Words and Pictures From old Books

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38. Seal of Halphas, or Malthus., from The Goetia: The Lesser Key of Solomo
2008-01-25 04:30:00
(38.) Halphas or Malthus. — The Thirty-eighth Spirit is Halphas, or Malthous (or Malthas). He is a Great Earl, and appeareth in the Form of a Stock-Dove. He speaketh with a hoarse Voice. His Office is to build up Towers, and to furnish them with Ammunition and Weapons, and to send Men-of-War [that is, soldiers, men-at-arms—Liam] to places appointed. He ruleth over 26 Legions of Spirits, and his Seal is this, etc.(read more...)

The Grace (brighter version), from A Sentimental Journey Through France and
2008-01-20 12:08:00
A brighter version of The Grace that might be better for printing, perhaps to form the basis for a Valentine’s Day card or to make a scrap-book appear older. The trees in the background have suffered a little in this change, though.(read more...)
More About: France , Journey , Sentimental , Version

The Grace, from A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy (1885), adde
2008-01-20 12:08:00
If the supper was to my taste, the grace which followed it was much more so. (p. 202) This appears to be a rustic country dance. In the bacground a man plays a musical instrument, perhaps a hurdy-gurdy. You can see how the young man aims to gain the favour of the lady. The people are dressed in eighteenth-century costumes. I have made also a brighter version that might be better for printing.(read more...)
More About: France , Italy , Journey , Grace , Sentimental

234.---Silver Penny of Offa, King of Mercia., from Old England: A Pictorial
2008-01-19 10:16:00
The silver coins of the princes of the Heptarchy are for the most part pennies. There is an extensive series of such coins of the kings of Mercia. The halfpenny and the farthing are the ancient names of the division of the penny; they are both mentioned in the Saxon Gospels. The coins of Offa, king of Mercia (Fig. 234), are remarkable for the beauty of their execution, far exceeding in correctness of drawing and sharpness of impression those of his predecessors or successors. (p. 79)(read more...)
More About: England , Pictorial , Silver , King , Penny

Portraits of Great Statesmen 2, from Portraits and Principles of the World'
2008-01-17 13:09:00
Portraits of: James Madison James Buchanan Millard Fillmore Jno. Quincey Adams Benjamin Franklin Daniel Webster Thomas Jefferson Martin Van Buren James Munroe John Adams(read more...)
More About: World , Great , The World , Portraits , Principles

Abraham Lincoln, from Portraits and Principles of the World's Great Men and
2008-01-17 13:09:00
Detail from Great Statesmen scanned at higher resolution. The dot screen used for printing means that the higher resolution scan gives only a small improvement, mostly in improved contrast and detail.(read more...)
More About: Lincoln , Abraham Lincoln , Portraits , Abraham

Portraits of Great Statesmen 1, from Portraits and Principles of the World'
2008-01-17 13:08:00
Portraits of: Charles Sumner James G. Blaine Edward Everett Henry L. Dawes Benjamin Harrison James A. Garfield Grover Cleveland George F. Edmunds Abraham Lincoln Nathaniel P. Banks(read more...)
More About: World , Great , The World , Portraits , Principles

Cupid with a Whip!, from Scribner's Magazine 1903 No. 11 (1903), added on 1
2008-01-17 11:31:00
We see a pair of lovers, but they are pulling along behind them a two-wheeled chariot whose driver is a cherub, a putti, a cupid in fact, whose long whip encourages the couple to move onwards. The wheels of the chariot are of diamond. Maybe good for Valentines’ Day clip-art? This illustration is taken from an old advert for diamonds.(read more...)
More About: Magazine , Cupid , Whip

Old Advert: Whitman's Chocolates, from Scribner's Magazine 1903 No. 11 (190
2008-01-17 10:51:00
In this old ad, we see a book called “A History of Love” behind an open box of chocolates, and the text reads: A HISTORY of LOVE would contain the sweetest of chapters on WHITMAN’S Chocolates and Confections for sale everywhere. Try Whitman’s Instantaneous Chocolate: Made in­stantly with boiling milk. Stephen F. Whitman & Son 1316 Chestnut St., Piladelphia.(read more...)
More About: Magazine , Advert

Old Advert: Diamonds on Credit, from Scribner's Magazine 1903 No. 11 (1903)
2008-01-17 10:50:00
Loftis Brothers selling diamonds on credit, over 100 years ago. I have made a separate version of the graphic for use perhaps on a Valentine’s Day card.(read more...)
More About: Magazine , Credit , Diamonds , Advert

