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 scientific illustration of a White-cheeked Turaco (Musophaga leucotis) perched on a branch.
1860 · Hermann Schlegel — Monographie des toerako's (1860)
Botanical illustration of the orchid Saccolabium blumei majus, featuring a detailed colored raceme of flowers and leaves, and a monochrome sketch of the plant's habit.
1860 · Jean Jules Linden — Pescatorea: iconographie des orchidées (1860)
Scientific plate showing various fungi species including Rosellinia aquila, Chaetosphaeria innumera, and Pleospora herbarum in macroscopic and microscopic detail.
1861 · Selecta Fungorum Carpologia, Vol 1
Scientific plate illustrating various fungi species including Pleospora clavariarum, Hypomyces lateritius, and Hypomyces rosellus.
1861 · Selecta Fungorum Carpologia, Vol 1
A group of various domestic and wild birds in a landscape setting.
1861 · The Book of Household Management
Woodcut studies of orchid flowers on the left page
1868 · Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting: Orchid Manual
Woodcut studies of orchid flowers on the right page
1868 · Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting: Orchid Manual
Woodcut studies of orchid flowers in various orientations.
1868 · Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting: Orchid Manual
Woodcut studies of orchid flowers demonstrating the double-outline technique.
1868 · Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting: Orchid Manual
A large, mature Ssant-Akasie (Acacia nilotica) tree standing in a desert landscape near Ain-Scherif, with figures and equipment visible beneath its canopy.
1875 · Drei Monate in der libyschen Wüste
A scientific plate featuring seven different species of parrots perched on leafy branches, numbered 1-7.
1878 · Anton Reichenow — Vogelbilder aus fernen Zonen: Papageien (1878)
Scientific illustration of various cockatoo species perched on a tree branch.
1878 · Anton Reichenow — Vogelbilder aus fernen Zonen: Papageien (1878)
Scientific illustration of various parrot species perched on branches.
1878 · Anton Reichenow — Vogelbilder aus fernen Zonen: Papageien (1878)
An engraving of a large gorilla standing in a forest, with a smaller gorilla climbing a tree in the background.
1883 · Rivers of life, or sources and streams of the faiths of man in all lands; showing the evolution of faiths from the rudest symbolisms to the latest spiritual developments
Circular woodcut diagram with numerous figures and animals
1889 · Early Venetian Printing Illustrated
Obverse and reverse of a coin of Kyrene depicting Zeus Ammon and a silphion plant.
1890 · Olympian and Pythian Odes
A detailed woodcut illustration of a human skull resting on a book, surrounded by various botanical specimens and a small insect.
1892 · The Grihya Sutras, Part 2
Woodcut of a crow and an owl facing each other
1899 · The Jewel of Desire
A watercolor illustration of a white stone obelisk monument set within a lush garden landscape, featuring a blossoming pink Judas tree and green foliage.
1906 · Constantinople Painted by Warwick Goble
Woodcut illustration of leafy branches with seed pods and a bird
1912 · 近松浄瑠璃集 (Chikamatsu Jōruri Collection), Vol. 2
Silhouette illustration of alder branches and a crow
1912 · 近松浄瑠璃集 (Chikamatsu Jōruri Collection), Vol. 3
Woodcut illustration of leafy branches and a bird
1915 · Kojiki (Records of Ancient Matters)
A bookplate for Alan F. Coventry featuring a central woodcut-style illustration of a bearded scholar in monastic robes seated at a desk, examining a small plant. The scene includes stacks of books and a view of a Gothic
1916 · Enquiry into Plants, Vol. 2
Cupid Among the Flowers, an engraving showing a winged figure with a bow in a tropical landscape.
1920 · Sex and Sex Worship (Phallic Worship)
Two woodcut illustrations from the Ortus Sanitatis (1486) showing the Paradise tree and Narcissus.
1920 · Sex and Sex Worship (Phallic Worship)
Fig. 241: The goddess Heuresis presenting a mandrake root to the physician Dioscorides from a 512 A.D. manuscript.
1920 · Sex and Sex Worship (Phallic Worship)
Botanical illustration of Clathrus cancellatus (Red Cage fungus) showing mature and immature stages.
n.d. · Illustrations of British Mycology, First Series
Botanical illustration of the fungus Merulius tremellosus.
n.d. · Illustrations of British Mycology, First Series
Botanical plate XVIII showing two species of mushrooms: Agaric marqueté and Agaric de l'orme.
n.d. · Les champignons de la France : histoire, description, culture, usages des espèces comestibles, vénéneuses, suspectes, employés dans les arts, l'industrie, l'économie domestique et la médecine
Botanical illustration of Agaricus sublanatus mushrooms.
n.d. · Illustrations of British Mycology, Second Series
Botanical illustration of Agaricus maculatus mushrooms with heather and twigs.
n.d. · Illustrations of British Mycology, Second Series
Botanical illustration of Cantharellus cornucopioides (Black Trumpet) mushrooms.
