Historical Book Images

The Biodiversity Heritage Library has thousands of illustrations of flora and fauna. This unaffiliated bot shares random images from the collection.

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🌳 Flore des serres et des jardins de l'Europe. A Gand: chez Louis van Houtte, eÌditeur, 1845-1880.. Original source Image description: Illustration of Hydrangea stellata, featuring a dense cluster of star-shaped flowers with soft pink petals fading to white and green centers. The flowers sit atop broad, dark green leaves with prominent veins. The botanical style highlights delicate shading and fine details typical of 19th-century botanical prints. The text at the bottom identifies the species and its origin, Japan.

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🐟 Ichthyology Edinburgh, etc.: W.H. Lizars, etc., 1852-1854. Original source Image description: Illustration of a Chalceus macrolepidotus fish from an 1852-1854 Edinburgh ichthyology book. The fish has a rounded body covered in large, pale silvery-green scales with subtle blue shading. Its fins are prominently colored green with striking red tips and markings, and its tail fin is fully red. The fish's large eye is yellow with a black pupil. The background features a detailed sketch of a natural landscape with trees, rocks, and water in fine black and white lines, emphasizing the fish as the main subject. The image combines scientific precision with artistic detail typical of 19th-century natural history illustrations.

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🐊 The largest #alligator ever recorded was 19 ft 2 in. Learn all about alligators & see some gr8 illustrations in #bhlib Original source Image description: Illustration of a full-body American alligator from a 1907 publication, shown from above with head facing down. The alligator's detailed scales and textured skin are visible, along with its four legs splayed outward and its long, curved tail. The color palette includes naturalistic shades of brown and green. The image highlights the anatomy and patterning typical of alligators, emphasizing its rugged texture and powerful limbs. The illustration is part of a historical record related to the largest alligator ever recorded at 19 feet 2 inches.

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🐦 British ornithology London: Printed for the author, by Stephen Couchman ... and sold by Sherwood, Neely, and Jones, 1811-1821. Original source Image description: Illustration of a jay (Corvus glandarius) perched on a weathered tree stump. The bird has a pinkish-brown head with distinct black markings near its beak and spotted patterns on the crown. Its wings feature striking blue and black barred feathers, with grayish underparts and tail. The background shows a simple, muted landscape with bushes and grass, emphasizing the bird. The style is detailed and hand-colored, typical of early 19th-century ornithological prints.

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🐨 The mammals of Australia.. London, Printed by Taylor and Francis, pub. by the author, 1863.. Original source Image description: Illustration from 1863 depicting two koalas, an adult and a joey, resting on a tree branch surrounded by eucalyptus leaves and blossoms. The adult koala is climbing, showing its textured fur, rounded ears with white edges, and sharp claws. The joey clings to the adult's back, looking downward. Soft, muted colors and detailed shading emphasize the animals' natural features and the surrounding foliage. The Latin name "Phascolarctos cinereus" is printed below, identifying the species. The style reflects 19th-century naturalist art aimed at scientific study and documentation.

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🐙 Histoire naturelle Paris: F. Dufart, 1799-1808 ; Original source Image description: Black and white historical illustration of an octopus, titled "Le Poulpe d'Aldrovande." The image shows the octopus with eight long, curved, and textured arms covered in two rows of suction cups. The body is bulbous and detailed with fine lines indicating texture. The octopus’s central eye is visible, surrounded by the coiled arms. The illustration has a rectangular border and is labeled with plate number and text in French at the top and bottom. The background is plain, emphasizing the detailed anatomical features of the octopus.

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🦴 Lettere recentemente pubblicate sui pesci fossili veronesi Verona: Ramanzini, 1794. Original source Image description: Historical black-and-white illustration titled "Monti Colonnari di Vestena" showing a rocky landscape with tall, columnar basalt formations resembling fossilized fish structures. The detailed geological features include hexagonal columns, a waterfall cascading over the rocks, and dense clusters of trees and vegetation atop and around the formations. Two small human figures in a boat near the water emphasize the scale of the geological formations. The upper right corner includes the label "Tav. XXVII," indicating it is a plate from an 18th-century publication on fossil fish found near Verona, Italy.

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🦴 Versuch einer geognostisch-botanischen Darstellung der Flora der Vorwelt Leipzig undIn Kommission im Deutschen Museum, 1820-1838. Original source Image description: Illustration showing two distinct fossilized plant impressions on separate pink-hued stone slabs. The upper slab features a vertical fern-like stem with paired, rounded leaflets along its length and a larger, single leaf extending sideways. The lower slab displays a delicate, feathery branch with fine, needle-like leaves arranged symmetrically. Both fossils are depicted with soft shading to highlight texture and depth. The background is plain and off-white, framed with a thin, rectangular border. The image is an 1820-1838 historical botanical fossil study from Leipzig, emphasizing early scientific documentation of prehistoric flora.

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🦌 North American wild flowers Washington, D.C., Smithsonian Institution, 1925 [i.e. 1925-1928] Original source Image description: Illustration of a slender branch with multiple green leaves and clusters of small, white, bell-shaped flowers, each with delicate orange stamens. The botanical style is detailed and precise, showcasing the natural form and texture of the plant. The background is plain, emphasizing the plant’s features. The artwork is a historical botanical drawing from the Smithsonian Institution's North American wild flowers collection, circa 1925-1928, linked to the keyword "deer," possibly indicating the plant’s relevance to deer habitat or diet.

