Auckland City Libraries carry a good collection of design books offering copyright-free or public domain illustrations. While some titles are available for loan, the Central City Library holds a representative collection in the Quick Reference section on the 1st floor that can be photocopied on either the colour or black and white photocopiers.
4000 flower and plant motifs: a sourcebook by Graham Leslie McCallum
Great sourcebook for designers, craftspeople, quilters and embroiderers, this book is arranged in three main sections:
- historical styles: Medieval, Islamic, Asian, Art Nouveau to Art Deco
- parts or types of plants: fruit, vegetables, fruiting bodies and trees
- motifs and borders.
The individual design elements, either sourced or created by Graham McCallum, are clearly drawn, and rather than offer a finished design, encourage the designer or crafter to use them to create their own designs.
Encyclopedia of source illustrations edited by Johann Georg Heck
Contains over 5000 detailed steel engravings taken from the 1851 edition of the Iconographic encyclopaedia of science, literature and art. In two volumes:
- Volume 1 covers mathematics and astronomy, physics and meteorology, chemistry, mineralogy and geology, botany, zoology, anthropology and surgery, geography and planography, history and ethnology
- Volume 2 covers military sciences, naval sciences, architecture, mythology and religious rites, fine arts, and technology.
Note: The Dover edition featuring parts of this work is available for loan: Heck’s pictorial archive of art and architecture and Heck’s pictorial archive of nature and science
Dover publications
Dover Publications are well known for their vast library of copyright-free illustrations in both colour and black and white.Dover titles in colour include:Dover titles in black and white cover the spectrum of historical and modern styles:Dover's “ready to use” borders and corners:- Dover publishes an extensive range called the Dover Clip-art series, "ready-to-use" books for borders and corners. These have been created for easy photocopying, being printed only on one side of each page. The themes range from Victorian and Art Nouveau to floral and contemporary.
- Similarly, we have the Pictorial archive of decorative and illustrative mortised cuts – 19th century engravings that include an open area like a scroll or placard to accommodate text.
Browse for other titles and lending copies here: Dover Pictorial Archive British Museum Pattern Books
British Museum Pattern Books are another well-known series:Browse the series here: British Museum pattern books Hart Picture ArchivesAn early series of copyright-free illustrations, printed with good definition, on high-quality glossy paper: - Humor, wit, and fantasy – a collection of comical people, animals and situations. Each illustration includes a caption outlining its source, with a full bibliography at the end of the book.
- Designs of the ancient world – Assyrian, Coptic, Egyptian, Greek and Roman designs,
- European designs – British, French, German and Italian designs, from medieval to Art Nouveau.
- Borders and frames – from mortised cuts and very elaborate floral etchings, to simple geometric frames.
Other titles of interest
Strong's book of designs, published 1910, revised 1917 (reproduced 1982) "a masterpiece of modern ornamental art comprising new ideas and designs of every conceivable sort of interest to the sign painter, card writer and commercial artist…" - compiled by C.J. and L.S. Strong, and used at the Detroit School of Lettering, 1910. The lending copy is the reproduced version: Strong's book of designs: A masterpiece by a master in colours. |
