santa carries his sack stuffed with old-fashioned toys; he [...]
Avert your eyes if you suffer from Coulrophobia because we’re about to send in the clowns! Old-fashioned images of clowns adapted from vintage circus poster art have been transformed into this colorful set of six 1-inch clown pinback buttons. You’ll find them in my novelty button shop, RetroButtons.
My fascination with all things fluorescent continues with this set of five 1-inch pinback buttons in the Art Nouveau (Jugenstil) style, currently for sale in my RetroButtons shop on Etsy. This set was printed on lime green paper and overpainted in black light reactive fluorescent acrylics. Both the paper and the paint glow under black [...]
A set of six old-fashioned “Man in the Moon” pinback buttons, adapted from a Victorian era coloring book illustration. These curious moon faces have been hand-tinted with black-light reactive fluorescent paint. The eyes glow a yellow-green, while the moon “faces” glow pale blue-white under black light illumination. They remind me a little of the old [...]
Jesse James collectible pinback button set featuring the James-Younger gang, with the outlaw Harry Tracy thrown in for good measure. Wanted! I stumbled upon these great vintage illustrations of Jesse James, his gang, and Harry Tracy, in an old reference book that was published in 1903. And what better way to bring these old images [...]
This Berkshire Pig illustration for you to color is another selection from an antique coloring book called The New Model Painting Book for Young People. Well suited for use as clip art, or save the file to print and color in whenever you get a hankering for swine. About the Berkshire Pig The Berkshire Pig is [...]
With a song in his heart, this blackcap warbler, a vintage coloring book illustration, is ready for eager artists to color in and enjoy. Just click on the image below for the larger printable version. Suggestions for Coloring In the Blackcap Warbler Bird Coloring Page Although I personally have never met the blackcap warbler, his [...]
A cat illustration for you to color in, from the pages of an antique coloring book! This free download is another page from the antique Children’s coloring book called The New Model Painting Book for Young People. The book has many other animal illustrations for you to color or paint, and the simplicity of line [...]
Here is a vintage coloring book page of a goose with her goslings. This page is from an early 2oth century coloring book for children called The Model Painting Book for Young People. You can find other pages to color from this book here. Coloring in Your Mother Goose and Goslings Page The mother goose [...]
A free printable coloring page of a hare and leverets, from The Model Painting Book for Young People, circa 1900. Just click on the image below for a larger printable version of the same. Coloring In your Furry Little Friends Did you know that a leveret is what we call a young hare (especially one less [...]
A free coloring page of a splendid camel, from my antique copy of The Model Painting Book for Young People, circa 1900. Tips on Coloring In Your Free Camel Printable Camels are said to be a persnickety creature, and the fellow in our coloring page looks a little cranky. Can you cheer him up? Add [...]
A humorous Victorian article that presents the case that perhaps the murderous Bluebeard of fairy tale and legend, was the victim in a nefarious plot. Included is an illustration suggesting what could be a most thrilling tableau vivant, or possibly a unique Halloween costume. Source: Lippincott’s Magazine, 1869 Annual How the bare mention of my [...]
John Greenleaf Whittier, 1854. The recollection of some descendants of a Hessian deserter in the Revolutionary war bearing the name of Muller doubtless suggested the somewhat infelicitous title of a New England idyl. The poem had no real foundation in fact, though a hint of it may have been found in recalling an incident, trivial [...]
This article about the song and legend of The Mistletoe Bough appeared in an early 20th century children’s encyclopedia (1911), The Book of Knowledge. I’ve included a clip from a silent film of the same title that I found on Archive.org. Then there was Thomas Haynes Bayly. We do not know his songs so well as [...]
Andrew Lang (31 March 1844 – 20 July 1912) was a Scots poet, novelist, literary critic, and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known as a collector of folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectures at the University of St Andrews are named after him. Read the full Wikipedia entry on [...]
A juvenile selection from an antique reader, The Sick Doll and Other Stories for Youngest Readers, published in 1870. This book has over 100 charming Victorian woodcut illustrations. I’ve included the original artwork that illustrated the following poem, “Spring is Here”, so that you may use them as free springtime clip art. A good way to [...]
The author of this poem about rain is not identified; it appeared in Uncle Herbert’s Speaker and Autograph-Album Verses, published in 1887. With my bored dog at my feet as I prepare this post, it is clear that the boredom of a rainy day indoors is a sentiment shared by dog and child alike. The Rain [...]
Build Your Own Cabinet of Curiosities! Can you imagine a Victorian Lady tinkering around with the skeletal remains of an animal? In a slim volume published in London in the mid 1800′s called “Parlour Recreations for Ladies,” I found this interesting bit of instruction. TO OBTAIN EXQUISITE SKELETONS OF SMALL ANIMALS Put any small subject, [...]
In some Asian and Slavic cultures, white is considered to be a color that represents death; a feeling shared by the author of this brief article which was published in the March 1896 issue of The Ladies’ World. I personally think that white makes a nice contrast against the red brick and brownstone of Victorian [...]
Perhaps you are a digital designer on a quest for digital scrapbooking freebies and downloads? Scrapbooking has a fascinating pedigree; the majority of free vintage clip art images on this website were derived from antique Victorian era scrapbooks that have survived the ravages of time. Some of the more interesting scrapbooks in my collection are [...]
A Victorian Window Screen, from Ingall’s Home Magazine, 1877 The foundation of this window-screen is made of woven netted lace, on which white woven braid is hemstitched in lattice-shape with black split zephyr worsted. The braid is ornamented in herring-bone stitch with similar worsted. Stretch this foundation in a frame of varnished black cane.
Those acquainted with the manner of making the “quilled braid,” as it was called in the old days, can apply it to the manufacture of beautiful and serviceable rugs, for parlor or sitting-room floor. The materials required are wide, woolen braid or strips of cloth of two or more colors, a piece of canvas or [...]
To shut out a disagreeable view from a back window, the glass may be rendered ornamental, and the obnoxious objects shut out, by a very simple plan, which makes a very fair imitation of ground glass. This is effected by cutting out stars or diamonds upon a piece of white muslin, tarlatan, or common tissue-paper, [...]
Now is the joyous season of the year when, if you are only acquainted with the precious secret of their preparation, you can make for yourself, with ten minutes’ work, candies more delicious than were purchased at the most expensive confectioners’. The latter never have this particular sort of candies for sale, because they will [...]
by C. H. K., from The Cottage Hearth, June 1877 The accompanying illustration shows a very effective style of icing or frosting combining richness of color and contrast, yet free from any deleterious ingredient in the matter of color. Proceed as follows: Bake a pound, sponge, or any other cake, in a large shallow tin; [...]
