860 Old-Time Silhouettes

Crisp, witty, atmospheric, often whimsical and charming, silhouettes exude a freshness and appeal that belie their ancient heritage. Thought to have been used as early as Paleolithic times, silhouettes reached the height of their popularity in the West from the mid-18th to the mid-19th centuries. Today, there is a resurgence of interest in this versatile decorative art among artists, designers, illustrators, and craftsmen.This collection contains nearly 900 silhouettes carefully selected from a gallery of wide-ranging sources: Fliegende Blatter, Punch, Harper's Weekly, Puck, Arthur Rackham's Midsummer Night's Dream, the Hawtin Engraving Company catalog, and many others. Sixteen categories include: men, women, children, artists and painters, music, food and drink, sports and recreation, professions, groups, military, scenes, animals, circus, transportation, fantasy figures, and sign silhouettes. Delightfully old-fashioned in flavor and infinitely adaptable, these silhouettes lend themselves to a multiplicity of uses: spot illustrations, stationery, menus, greeting cards, decoupage, book and package design, and all types of needlework. What's more, they're permission-free.