The Plate Room
31,861 woodcuts, engravings and hand-coloured plates of living things, cut from the pages of herbals, bestiaries and natural histories scanned by the world's libraries and gathered in the Source Library. Every plate links to the page it came from. For one herbal read cover to cover, visit the Herball Room.
Hand-colored engraving of a pineapple plant with various life stages of insects.
1705 · Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium
Hand-colored engraving of a plant with caterpillars, a pupa, and two moths, illustrating insect metamorphosis.
1705 · Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium
Hand-colored engraving of moths and cicadas on a flowering pomegranate branch.
1705 · Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium
Botanical illustration of Magnolia grandiflora featuring a large white bloom, a bud, and a seed cone.
1743 · The natural history of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands : containing two hundred a...
Manuscript illumination of Homer and Mercury with the heliotrope plant
1175 · Medical and Herbal Texts
Medieval manuscript illumination of a ram (Aries) between two stylized trees.
1240 · Bestiary
Anthropomorphic plant figure with a human body and foliage growing from the head.
1491 · Ortus sanitatis
A group of nine scholars or physicians gathered in a garden, some holding books and botanical specimens, framed by an architectural arch.
1491 · Garden of Health
Woodcut of a garden scene with a trellis, fountain, and central emblem.
1499 · Hypnerotomachia Poliphili ubi humana omnia non nisi somnium esse doce : atque obiter plurima scitu sane quam digna commemorat ..
A ritual scene featuring figures kneeling in prayer or supplication before an ornate vessel from which a tree grows, flanked by classical columns.
1499 · Hypnerotomachia Poliphili : ubi humana omnia non nisi somnium esse docet atque obiter plurima scitu sane quam digna commemorat
A large garden scene with figures harvesting plants, including a man picking grapes and a woman with a basket. In the foreground are male and female mandrake roots.
1532 · The Great Herbary with all the figures of the herbs
Hand-colored woodcut of a cherry tree with figures harvesting fruit.
1546 · Book of Herbs
Full-page allegorical illustration featuring a central figure and a border of flora and fauna.
1550 · Splendor of the Sun
A grid of fifty-six small woodcut illustrations arranged in eight rows and seven columns, depicting various symbols, animals, plants, and figures.
1554 · The Pagan World and the Origin of its Gods
A large serpent coiled around a tree with a human figure nearby in a landscape.
1577 · Florentine Codex, Vol. 3 (Books 10-12)
A vertical sequence of three panels showing Nahua men cultivating, harvesting, and arranging flowers.
1577 · Florentine Codex, Vol. 3 (Books 10-12)
Woodcut of a Tupinambá family, featuring a man with a bow and arrows, a woman carrying a child in a sling, and a pineapple plant.
1578 · Histoire d'un voyage faict en la terre du Bresil
Indigenous man carrying a harvest of fruits and plants on a shoulder pole.
1586 · Histoire Naturelle des Indes (The Drake Manuscript)
Engraving of coconut palm trees and harvesting activities in India.
1595 · Itinerary, Voyage or Ship-travel to the East or Portuguese Indies
Detailed engraving of tropical plants including Areca palms, pepper vines, and fig trees in a landscape.
1595 · Itinerary, Voyage or Ship-travel to the East or Portuguese Indies
Botanical engraving of a durian tree and a banyan tree with aerial roots.
1595 · Itinerary, Voyage or Ship-travel to the East or Portuguese Indies
Hand-colored engraving depicting various tropical flora and indigenous activities in Portuguese India, including coconut palms, banana trees (Vyghen), and betel nut palms (Arecca).
1596 · Itinerary: Voyage to the East or Portuguese Indies
A hand-colored engraving from Linschoten's Itinerario depicting various Indian botanical species and daily life, including the 'Arbore triste' (sad tree), betel preparation, and a water buffalo.
1596 · Itinerary: Voyage to the East or Portuguese Indies
Allegorical engraving of Flora, the Roman goddess of flowers, reclining against a tree and holding a large cornucopia overflowing with blossoms.
1616 · The Flowering Garden: Autumn
An intricate engraving of a formal Renaissance garden from the 'Autumnus' section of Hortus Floridus, featuring a central fountain, geometric flower beds, and figures tending to the plants.
1616 · The Flowering Garden: Autumn
A full-page plate of entomological and botanical specimens including various beetles and root-like structures.
1618 · Ulyssis Aldrovandi ... De animalibus insectis libri septem
An intricate engraving depicting two men in a formal garden examining a small plant, with a gardener working in the background and a dog in the foreground. The scene is topped by the motto 'Ex minimis patet ipse Deus'.
1623 · Zeeusche nachtegael, ende des selfs dryderley gesang
A grid of six circular engraved emblems numbered 37 to 42, set within ornate strapwork frames.
1623 · Ideas for Reforming the Antichrist
A circular emblem depicting a couple walking in a garden with climbing bean plants and a large building in the background.
1627 · Proteus, or Emblems of Love Transformed into Emblems of Morality
An allegorical engraving of a male figure integrated with a tree, featuring branches with lettered fruit growing from his body.
1629 · Raphael artem medicam explanans
An allegorical engraving of a human figure integrated with a tree, with branches bearing lettered medallions.
1629 · Raphael Explaining the Art of Medicine
A large woodcut of a seven-headed hydra (Hydra septiceps) clinging to a tree trunk.
1640 · Ulyssis Aldrovandi ... serpentum et draconum historiae libri duo
An intricate engraving of a 'Heliotropic Horoscope' featuring a sunflower as a timekeeping device.
1641 · Magnes sive De Arte Magnetica
An intricate engraving titled 'Aranea Geometrizans' showing a spider in a large, geometrically perfect web suspended between trees in a landscape.
