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 woodcut depicting a man interacting with parrots on a perch.
1491 · Garden of Health (Hortus Sanitatis)
Hand-colored woodcut depicting two scholars observing various birds in a courtyard.
1491 · Garden of Health
Woodcut of a hippopotamus (Ypotamus) in a landscape, hand-colored.
1491 · Garden of Health (Hortus Sanitatis)
Hand-colored woodcut depicting a lion and a dog-headed man (cynocephalus) in a landscape.
1491 · Garden of Health (Hortus Sanitatis)
Woodcut depicting three roosters in a landscape.
1492 · Prognostication
A trapezoidal woodcut emblem featuring two birds flanking a central vessel, with cryptic inscriptions in the border.
1499 · Poliphilo's Strife of Love in a Dream
A woodcut depicting a wolf confronting an eagle and a smaller bird beneath a central tree in a hilly landscape.
1500 · Prognostication
A mythical bird, identified as a Samandar (salamander), depicted within a large flame between two tall, jagged, purple rock formations against a gold background.
1500 · Wonders of Creatures
Hand-colored woodcut depicting a pastoral scene with the classical poets Virgil and Theocritus observing herbalists and beehives.
1505 · The Book of Health: The Art of Distillation
Woodcut of a male mandrake (Mandragora) shown as a human figure with foliage and fruit growing from the head.
1507 · Garden of Health
Woodcut of Adam and Eve by the Tree of Knowledge
1507 · Garden of Health
Hand-colored woodcut depicting scenes of pharmacy and herbalism, including laboratory equipment and figures at work.
1532 · The Great Herbary with all the figures of the herbs
A two-part woodcut showing laboratory glassware (flasks) in the upper register and a man harvesting plants in a garden in the lower register.
1532 · The Great Herbary with all the figures of the herbs
Woodcut of a female mandrake root (Mandragora mulier) depicted as a human figure.
1532 · The Great Herbary with all the figures of the herbs
Woodcut illustration of an octopus and a lobster in a struggle, set against a coastal landscape with a ship and buildings.
1551 · The Hieroglyphics
Insignia of the Dux Arabiae featuring fortified cities, a codex, snakes, and large birds.
1552 · Register of Dignitaries (Notitia Dignitatum)
Woodcut illustration of an apple tree with a serpent and a skull.
1552 · On the Names of Plants
A detailed woodcut of a rooster (cock) standing and facing left, showing intricate feather patterns.
1554 · History of Animals, Book I: On Viviparous Quadrupeds
A visual index titled 'Verzeichnuß der Vorbilder' containing 48 small woodcut illustrations arranged in an 8x6 grid, depicting anatomical parts, animals, plants, and allegorical figures.
1554 · The Pagan World and the Origin of its Gods
A grid of forty woodcut illustrations arranged in eight rows and five columns, depicting symbolic figures, animals, and objects as hieroglyphs.
1554 · The Pagan World and the Origin of its Gods
An elephant standing next to and leaning against a palm tree with large fruit.
1578 · Tractado de las Drogas y Medicinas de las Indias Orientales
Woodcut of a monstrous lobster attacking a swimming man
1586 · History of Animals, Book II: On Oviparous Quadrupeds
A dried and manipulated ray or skate, fashioned to look like a winged dragon or sea monster, known as a Jenny Haniver.
1586 · History of Animals, Book II: On Oviparous Quadrupeds
Botanical woodcut comparing plant seeds and husks to a human fetus in the womb.
1588 · Phytognomonica
Engraving of Indian fruit trees and plants including Mangoes, Rose Apples, and Pineapples in a landscape.
1595 · Itinerary, Voyage or Ship-travel to the East or Portuguese Indies
A detailed engraving showing a celestial beam of light descending from a starry night sky onto a landscape filled with various animals.
1607 · Della Porta Magia Naturalis (German 1713)
An engraving depicting a man working with flowers in a large box, likely for perfume making, with a smoking censer on a table nearby.
1607 · Della Porta Magia Naturalis (German 1713)
An allegorical engraving depicting a wide variety of animals across three realms: air, water, and land.
1620 · The Philosophical Basilica (Basilica Philosophica)
An emblem depicting two men in a formal garden examining a flower, with a gardener and a large manor in the background.
1623 · Zeeusche nachtegael, ende des selfs dryderley gesang
Emblem XXXI depicting a crab and an open oyster on a beach with a coastal landscape in the background.
1627 · Proteus, or Emblems of Love Transformed into Emblems of Morality
A woodcut of a 'Jenny Haniver,' a dried ray or skate manipulated to resemble a small dragon or sea monster.
1640 · Ulyssis Aldrovandi ... serpentum et draconum historiae libri duo
Woodcut of the Vegetable Lamb of Tartary (Borometz), showing a lamb growing from a plant stalk.
1643 · Athanasii Kircheri... Magnes sive de arte magnetica
An engraving depicting various birds with musical staves representing their specific vocalizations.
