Jan van Kessel’s Signature of Caterpillars and Snakes (1657)
One of history’s most idiosyncratic artist signatures, composed entirely of writhing creatures….more
17th Century
John Locke’s Method for Common-Place Books (1685)
The philosopher’s method for creating a personalized encyclopedia of quotations….more
Bracelli’s Bizzarie di Varie Figure (1624)
Giovanni Battista Bracelli’s extraordinary book of prescient prints that predate the Cubist movement by a good three centuries….more
Highlights from The Cleveland Museum of Art’s release of more than 30k images of public domain works
Highlights from the CMA’s release of more than 34,000 digital images of public domain works — all high resolution and free from restrictions on reuse….more
Robert Fludd’s Memory Tricks (1617)
Robert Fludd’s alphabet of correspondences, where each letter and number is paired with an object which echoes its shape….more
John Milton’s Frontispiece Prank
Confronted with a bad frontispiece portrait of himself Milton enacted a very literary revenge on the engraver….more
The Celestial Atlas of Andreas Cellarius (1660)
Harmonia Macrocosmica (1660), an atlas of the stars from the Dutch Golden Age of cartography, maps the structure of the heavens in twenty-nine extraordinary double-…more
Allegorical Maps of Love, Courtship, and Matrimony
Collection of allegorical maps (17th–19th century) charting that heady territory of love, courtship, and marriage….more
Fore-Edge Book Paintings from the Boston Public Library
Wonderful examples of “fore-edge painting”, where an illustration or design appears on the “fore-edge” of a book….more
Maps Showing California as an Island
California used to be thought of as an island. This stunning collection of 17th- and 18th-century maps illustrates how….more
The Egg Dance: From Peasant Village to Political Caricature
The egg dance was a traditional Easter game involving the laying down of eggs on the ground or floor and dancing among them whilst trying to break as few as possibl…more
The Drolatic Dreams of Pantagruel (1565)
Highlights from a book of 120 woodcuts depicting a series of fantastically bizarre and grotesque figures, reminiscent of some of the more inventive and twisted crea…more
