Free Printable Vintage Illustration for Cardmaking, Journaling, Scrapbooking or Wall Art: Conversation in the Conservatory, 1857

It is a wise thing to be polite; consequently, it is a stupid thing to be rude.
To make enemies by unnecessary and willful incivility,
is just as insane a proceeding as to set your house on fire.
For politeness is like a counter ― an avowedly false coin,
with which it is foolish to be stingy.
― Arthur Schopenhauer, The Wisdom of Life and Counsels and Maxims

Life is short, but there is always time enough for courtesy.
― Ralph Waldo Emerson
Antique illustration originally published in 1857 showing two Victorian ladies in (one-sided?) conversation in a conservatory.

Free to download for use in cardmaking, journaling and scrapbooking projects or simply print and frame as wall art. You can find the high-res 8" x 10" @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark here.


For personal use only. Not for resale. All digitized work by The Real Victorian is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Please cite RealVictorian.com as your source when sharing or publishing.

Free Printable Vintage Illustration for Mixed-Media Collage, Journaling, Papercrafts or Wall Art: Conversation in a Café, 1893

Each friend represents a world in us,
a world possibly not born until they arrive,
and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.
― Anais Nin

How many slams in an old screen door? Depends how loud you shut it.
How many slices in a bread? Depends how thin you cut it.
How much good inside a day? Depends how good you live 'em.
How much love inside a friend? Depends how much you give 'em.
― Shel Silverstein

Antique illustration of two Victorian ladies enjoying a meal and warm conversation in a Parisian café. Image was originally published in 1893 and was captioned "Entre Amies" (With Friends).

Free to download for use in mixed-media collage, journaling, and various papercrafts projects or simply print and frame as wall art. You can find the high-res 8" x 10" @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark here.


For personal use only. Not for resale. All digitized work by The Real Victorian is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Please cite RealVictorian.com as your source when sharing or publishing.

Free Printable Vintage Illustration for Mixed-Media Collage, Journaling, Papercrafts or Wall Art: A Stitch in Time Saves Nine, 1866

If you choose to not deal with an issue,
then you give up your right of control over the issue
and it will select the path of least resistance.
― Susan Del Gatto

The sooner a problem is recognized and acted upon
– the less damage there is.
― Mozammel Khan

Antique engraving from an 1866 issue of Peterson's Magazine. This vintage illustration shows a Victorian mother tenderly coaching her daughter in repairing a torn skirt.The original caption that appeared with the picture was "A Stitch in Time Saves Nine."

Free to download for use in mixed-media collage, journaling, and various papercrafts projects or simply print and frame as wall art. You can find the high-res 6" x 8" @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark here.


For personal use only. Not for resale. All digitized work by The Real Victorian is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Please cite RealVictorian.com as your source when sharing or publishing.

Free Printable Vintage Illustration for Mixed-Media Collage, Journaling, Papercrafts or Wall Art: The First Step, 1866

If you are loath to take the first step, you will never get anywhere.
― Tomáš Gavlas, Karlaz: The Way of Freedom

To move forward, one must take the first step.
― Chase S.M. Neill
A black and white engraving from an 1866 issue of Peterson's Magazine. This antique illustration shows a Victorian toddler taking his first step, arms outstretched towards his mother, with a little push from his grandmother (or nurse?).The original caption that appeared with the picture was "The First Step."

Free to download for use in mixed-media collage, journaling, and various papercrafts projects or simply print and frame as wall art. You can find the high-res 10" x 8" @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark here.


All digitized work by The Real Victorian is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Please link back to RealVictorian.com as your source when sharing or publishing.

Free Printable Vintage Illustration for Mixed-Media Collage, Journaling, Papercrafts or Wall Art: Victorian Children Playing Blind Man's Buff, 1875

The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.
― Mahatma Gandhi
A black and white engraving from an 1875 issue of Frank Leslie's Lady's Magazine in my personal collection. This antique illustration shows a group of five Victorian children playing Blind Man's Buff.

Blind man's buff or blind man's bluff is a variant of tag in which the player who is "It" is blindfolded. The traditional name of the game is "blind man's buff," where the word buff is used in its older sense of a small push. A version of the game was played in ancient Greece where it was called "copper mosquito." The game was played in the Tudor period, as there are references to its recreation by Henry VIII's courtiers. It was also a popular parlor game in the Victorian era. The poet Robert Herrick mentions it, along with sundry related pastimes, in his 1624 poem "A New Yeares Gift Sent to Sir Simeon Steward":
That tells of Winters Tales and Mirth,
That Milk-Maids make about the hearth,
Of Christmas sports, the Wassell-boule,
That tost up, after Fox-i' th' hole:
Of Blind-man-buffe, and of the care
That young men have to shooe the Mare
Source: Wikimedia
The illustration is free to download for use in mixed-media collage, journaling, and various papercrafts projects or simply print and frame as wall art. You can find the high-res 11" x 8.5" @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark here.


All digitized work by The Real Victorian is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Please link back to RealVictorian.com as your source when sharing or publishing.

Free Printable Vintage Illustration for Mixed-Media Collage, Journaling, Papercrafts or Wall Art: In the Park, 1897

It is an absolute human certainty that no one can know his own beauty
or perceive a sense of his own worth until it has been reflected back to him
in the mirror of another loving, caring human being.
― John Joseph Powell, The Secret of Staying in Love
A black and white engraving from an 1897 issue of Girl's Own Paper. This antique illustration shows a large group of Victorian women riding their bicycles on a cold, wintry day in the park, with snow on the ground. The ladies seem to be having a merry old time despite the chilly weather.

Free to download for use in mixed-media collage, journaling, and various papercrafts projects or simply print and frame as wall art. You can find the high-res 6" x 8" @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark here.


All digitized work by The Real Victorian is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Please link back to RealVictorian.com as your source when sharing or publishing.

Free Printable Vintage Illustration for Mixed-Media Collage, Journaling, Papercrafts or Wall Art: The Message, 1893

Much unhappiness has come into the world because of bewilderment and things left unsaid.
― Fyodor Dostoevsky
A black and white engraving from the November 19, 1893 issue of La Famille. This antique illustration shows a Victorian lady starting to write a message in a frosted-over window with her right index finger. The original caption for the image simply says: "The..."

Free to download for use in mixed-media collage, journaling, and various papercrafts projects or simply print and frame as wall art. You can find the high-res 8" x 11" @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark here.


All digitized work by Victorian Prints is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Please link back to VictorianPrints.ca as your source when sharing or publishing.

Free Printable Vintage Illustration for Altered Art, Graphic Design, Papercrafts or Scrapbooking: The Knitter, 1893

It isn't what you have or who you are or where you are or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about it.
― Dale Carnegie
A black and white engraving from the cover of the November 19, 1893 issue of La Famille. This antique illustration shows a lady sitting by a sunny window, cooled by a refreshing breeze as she knits away in serene contentment.

Download and use in various altered art, graphic design, papercrafts, scrapbooking or wall art projects. You can find the free high-res 8.5" x 11" @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark here.


All digitized work by Victorian Prints is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Please link back to VictorianPrints.ca as your source when sharing or publishing.