1650 · Musurgia Universalis (Universal Music)
The Vegetable Lamb of Tartary (Boramez), a legendary zoophyte.
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
Emblem of various birds in a wooded landscape
1658 · Alle de wercken
Woodcut illustration of an Orangutan, depicted as a hairy, bipedal humanoid figure.
1658 · De Indiae utriusque re naturali et medica
A rectangular copperplate engraving depicting a rhinoceros and other animals in a landscape.
1665 · The Embassy of the Dutch East India Company to the Tartar Cham
A detailed landscape engraving of tropical flora including pineapple and banana plants.
1665 · The Embassy of the Dutch East India Company to the Tartar Cham
A composite engraving featuring a botanical study of a tea plant on the left and a Chinese landscape on the right.
1665 · The Embassy of the Dutch East India Company to the Tartar Cham
Engraving of a Nilotic mosaic fragment featuring a man in a papyrus boat, a large bird, and a palm tree.
1671 · Latium
A composite illustration showing the life cycle of the silkworm, including caterpillars, cocoons, moths, and eggs.
1672 · Theater of Earthly Creatures
Engraving of a unicorn (Monoceros) in motion.
1675 · Noah's Ark
A composite woodcut plate featuring eight panels of natural history illustrations, including mammals, reptiles, insects, birds, and mythical creatures.
1678 · Vorpforte der Schul-Unterweisung
A detailed engraving of an elk (moose) standing against a tree, labeled 'Elend Thier'.
1684 · Old and New Prussia (with the pagan religion of the Old Prussians)
Engraving of an African landscape featuring a horned bull, a dragon, and a hunter.
1706 · Aanmerklijke en geheugenis-waardige scheeps-togt, van Eduard Lopez, Portugeez, gedaan na 't vermaarde koni...
An engraving of a bearded man in classical robes surrounded by animals and celestial phenomena.
1707 · Les Admirables Secrets D'Albert Le Grand, Contenant Plusieurs Traittez sur la Conception des Femmes, & les Vertus des Herbes, des Pierres precieuses, & des Animaux : Augmentez d'un Abregé curieux de Phisionomie, & d'un preservatif contre la Peste, les Fievres malignes, les Poisons, & l'infection de l'Air
Botanical plate (Tab. 213) featuring two figures: Fig. 1, a flowering branch of a Rubus species, and Fig. 2, a large fan-shaped palm leaf (Palma Brasiliensis).
1707 · A voyage to the islands Madera Barbados Jamaica Vol. 1
A detailed landscape engraving by Romeyn de Hooghe depicting a scene in the East or West Indies, featuring various trees, figures, and animals, accompanied by a numbered legend.
1710 · Les Indes Orientales et Occidentales, et autres lieuX : représentés en très-belles figur...
Engraved plate illustrating various methods of manual and animal transport, labeled Tab. II.
1725 · Theater of Machines: Lifting Devices
A natural history plate (Tab. XIV) featuring various Japanese marine life, including crabs (Gadsame, Simagami), clams (Hamaguri, Kisa Akagai), and a sea cucumber, with Japanese calligraphy and phonetic labels.
1727 · The History of Japan, Vol. 1
Engraving of two winged creatures flanking a central mound with a blooming flower.
1735 · Ancient Chemical Work
An ornate engraved title plate for the second class of birds, featuring a large unfurling scroll within a neoclassical frame. A detailed bird of prey, likely an eagle or hawk, is perched on the lower scrollwork. The text
1737 · Of the Eggs and Nests of Birds
A comprehensive botanical plate illustrating various Chinese plants including Rhubarb, Ginseng, Cotton, Varnish Tree, Tea Shrub, Fu lin, Lichi, Jaca, Betel, and Bamboo.
1738 · Description of China, Korea, and Tibet
A composite botanical and symbolic plate featuring various plants and an Egyptian head.
1739 · History of the Heavens
Engraving of two hairy humanoid figures representing mandrakes (Alrunen), with a banner above them.
1741 · Library of Magical Acts and Writings, Vol. III
Hand-colored scientific plate of Myxomycetes (slime molds) showing various stages of sporangia development and spore dispersal.
1797 · Nova Genera Plantarum
An oval landscape engraving showing two men in robes examining plants in a wooded valley.
1797 · Nova Genera Plantarum
A detailed scientific illustration of a common marmoset (Simia jacchus) perched on a tree branch, rendered with fine detail in the fur and features.
1800 · Jean Baptiste Audebert — Histoire naturelle des singes et des makis (1800)
Hand-colored botanical engraving of the Indian Rocu (Bixa orellana).
1810 · A key to physic, and the occult sciences
A detailed, hand-colored engraving of a capuchin monkey (Cebus xanthocephalus) seated in profile and holding a small object to its mouth.
1823 · New Species of Brazilian Monkeys and Bats