Flying cherub firing an arrow, from A Sentimental Journey Through France an
2008-01-16 04:56:00
A winged cupid, a naked boy with wings sprouting from his shoulder-blades, holds an arrow ready to fire. Where his arrow lands, someone will fall in love. I have included both a large size and smaller ones, so that you can use this happy little curly-haired putti on Valentines’ Day cards or in a scrapbook, as well as on Web pages.(read more...)
More About: France , Journey , Flying , Sentimental

Jedburgh Abbey, from In Search of Scotland (1929), added on 13th Jan 2008
2008-01-13 09:30:00
So these abbeys—Kelso, Jedburgh, Dryburgh, and Melrose—as close together as the abbeys of Yorkshire, preached the gospel of love in a land of hate. They were situated gallantly in the front line like four padres, helpless to stem the tide of war, nevertheless a comfort to friend and foe.(read more...)
More About: Scotland , Search , 2008 , N 13

Title Page, In Search of Scotland, from In Search of Scotland (1929), added
2008-01-13 09:29:00
The date is actually on the reverse of this leaf, which I have not scanned. I have the fourth edition; all four are dated 1929.(read more...)
More About: Scotland , Search , Page , Title

Frontispiece: Auld Reekie, from In Search of Scotland (1929), added on 12th
2008-01-12 03:47:00
Auld Reekie, or Edinburgh; in the distance the castle, but everywhere there is smoke.(read more...)
More About: Scotland , Search

Brevet Second Liutenant U. S. Grant at the Age of 21 Years, from Personal M
2008-01-07 02:43:00
From an old Daguerrotype taken at Bethel, Clermont County, Ohioo, in 1843. Engraved on Steel by A. H. Ritchie, N. A.(read more...)
More About: Personal , Years , Grant

General Grant's signature, from Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant (1885), add
2008-01-07 02:43:00
This was underneath the frontispiece showing the young Grant at the age of 21.(read more...)
More About: Personal , General , Signature , Memoirs

Old Advert: How to Grow Tall, from Scribner's Magazine 1903 No. 11 (1903),
2008-01-05 07:47:00
Why be short and stupid when for the mere asking you can become tall and graceful?(read more...)
More About: Magazine , Tall , Advert , Grow

Old Advert: Razall Loose Leaf System, from Scribner's Magazine 1903 No. 11
2008-01-05 02:53:00
An old advertisement for a book-keeping system. A person stands holding a pen on the left, and on the right a man with a monocle sports a moustache. behind them is a desk with folders and an open ledger.(read more...)
More About: Magazine , System , Leaf , Advert

Old Advert: Arts and Crafts Furniture, from Scribner's Magazine 1903 No. 11
2008-01-05 02:51:00
Arts and Crafts furniture(read more...)
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The Conquest 2: Walking down the stairs, from A Sentimental Journey Through
2008-01-04 11:26:00
If nature has so wove her web of kindness, that some threads of love and desire are entangled with the piece, must the whole web be rent in drawing them out? Whip me such stories, great Governor of Nature! said I to myself: wherever thy Providence shall place me for the trials of my virtue, whatever is my danger, whatever is my situation, let me feel the movements which rise out of it, and which belong to me as a man—and, if I govern them as a good one, I will trust the issue to thy justice; for thou hast made us, and not we ourselves.(read more...)
More About: Journey , Walking , Sentimental , Conquest , The Con

The Conquest 1: Perhaps a kiss?, from A Sentimental Journey Through France
2008-01-04 02:12:00
Yes—and then—Ye, whose clay-cold heads and lukewarm hearts can argue down or mask your passions, tell me, what trespass is this that man should have them? or how his spirit stands answerable to the Father of spirits but for his conduct under them? (p. 158)(read more...)
More About: Kiss , France , Journey , Sentimental , Conquest

The Conquest 3: Through the door, from A Sentimental Journey Through France
2008-01-04 02:11:00
As I finished my address, I raised the fair fille de chambre up by the hand, and led her out of the room; she stood by me till I locked the door and put the key in my pocket, and then, the victory being quite decisive, and not till then, I pressed my lips to her cheek, and, taking her by the hand afain, led her safe to the gate of the hotel. (p. 159)(read more...)
More About: France , Journey , Sentimental , Door , Conquest

1422.---Queen Anne Boleyn. (From a Painting by Holbein.), from Old England
2008-01-02 11:53:00
Thus Anne Bullen [Anne Boleyn] was at last Queen of England , and Katherine deposed. (p. 23)(read more...)
More About: Painting , Queen Anne

