The Complete Encyclopedia of Illustration: A Collection of beautiful engravings, copyright-free and clearly reproducible on every subject from architecture & military science to history and mythology [Hardcover]

J.G. Heck (Author), Paul Bacon (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2003

A treasure trove of almost 12,000 detailed engravings, copyright-free and clearly reproducible, The Complete Encyclopedia of Illustration is a marvel of a collection culled from the worlds of science, history, geography, mythology, art, architecture, and more. Fully referenced, this volume is both an inspiration and a practical sourcebook for designers and artists. It also serves as a visual feast for admirers and collectors of old engravings, and stands as a tribute to the mid-nineteenth century artisans who created the original plates on which this book is based.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, German (translation) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Inside Flap

A treasure trove of almost 12,000 detailed engravings, copyright-free and clearly reproducible, The Complete Encyclopedia of Illustration is a marvel of a collection culled from the worlds of science, history, geography, mythology, art, architecture, and more. Fully referenced, this volume is both an inspiration and a practical sourcebook for designers and artists. It also serves as a visual feast for admirers and collectors of old engravings, and stands as a tribute to the mid-nineteenth century artisans who created the original plates on which this book is based.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 608 pages
• Publisher: Gramercy (July 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0517183404
• ISBN-13: 978-0517183403
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 9.2 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #498,187 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #85 in Books > Education & Reference > Encyclopedias > Military

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful engraving source, January 27, 2006

By 

C. Jennings (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Complete Encyclopedia of Illustration: A Collection of beautiful engravings, copyright-free and clearly reproducible on every subject from architecture & military science to history and mythology (Hardcover)

This book is the Bible for anyone looking for a large collection and variety of quality engravings. I use this thing constantly and wouldn't mind seeing a vol. 2. seriously.

FOR ARTISTS: To make this book more compatible with a scanner go to Kinko's and have them cut the spine off. Then have them 3-hole drill it. Then put the whole thing in a large 3-ring binder. Now each page can be easily removed and placed on a scanner.

Seriously. How about a vol. 2?

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great illos, misleading title, December 9, 2004

By 

Holly Ingraham "ailurophile" (Honolulu, HI USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Complete Encyclopedia of Illustration: A Collection of beautiful engravings, copyright-free and clearly reproducible on every subject from architecture & military science to history and mythology (Hardcover)

This is not a complete clip-art book. It is not a composite out of many sources, even in the 19th C, with different styles.

This is the complete collection of b&w engraved plates from a single German encyclopedia, 1851, but only the plates and their captions. Subject areas include mathematics & astronomy (sky charts); physics & meteorology; chemistry, minerology & geology; botany; zoology; anthropology & surgery (anatomical); geography & planology (maps of continents, countries, and select cities); history & ethnology; military science; naval science; architecture (w/plans of famous buildings); mythology & religious rites (as understood in 1851); the fine arts; & technology.

So illustrations range from complex pulleys and horse skulls to knights in battle and how they built the Thames Tunnel. "Alphabets of Various Languages for the Use of Engravers" includes even samples of cuneiform. Two plates are on theatre architecture. Among the least satisfying may be the engravings of famous works of art for the Fine Arts section.

At nearly 600 pages, landscape, the book is difficult to manage on a scanner. I just use a sharp craft blade and cut out close to the binding the pages I need to scan. Then I stick them back in the space. Bit by bit, they are becoming what the originals were, a portfolio of loose pieces. The maps went first: scanned at 400 dpi, they became readable on screen, where the print on the page was too small. I suspect the original plates were larger and were shrunk when photographed for reproduction.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FOR MY PERSONAL USE...THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST...I TRULY ENJOY THIS COLLECTION., October 10, 2010

By 

D. Blankenship (The Ozarks) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Complete Encyclopedia of Illustration: A Collection of beautiful engravings, copyright-free and clearly reproducible on every subject from architecture & military science to history and mythology (Hardcover)

This is one of my favorite books to leaf through, ponder and simply enjoy. I am not a professional artist; not even an advanced amateur, truth be told, only an enthusiastic hobbyist who likes to look at pretty and extremely interesting pictures, and in my own klutzy way, draw and paint pretty pictures.

This volume is an absolute gold mine for people like me. It contains over 12,000 black and white illustrations; engravings to be exact, of just about everything the mid to late Victorian mind could possible imagine. Nature, architecture, science, maps, ships, military uniforms and hardware, plants, insects, animals, people and the various ethnic groups found in the world during that era, landscapes, ships, mythology, religion and religious rites, horrid scenes of the inquisition, and much, much more.

The book is quite well referenced so you get a pretty good idea of what you are viewing. Each engraving is very well detailed and are drawn in a classical mode. This particular work is a reproduction of two original works published around 1851.

The illustrations can be used as clip art as there are no prohibitions as to reproduction. Some may find the actually plates to be a bit fuzzy for this particular use and if that is the intent of the owner, it would probably be best to remove the bindings and use the pages separately. I personally have found better books and collections to use as clip art.

Each work such as this is used differently by different people. For my individual use, this is perfect. I can literally, and indeed have, spent hours going through this thing just enjoying it and letting my imagination run wild. I particularly enjoy the engravings of Natural History subject and the ethnological offerings. I find I am extremely motivated after viewing this particular work.

Do take not that the word "Complete" in the title should probably not be taken literally in today's world...not book can honestly make that claim. No, this is a big bunch of very well done illustrations which at the very least are fun to look at, educational and inspirational.

Don Blankenship

The Ozarks