Wondrous panorama of the animal kingdom, with detailed reproductions of over 600 rare engravings: mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, crustaceans, insects, some plants — all identified. Royalty-free illustrations for designers and craftspeople. Excellent sourcebook for students of natural history.

Features over 600 animal illustrations taken from rare 18th century publications

Comprehensive and entertaining, this volume comprises the greatest works in animal illustration from the Middle Ages through the twentieth century. The chronological presentation of hundreds of black-and-white and color images begins with a medieval illuminated manuscript by the Limbourg brothers and the Renaissance works of Albrecht Dürer and other artists from the first centuries of printing. Subsequent illustrations include the seventeenth-century real and imaginary animals of Matthäus Merian and the unique eighteenth-century compilations of Albertus Seba. Nineteenth-century images are drawn from sources as diverse as J. G. Heck's Bilder Atlas; the prints of Georges Baron Cuvier; William Jardine's 40-volume Naturalist's Library; bird illustrations by John James Audubon, Alexander Wilson, Edward Lear, and many others; extraordinary butterfly and insect images by E. A. Seguy, as well as animal illustrations from Victorian chromolithograph die cuts. The exquisite Edwardian bestiary of the Detmold brothers brings the collection into the twentieth century, and ends with the imagery of contemporary dinosaur artist James Gurney. Detailed bibliographical information concerning every source—including biographical details of each artist—makes this collection a vital reference tool as well as a splendid resource of outstanding animal illustrations. Students of graphic art and illustration, as well as graphic designers and advertising professionals, will prize this treasury of material from many rare historic sources.

Over 350 illustrations of different foods, people eating, utensils, banquets, menus, wine lists. Beautifully reproduced 19th-century line drawings depict every conceivable activity concerned with the preparation, display, and consumption of food and drink.

Voluminous, diversified collection of ornamental two-, three-, and four-letter combinations — all in a rich variety of styles, many incorporating crowns, coronets, and ancient and modern alphabets. 130 black-and-white plates.

A spectacular range of wildlife appears in this fine collection of painstakingly accurate 19th-century drawings. Both artists and animal lovers will treasure these splendid illustrations of mammals, birds, fish, and insects.

Compilation of 688 black-and-white illustrations from 16 Dover nature coloring books.