1642 · Beehives of Universal Mathematical Philosophy, Volume One
A complex anatomical and astrological diagram featuring a central male figure surrounded by concentric circles of text, symbols, and botanical names.
1650 · Universal Music-making (Musurgia Universalis), Vol. II
A complex diagram titled 'Typus Sympathicus Microcosmi cum Megacosmo' showing the correspondences between the human body and the cosmos.
1653 · Oedipus Aegyptiacus Tomus II
A complex diagram titled 'Typus Sympathicus Microcosmi cum Megacosmo' showing a male figure with internal organs exposed, surrounded by concentric circles containing astrological symbols, botanical names, and anatomical
1653 · The Egyptian Oedipus, Volume II
Engraving of a 'Horoscopium Botanicum' (Botanical Horoscope), a sunflower-based clock mechanism.
1654 · Athanasii Kircheri Societatis Jesu Magnes sive de arte magnetica opus tripartium quo universa magnetis natura, eiusque in omnibus scientiis & artibus usus, nova medthodo explicatur, ac praeterae e viribus & prodigiosis effectibus magneticarum, aliarumque abditarum naturae motionum in elementis, lapidibus, plantis, animalibus, elucescentium, multa hucusque incognita natureae arcana, per physica, medica, chymica, & mathematica omnis generis experimenta recluduntur
A detailed engraving of a pineapple plant (Ananas) in a tropical landscape with palm trees, a monkey, and a human figure.
1667 · Kircher: China Illustrata (1667)
An engraving depicting the harvesting and preparation of large tropical fruits, likely jackfruit or durian, with figures in Chinese attire.
1667 · Kircher: China Illustrata (1667)
An allegorical engraving of the deity Pussa (Guanyin) emerging from a complex floral structure in the sea.
1667 · Kircher: China Illustrata (1667)
A complex astrological and medical diagram featuring a central human figure (Proteus) within concentric celestial spheres, surrounded by medicinal plants and zodiac signs.
1671 · The Great Art of Light and Shadow
Typus Sympathicus Microcosmi cum Megacosmo: An anatomical and astrological diagram of the human microcosm.
1678 · The Subterranean World Volume Two
A complex allegorical engraving titled 'TYPVS SYMPATHICVS MICROCOSMI CVM MEGACOSMO', depicting a central male figure whose internal organs are linked to a surrounding wheel of botanical and astrological symbols.
1678 · Mundus Subterraneus
Microscopic cross-section and longitudinal section of a vine branch.
1682 · The Anatomy of Plants (Vol. 2)
Detailed engraving of an Aurochs or Bifontes, a wild bull-like creature, leaning against a tree.
1684 · Old and New Prussia (with the pagan religion of the Old Prussians)
Botanical illustration of a passionflower (Passiflora) with leaves, tendrils, and flowers.
1686 · Jan Moninckx; Maria Moninckx — Moninckx Atlas, vol. 2 (1686)
Botanical illustration of the American Coral Tree (Arbor Coral Americana) featuring vibrant red flowers and large green leaves.
1686 · Jan Moninckx; Maria Moninckx — Moninckx Atlas, vol. 2 (1686)
Botanical illustration of Acacia similis (Bull-horn Acacia) showing bipinnate leaves, large thorns, and yellow flower spikes.
1686 · Jan Moninckx; Maria Moninckx — Moninckx Atlas, vol. 5 (1686)
An allegorical engraving showing sleeping leopards under a tree with a Latin motto.
1697 · Marcelli Malpighii ... De structura glandularum conglobatarum consimiliumque partium, epistola, Regiae Societati Londini ad scientiam naturalem promovendam institutae, dicata
A hand-colored engraving divided into three horizontal registers showing botanical and architectural subjects from the Levant.
1700 · Voyage au Levant, c'est à dire dans les principaux endroits de l'Asie Mineure, dans les isles de Chio, d...
Two hand-colored landscape engravings (numbered 155 and 156) depicting the flora and terrain of the Levant, likely near Mount Lebanon.
1700 · Voyage au Levant, c'est à dire dans les principaux endroits de l'Asie Mineure, dans les isles de Chio, d...
A 4x3 grid of twelve circular emblems with mottos and symbolic imagery.
1702 · Symbolographia sive de arte symbolica sermones septem : quibus accessit studio & opera eiusdem Sylloge celebriorum symbolorum in quatuor divisa classes sacrorum, heroicorum, ethicorum et satyricorum bis mille iconismis expressa ...
A detailed engraving showing the cultivation, harvesting, and processing of cochineal insects on prickly pear cacti in Mexico, featuring various figures engaged in different stages of the process.
1707 · A voyage to the islands Madera Barbados Jamaica Vol. 1
Botanical and entomological study of a yarrow plant with various insects.
1717 · Maria Sibylla Merian — Der rupsen begin, voedzel en wonderbaare verandering (1712)
Botanical and entomological study of a rose with insects
1717 · Maria Sibylla Merian — Der rupsen begin, voedzel en wonderbaare verandering (1712)
Botanical and entomological study of insects on grain and a flowering plant
1717 · Maria Sibylla Merian — Der rupsen begin, voedzel en wonderbaare verandering (1712)
Botanical and entomological study showing the life cycle of a moth on a host plant.
1717 · Maria Sibylla Merian — Der rupsen begin, voedzel en wonderbaare verandering (1712)
A hand-colored engraving depicting praying mantises on a tree branch and an opossum carrying its young below.
1719 · Maria Sibylla Merian — Dissertatio de generatione et metamorphosibus insectorum Surinamensium (1719)
Hand-colored engraving of an American bison standing next to a tree trunk with an overhanging flowering branch.
1743 · The Natural History of Carolina Florida and Bahama Islands Vol. 2