33. Seal of Gäap, from The Goetia: The Lesser Key of Solomon the King (1904
2007-12-31 13:59:00
(33.) Gäap. — >The Thirty-third Spirit is Gäap. He is a Great President and a Mighty Prince. He appeareth when the Sun is in some of the Southern Signs, in a Human Shape, going before Four Great and Mighty King s, as if he were a Guide to conduct them along on their way. His Office is to make men Insensible or Ignorant; as also in Philosophy to make them Knowing, and in all the Liberal Sciences. He can cause Love or Hatred, also he can teach thee to consecrate those things that belong to the Dominion of Amaymon his King. He can deliver Familiars out of the Custody of other Magicians, and answereth truly and perfectly of things Past, Present, and to Come. He can carry and re-carry men very speedily from one Kingdom to another, at the Will and Pleasure of the Exorcist. He ruleth over 66 Legions of Spirits, and he was of the Order of Potentates. His Seal is this to be made and to be worn as aforesaid, etc.(read more...)
More About: The King

32. Seal of Asmoday, from The Goetia: The Lesser Key of Solomon the King (1
2007-12-31 13:58:00
(32.) Asmoday. — The Thirty-second Spirit is Asmoday, or Asmodai. He is a Great King , Strong, and Powerful. He appeareth with Three Heads, whereof the first is like a Bull, the second like a Man, and the third like a Ram; he hath also the tail of a Serpent, and from his mouth issue Flames of Fire. His Feet are webbed like those of a Goose. He sitteth upon an Infernal Dragon, and beareth in his hand a Lance with a Banner. He is first and choicest under the Power of Amaymon, he goeth before all other. When the Exorcist hath a mind to call him, let it be abroad, and let him stand on his feet all the time of action, with his Cap or Headdress off; for if it be on, Amaymon will deceive him and call all his actions to be betrayed [probably reading; fac simile has bewrayed]. But as soon as the Exorcist seeth Asmoday in the shape aforesaid, he shall call him by his Name, saying: “Art thou Asmoday?” and he will not deny it, and by-and-by he will bow down unto the ground. ...
More About: The King , Seal

31. Seal of Foras., from The Goetia: The Lesser Key of Solomon the King (19
2007-12-31 13:57:00
(31.) Foras. — The Thirty-first Spirit is Foras. He is a Mighty President, and appeareth in the Form of a Strong Man in Human Shape. He can give the understanding to Men how they may know the Virtues of all Herbs and Precious Stones. He teacheth the Arts of Logic and Ethics in all their parts. If desired he maketh men invincible [or invisible], and to live long, and to be eloquent. He can discover Treasures and recover things Lost. He ruleth over 29 Legions of Spirits, and his Seal is this, which wear thou, etc.(read more...)
More About: The King , King

1425.---Group of Christening Gifts., from Old England: A Pictorial Museum (
2007-12-30 06:24:00
Thus Anne Bullen [Anne Boleyn] was at last Queen of England , and Katherine deposed. At first all things smiled upon the beautiful and light-hearted woman who now presided over the domestic arrangements of the court. A dughter—Elizabeth—was born; and loud and long were the congratulations, magnificent the feastings and processions of the christening (Fig. 1425). But ere three years had passed, the poisoned chalice that Anne had been instrumental in offering to the late queen, was commended to her own lips, under circunstances a thousand times more terrible. Katherine died in the beginning of 1536, and wihin six months after, Queen Anne Bullen, who in the pride of her heart had said, on hearing of Katherine’s death, “she was now indeed a queen,” discovered that, as she had supplanted her royal mistress, so she was about to be supplanted by one of her maids of honour. It is said that the premature birth of a son was brought on by discovering some ...
More About: Gifts , Pictorial , Museum , Group

The Angel Appears Unto Zacharias., from Religion in the Home (1913), added
2007-12-21 13:11:00
The Angel Appears Unto Zacharias.—Luke 1 12,13. Zacharias is shown holding a thurible, spreading incense before an altar. A tablet in the background bears the numbers one through ten in Roman numerals, meant to signify the ten commandments. The angel is a barefoot man with wings and perhaps a rose in one hand.(read more...)
More About: Religion , Home

Initial Letter N, from A Treasury of Verse for Little Children (1923), adde
2007-12-18 04:43:00
A decorative capital letter “N” with a child sitting inside it, hands on knees; it was used as a drop cap (dropped capital) at the start of a the poem, Snow in Town.(read more...)
More About: Children , Letter , Verse , Treasury

Snow in Town, from A Treasury of Verse for Little Children (1923), added on
2007-12-17 12:31:00
The title for this poem show a boy gathering a snowball, and some houses with roofs covered in snow, and an old-fashioned lamp-post.(read more...)
More About: Children , Snow , Town , Verse , Treasury