Curiosities from the Museum of Giovanni Carafa (1778)
Fantastic depictions of various Roman antiquities from a wonderful catalogue of objects once found in the private museum of 18th-century antiquities collector Giova…more
18th Century
Collection of Pornographic Art from Antiquity (1785)
A collection of pornographic art from antiquity, presented by the French art historian and libertine Pierre-François Hugues d’Hancarville (1719-1805)….more
The Tibetan Book of Proportions
An eighteenth-century pattern book consisting of 36 ink drawings showing precise iconometric guidelines for depicting the Buddha and Bodhisattva figures. Written in…more
The Sketchbooks of Jacques-Louis David
Selections from “Album 11”, a sketchbook belonging to the French neoclassical painter and revolutionary Jacques-Louis David. The sketches are from his student years…more
A Selection from The Getty’s Open Content Program
A Selection from The Getty’s Open Content Program….more
The Vessels of Hermes – an Alchemical Album (ca.1700)
The contents of Box 14 from the Manly Palmer Hall Collection of Alchemical Manuscripts, a huge collection of esoteric works amassed by Manly Palmer Hall, a Canadian…more
Numerical Hands (1797)
Images from an 18th century Italian book entitled Scoperta della chironomia, ossia, Dell’arte di gestire con le mani by Vicenzo Requeno, a Spanish monk living in It…more
Manuscript Handbook of Firework Design (1785)
Beautiful hand-written and illustrated treatise on firework design and manufacture, including ‘blue-prints’ for the devices and explosive recipes….more