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🦠 Atlas and essentials of bacteriology New York: William Wood & Co., 1897 Original source Image description: Historical scientific illustration titled "Atlas and essentials of bacteriology," 1897, showing eight labeled diagrams (I-VIII) depicting various bacteria and microbial cultures. The images include rectangular blocks with bacterial growth, circular petri dish views showing different bacterial shapes and colonies, and an amoeba-like structure in the bottom right. Letters "e" and "i" mark certain bacterial elements in some illustrations. The detailed drawings emphasize the form, texture, and distribution of bacterial colonies typical of 19th-century microbiological studies. The plate is marked "Tab. 24" and includes lithographic credit to F. Reichhold, Munich.

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🌅 Everything for the garden: . New York: Peter Henderson & Co., 1902.. Original source Image description: Illustration from a 1902 Peter Henderson & Co. gardening catalog showing detailed black-and-white drawings of flowering plants. Featured are Henderson's Double-Flowering Mignonette "Red Goliath" with dense, tall flower spikes and lush foliage, a large blooming Imperial Japanese Morning Glory with ruffled petals, and a vine labeled "Moon Flower" with buds and large leaves. A small inset depicts a peaceful morning riverside scene with a woman standing on a porch surrounded by flowers. Text describes plant characteristics, growth habits, and flower size, emphasizing their vibrant colors and appeal for morning bloomers. The composition highlights garden variety beauty and cultivation.

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🌅 J. Steckler Seed Co., Ltd. garden manual 1900: . New Orleans, La.: Steckler, 1900.. Original source Image description: Black and white historical botanical illustrations from an 1900 garden manual page showing three plants: Giant Imperial Japanese Morning Glory with large, trumpet-shaped flowers clustered together; Mina Lobata with elongated leaves and droplets of small flowers on a stem; and Aristolochia Elegans with a large, round, textured flower resembling a pitcher shape. Each plant is labeled with its name beneath the detailed woodcut-style drawings, accompanied by descriptive text about growth habit and flowering characteristics. The page is aged, with slight yellowing and some text partially visible around the illustrations.

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☘ The common objects of the sea shore London: Routledge, Warnes & Routledge ..., 1859. Original source Image description: Illustration from 1859 titled "The common objects of the sea shore," depicting four numbered marine creatures: 1) a detailed shrimp with long antennae, 2) a smaller, segmented amphipod with multiple legs, 3) a spiny crab with large claws and textured shell, and 4) a second crab with raised claws and visible eyes. The image focuses on the anatomy and features of these sea animals, showing segmented limbs, claws, and body textures in brown and red tones. Despite the related keyword "plants," the illustration exclusively presents marine animal specimens without any plants.

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🐦 The birds of Australia.. London, Printed by R. and J. E. Taylor; pub. by the author, [1840]-48.. Original source Image description: Illustration of two cockatoos perched on branches with green leaves and red berries. The bird in the foreground has predominantly black feathers with a distinctive crest and bright red panels on its tail. The bird behind has spotted yellow markings on its head and neck, and barred yellow and black patterns on its tail feathers. Both birds have strong curved beaks. The image is a detailed, naturalistic depiction from the 1840s, showing the species Calyptorhynchus banksii native to Australia.

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🌼 The natural history of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands: . London: printed for C. Marsh [etc.]1754.. Original source Image description: Illustration from 1754 showing a tall lily plant with a sturdy green stem and elongated, narrow leaves growing in whorls around it. The plant has several large, downward-facing yellow trumpet-shaped flowers with dark brown spots. The background shows a cross-section of the earth with two insects: one black and brown ant-like insect carrying a round object, and a small beetle with a green and red segmented body. The style reflects detailed botanical art typical of 18th-century natural history publications.

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🐨 The mammals of Australia: . Sydney: Thomas Richards, government printer, 1871.. Original source Image description: Historical black and white illustration titled "The Native Bear," showing an adult koala and its joey clinging to a eucalyptus tree branch. The adult koala faces left, holding onto the branch with sharp claws, while the smaller joey rides on its back. Above them, eucalyptus leaves hang from the branch. The background features a detailed natural landscape with trees, a river, and a small sailboat, emphasizing the Australian habitat. The text below identifies the species as Phascolarctos cinereus and notes the print's origin from Sydney, 1869. The artwork is finely detailed, capturing the koalas’ fur texture and the tree's bark.

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🦥 The class Mammalia /. London: Printed for Geo. B. Whittaker, 1827.. Original source Image description: Illustration of a three-toed sloth clinging to a tree branch, shown in profile. The sloth's fur is detailed with fine, textured lines, emphasizing its shaggy and coarse appearance. Its curved claws firmly grasp the bark, rendered with cross-hatched shading to indicate texture. The sloth’s face is calm, with closed eyes and a rounded head. The artwork is monochrome, created with fine pen strokes, and includes handwritten text identifying the species as "THE THREE-TOED SLOTH" with additional classification notes on the right side of the page.