Explore a variety of free online collections featuring vintage illustrations, historical prints, posters, and graphic arts. Discover fascinating historical images covering diverse themes and styles, available for free access and use.
Table of contents
Vintage Posters
American Art Posters 1890-1920
From Boston Public Library. Approx. 590 posters concentrates on the period of the height of the poster movement during the 1890s. Holdings are particularly rich in posters designed by Edward Penfield, Will Bradley, and Ethel Reed. Digital Commonwealth.
Political Posters from the Labadie Collection
Posters covering social protest movements such as Anarchism, Civil Liberties, Colonialism, Communism, Ecology, Labor, Pacifism, Sexual Freedom, Socialism, Women, and Youth/Student Protest. Some from the 1st half of the 20th century, but the majority from later. University of Michigan.
Historical Prints and Graphic Arts
Popular Graphics Arts
From U.S. Library of Congress. Historical prints (ca. 1700-1900) in the LOC popular graphic art series. Most by printmakers, but printmakers in other countries are also represented.
Fulton Street Trade Cards
Consists of 245 late 19th and early 20th century illustrated trade cards, all emanating from businesses in Brooklyn’s historic commercial thoroughfare. Brooklyn Public Library, New York Heritage Digital Collections.
Illustrations by Theme and Subject
Children’s Book Illustrations
1,120 illustrations in a flickr collection. British Library.
Collection of the Dresses of Different Nations, Antient and Modern 1757-1772
From NY Public Library Collection of Customs and Costume. About 490 colored illustrations from a multi-volume book published from 1757 to 1772 entitled “Collection of the Dresses of Different Nations, Antient and Modern, Particularly Old English Dresses After the Designs of Holbein, VanDyke, Hollar, and Others …”.
Early History of Aeronautics
From Library of Congress. The Tissandier Collection contains about 975 items in the history of aeronautics, emphasizing balloon flight in France and other European countries., and including airships and flying machines.
Explore More Free Online Resources
Discover further collections of free online books and other free online materials on these Century Past pages.