n.d. · Illustrations of British Mycology, Second Series
A realistic woodcut illustration of a crow (left) and an owl (right) facing each other.
n.d. · Kāmaratnam (कामरत्नम्) — Tantric Alchemy
Natural history plate showing a Puffin Auk in a central oval wreath and five anatomical studies of bird beaks.
n.d. · A Tour in Wales, MDCCLXX, Vol. 2
A row of seven painted birds and creatures: a grey hummingbird, a quetzal hummingbird, a small grey dove, a speckled bird, a black crow, a white owl, and a butterfly.
n.d. · Tudela Codex
Woodcut illustration of two gazelles with the label 'Yellow Sheep'
n.d. · 飲膳正要(三) (vol 3)
Woodcut illustration of a horse in profile with the Chinese character 'Ma' above it.
n.d. · 飲膳正要(三) (vol 3)
A woodblock illustration of a two-humped Bactrian camel, standing and facing to the right.
n.d. · 飲膳正要(三) (vol 3)
Woodcut illustration of a Père David's deer (麋, mí) with its name printed above.
n.d. · 飲膳正要(三) (vol 3)
Hand-colored engraving of a flying lizard (Draco volans) with extended wing membranes.
n.d. · Unterhaltungen aus der Naturgeschichte / [Tafelband.]
Hand-colored engraving of a crocodile and its open jaws.
n.d. · Unterhaltungen aus der Naturgeschichte / [Tafelband.]
Hand-colored engraving of two crocodilians in naturalistic settings, labeled 39 and 40.
n.d. · Unterhaltungen aus der Naturgeschichte / [Tafelband.]
Hand-colored engraving of a large lizard, likely an iguana, on a riverbank.
n.d. · Unterhaltungen aus der Naturgeschichte / [Tafelband.]
A collection of natural history engravings depicting various Norwegian 'insects' and marine life.
n.d. · Det Første Forsøg paa Norges Naturlige Historie (The Natural History of Norway)
An illustration of a group of Indian Antelopes (Black Bucks) in a landscape with trees.
n.d. · The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine, Vol. 66 no.4
An engraving featuring three elements related to St. Winefred's Well: a specimen of moss, an ecclesiastical seal, and a topographical view of the well's chapel.
n.d. · A Tour in Wales, MDCCLXX, Vol. 1
Microscopic cross-section of a plant stem or root showing cellular structure.
n.d. · The Anatomy of Plants (Vol. 1)
A highly detailed microscopic cross-section of a plant stem or root, showing cellular structures labeled with letters A, B, E, and L.
n.d. · The Anatomy of Plants (Vol. 1)
Engraving of Egyptian Lotus flowers and leaves in a wooden tub
n.d. · The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine, Vol. 0
A stylized green tree known as the quetzal mizquitl rising from a decorated stepped base.
n.d. · Tudela Codex
A stylized green tree with white drooping branches emerging from a decorated turquoise and orange base.
n.d. · Tudela Codex
Illustration of a mythical tree with sheep heads growing from its leaves.
n.d. · Muḥammad Ḥaydar, 17th cent. Shujāʻ-i Ḥaydarī va-ʻajāʼib al-buldān : manuscript, undated. MS Persian 63. محمد حيدر. شجاع حيدري وعجائب البلدان : مخطوطة. Houghton Library, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
Woodcut of a cypress tree growing from a classical altar decorated with a bucranium.
1499 · Hypnerotomachia Poliphili ubi humana omnia non nisi somnium esse doce : atque obiter plurima scitu sane quam digna commemorat ..
A woodcut illustration depicting petrified humans and animals, including a man leading a horse and several smaller quadrupeds.
1648 · Metallic Museum
A collection of scientific and architectural engravings including a fish (fig 34), a robed figure (fig 35), architectural details (fig 36), vaulted structures (fig 31), a cross-section of a room with a pool, a woven cont
1665 · Journal des voyages de Monsieur de Monconys … Première partie (Voyage de Portugal, Provence, Italie, Egypte, Syrie, Constantinople & Natolie)
Scientific engraving illustrating the life cycle and metamorphosis of a dragonfly, from egg and nymph stages to the adult winged insect.
1685 · General History of Insects
Scientific plate 'Tab. III' featuring sixteen numbered botanical illustrations of various fungi species, showing morphological details, cross-sections, and growth habits.
1801 · Methodical Synopsis of Fungi
A branching date palm tree in the foreground with a camel caravan and smaller trees in the desert landscape of Audjila.
1881 · Kufra: Reise von Tripolis nach der Oase Kufra
A photographic plate titled 'SEXI Tree' showing a large, spreading tree with several figures standing beneath it in a grassy landscape.
1906 · At the Back of the Black Man's Mind
A woodcut-style illustration of leafy plants with hanging seed pods and a small bird in the lower left corner, enclosed in a rectangular frame.
1912 · 近松浄瑠璃集 (Chikamatsu Jōruri Collection), Vol. 2