Why Are You Weeping, Sister? Why are you weeping, Sister? Why are you sitting alone? I’m bent and gray And I’ve lost the way! All my tomorrows were yesterday! I traded them off for a wanton’s pay. I bartered my graces for silks and laces My heart I sold for a pot of gold– Now [...]
We often think of flowers for Valentine’s Day, but instead of relying on your local florist to choose an arrangement, why not try your hand at the Victorian art of sending secret messages via flowers? Flower Sentiments from the Victorian Era. Acacia, Yellow = Concealed Love Acanthus = Art Almond = Heedlessness Amaranth = Immortality [...]
Victorian scrapbook image of a woman tucking a secret love letter into the folds of her dress. I’ve restored this image so she is perfectly printable and well suited for decoupage, or add her to your own scrapbook.
One day, when childhood is but a distant memory, Gertie, Clive, and Elizabeth will remember this scene with tears of sorrow. But for now, we have three naive children enjoying a fun day of ice skating at Farmer Poole’s farm. Enjoy this beautiful Victorian era chromolithograph and make up a winter tale of your own. [...]
Vintage engraving of Edgar Allan Poe from a 19th century cyclopedia. In reading the Wikipedia entry on Poe, I learned of this assessment by Aldous Huxley: Aldous Huxley wrote that Poe’s writing “falls into vulgarity” by being “too poetical”—the equivalent of wearing a diamond ring on every finger.[112] To this I say: hey Huxley, just [...]
A detailed decorative element for your next clipart adventure. A trio of wistfully sad cherubs that would be at home on a Valentine or funeral card. They seem to long for better days.
No traditional Delaware shopping run is complete without a trip to The Christmas Tree Shops. With no shortage of cheap resin home decor of questionable taste and dubious origin, one can at always find fodder for iPhone camera fun. Thanks to the picfx app for iPhone, I was able to transform a quick snap of [...]
Today is Squirrel Appreciation Day, and although the little critters and I have had our differences (thanks for chewing up my soffit, guys!), there was a time when a special little squirrel was a welcome guest in our home. It was 1984, or 1985, I forget exactly when, that I rescued Nutmeg the Wonder Squirrel [...]
And so a week away from the computer turned into a whole season. Give me a few days, I’ll have some Halloween stuff posted shortly. In the meantime, I have been just started to tinker with tumblr and have two new blogs. The first, imagepixie.tumblr.com, is a dumping ground for random iPhone foolery sprinkled with [...]
The mad pursuit of obscure illustrated books has afforded me many curious finds. A recent find is a 19th century German book entitled Rübezahl, Legends and Anecdotes: The Lord of the Giant Mountains Written for Children by Paul Arndt. It was found, as I usually find my neat old German books, while antiquing in Lancaster [...]
Source: Demorest’s Monthly, February 1897 It seems strange that so dreary a month as February should ever have been graced with the charming myths which have gathered about St. Valentine’s Day, and made its observance one of the relics of the fairy-land of love and dreams, which passed away when the shriek of the steam-whistle, [...]
I’ve added some more Valentine’s day related content, and beings that I’m snowed in, I expect to post more throughout the remainder of the weekend.
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.
Cupid’s Wheel of Fortune is my adaptation of an early 20th century parlor game of the same name. Print and Make Cupid Game (PDF, 361KB)
By Edyth Kirkwood, as published in Peterson’s Magazine, February 1884 “Ah! there you are at last, Cora. I was just going to send your breakfast up to you. Did you have a pleasant time, at the party, last night?” Cora drew up her chair, stirred her coffee sleepily, repressed a yawn, and replied, slowly: “It [...]
I have seen the infant sinking down, like a stricken flower, to the grave—the strong man fiercely breathing out his soul upon the field of battle—the miserable convict standing upon the scaffold, with a deep curse quivering on his lips—I have viewed death in all his forms of darkness and vengeance with a tearless eye,—but [...]
A Window Flower-Box, From The Cottage Hearth, 1876 Given fresh mosses or leaves, a few trailing creepers and two or three spikes of flowers, and the effect will be charming in a window box made after any of the following descriptions. These methods are all cheap and feasible for securing the effect desired. The box [...]
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.
Many of the vintage images found on this site come from antique Victorian scrapbooks that I’ve collected over the years. You can find a nice selection of free vintage images and Victorian clip art on this site. Enjoy this old article, The Value of a Scrap-Book, from Household Hints and Recipes by Henry T. Willams [...]
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, [...]
by Alessandro Filippini, head chef of the famous Delmonico’s in New York, 1889 Nearly every family of means is in the habit of giving a few dinners to its friends during the year. As a matter of course, the members of the family are, in return, invited to “dine out.” If you invite your friends [...]
From the December 1898 issue of The People’s Home Journal Peanut Candy One cupful molasses, two cupfuls sugar, one tablespoonful vinegar, one tablespoonful butter, and one teaspoonful vanilla. Boil ten minutes, or longer, if necessary, then pour over one cupful peanuts. Peppermint Two cupfuls granulated sugar, six tablespoonfuls boiling water. Boil three minutes, take off [...]
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; [...]
Why Are You Weeping, Sister? Why are you weeping, Sister? Why are you sitting alone? I’m bent and gray And I’ve lost the way! All my tomorrows were yesterday! I traded them off for a wanton’s pay. I bartered my graces for silks and laces My heart I sold for a pot of gold– Now [...]
The pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. Here is an assortment of corny old puns from Poetic Puns, a slim little book dated 1912. I The portrait tumbled [...]
By Edyth Kirkwood, as published in Peterson’s Magazine, February 1884 “Ah! there you are at last, Cora. I was just going to send your breakfast up to you. Did you have a pleasant time, at the party, last night?” Cora drew up her chair, stirred her coffee sleepily, repressed a yawn, and replied, slowly: “It [...]
I have seen the infant sinking down, like a stricken flower, to the grave—the strong man fiercely breathing out his soul upon the field of battle—the miserable convict standing upon the scaffold, with a deep curse quivering on his lips—I have viewed death in all his forms of darkness and vengeance with a tearless eye,—but [...]
A pair of illustrations from my Victorian era edition of The Count of Monte Cristo.
“I like ghosts. I have heard it said that the dead have never done, in six thousand years, as much evil as the living do in a single day.” The Count of Monte Cristo.
