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!)

Art Supplies, 1900

   I had way too much fun going through this art supplies catalog and saving images to share! (Because everyone defines fun as "searching through catalogs that are over 100 years old", right? Right?!)

   These product images are all from a catalog of F.W. Devoe & C.T. Raynolds Co. published circa 1900.

    It's strangely exciting to find a product by a company I use now. (A.W. Faber changed it's name to Faber-Castell in 1905. They're still making art supplies today!) 

    The Winsor & Newton watercolors - um, I mean 'water colors' - was also neat to find. That's the brand of watercolors that I always hear about but can't afford. Heck, if I could get a set for $1.60, I'd be thrilled!

   Dragon Gold Paint - I can't overstate how much I love that name!

   I removed the background on these next two. I just love the shape of the bottles - they'd make great craft elements. 

  

Vintage robin etching, circa 1845-47

 

   Robins are one of the most common birds we see in my city, so this fella instantly stood out to me. I love that an etching from the mid 19th century can still feel so familiar today!

   This robin is from a book by Mary Elizabeth Southwell (Dudley) Leathley called "Mamma's Stories About Birds", published in London circa 1845-1847. (There is no author noted in the book, but I assume the California Digital Library, which uploaded it to the Internet Archive, knows what they're talking about!) 

  While I always love an original, authentic image, I wanted to see if I could make this bird a little clearer, and the result is above. And then I decided to isolate him (ugh, I can't the word "isolate" for this process - it sounds cruel! I'll need to think up my own word...!) so he'd be a great addition to digital projects. 

   These are all public domain, so feel free to share, alter, or create with them however you choose. Just click on the image to see the original size. 

Sisters sledding, circa 1910

 A fun winter postcard, possibly circa 1910, of two girls (sisters?) enjoying a sled ride. The vintage-lover in me thinks, "Aww, how sweet! Little sister feels safe in big sister's lap!" And then the maternal side of me rears up with, "That's not safe! She's going to get hurt!" 

  I also made a version with just the sisters on the sled and a transparent background. Click on either image to see the larger version, then right-click and save.