Victorian Family, 1896

  This is an illustration by Bertha G. Davidson, used as the frontispiece for the book "The Merry Five" by Shirley Penn, published in 1896. 

  I'd always wanted a large family like this, full of siblings. Though being a sensitive child who needed my quiet time, this was a completely illogical wish! Still, this sweet image conjures up all kinds of homey, loving vibes.

  This image is in the public domain and can be used freely - alter, print, craft, enjoy! Click the image to view a larger version, then save it to your computer.

Girl hugging grandmother, 1887

   This one hit me hard. The illustration and the story it accompanies went right to my heart. Poor Nora’s favoritest doll meets with misfortune in the form of a mischievous kitty. She runs to her grandma in tears, certain her doll is ruined. But grandma saves the day, as grandmas often do. She tells Nora about a similar experience she had as a girl, all while fixing the damage to the beloved doll.

   The story ends with Nora exclaiming,

“I do think that grandmas are the very best folks to have around when things happen!”

I heartily agree. I was fortunate enough to have a nana much the same, who seemed to be able to fix everything at any time. Let's hear it for those very special grandmas! 

   This image was included in the Little One’s Annual, a collection of stories, poems, and illustrations for children published in 1887. It accompanied the short story, “Dolls’ Trials” by Mary Elizabeth Northam (M.E.N.) Hatheway. 

Boston Library Society, 1888

   This is such a neat piece of ephemera! I found it while searching through old books online. This is one of those cases where I forgot to write down where I got it from (oops!), so I can only credit HathiTrust's vast resources. Check out that potential late fee of a whopping 1 cent!

   I learned from a little searching that the Boston Library Society was a subscription library founded in 1792. It had many notable members until it merged with the Boston Athenæum in 1939.

   Being from Boston and loving libraries, this is an extra-special find to me. I hope other book nerds and ephemera lovers will appreciate it, too! 

Sewing Machines, 1905

   I have a special connection to all things sewing thanks to my nana, so these neat vintage sewing machines immediately caught my attention. They're all from a 1905 London catalogue. 

   This model is called the "Elsa Sewing Machine", a "Hand machine on [an] iron base." It looks so handy and portable, but I bet the iron made it heavy! 

      It's interesting that for all the ways sewing machines have changed - and they can certainly do a lot more now, I'd imagine - the overall design hasn't changed so much. The bobbins of thread on the top, the crank on the side. 

   The one above was captioned as "The Bradbury Company's celebrated English-made machine."

   I was able to remove the background from a couple of these, to make them handy for digital crafting. Everything here is in the public domain - create, share, and alter however you wish! (Remember to click on the image for a larger size!)

French Label Pages, circa 1900s

   Ooh, I'm so excited to share these pages! They come from a French printer's catalog circa 1900. I had originally thought to just make my favorites into a printable, but there were so many awesome ones, I decided to share them all!

   My personal favorites? That's a tough one, but I do like the simple ones below. Wouldn't they look right at home on an old apothecary jar? 

  But perhaps your tastes run a bit fancier? You might like these...

  

   I have a few more that I loved, and I'm sharing the whole bundle over at Ko-fi. Don't worry - they're free. (Everything I share over there is!) So check it out at Old Paper Press on Ko-fi and let me know which page or label is your favorite!

Children Illustrations by Mary Ellen Edwards, 1892

   Can't you just feel the excitement of these two little girls, reaching excitedly for passing butterflies, seeming as if they're trying to call them over, like they would if they saw a friend across the road. 

   But the baby is my favorite, sitting contentedly nearby, captivated by the flowers surrounding her. 

  The amazingly talented Mary Ellen Edwards illustrated the images here for Frederic Edward Weatherly's Among the Daisies, published in 1892.

   This second one shows a family eagerly waiting for their father to come home. It accompanied a poem called "Daddy's Coming", which read in part: 

'Tis the hour we love the best,

           Daddy's coming :

For he tells us tales, you know,

Of the brave days long ago,

And we love him, love him so,

       Daddy's coming.

Children Gardening, 1899

  This one makes me smile. A girl works in the garden, while the child beside her watches his sister, or maybe just daydreams...but certainly isn't doing any work!

  I tried - and failed - to find the "E.J.H." that is signed on this illustration. This will have to be one of those images where we need to enjoy the work without knowing the name of the talent behind it. (But...oh, I'd love to know!) 

   This one came from "Bertha's Garden and Other Stories", published in 1899.