Cabinet of Curiosities

Cabinets of Curiosities were encyclopaedias of physical information that were particularly popular in the 17th and 18th centuries; the cabinet was usually a room and the curiosities the culmination of individual research. Collections for the sake of collecting, they reflected the collector’s interests and recorded items yet without category at a time when myth was touching upon reality and science testing the limits of belief. In England perhaps the most famous example of such a cabinet is the collection of Sir Hans Sloane, the foundation of the British Museum.

This page represents only a small part of our vast collection of original Antique prints. Please click on an image to see it in high-resolution, with details of the work itself. If you have a special request or are looking for something out of the ordinary, please do contact us.

Shooting Flying: The first mention of shooting flying birds rather than perched birds is by Blome. The new fashion probably began with the return of Charles II from exile.
Shooting Flying: The first mention of shooting flying birds rather than perched birds is by Blome. The new fashion probably began with the return of Charles II from exile.
Mount Tarawera: Spectacular depiction from Waitangi at Lake Tarawera of the catastrophic eruption in 1886.
Mount Tarawera: Spectacular depiction from Waitangi at Lake Tarawera of the catastrophic eruption in 1886.
Thylacine (Tasmanian Tiger). Thylacinus cynocephalus. A pair captured near Launceston and drawn from life at the Zoological Society’s Vivarium. Extinct in the wild by 1930, the last captive died in 1936.
Thylacine (Tasmanian Tiger). Thylacinus cynocephalus. A pair captured near Launceston and drawn from life at the Zoological Society’s Vivarium. Extinct in the wild by 1930, the last captive died in 1936.
The Moskstraumen or Maelstom, a system of fast moving whirpools in the Lofoten archipelago Norway, first mentioned by the ancient Greek historian Pytheas (4th century BC).
The Moskstraumen or Maelstom, a system of fast moving whirpools in the Lofoten archipelago Norway, first mentioned by the ancient Greek historian Pytheas (4th century BC).
King Outina of the Timucua consulting his magician prior to battle. Based on the 1591 engraving after Jacques le Moyne de Morgues, artist on René de Laudonnière's 1564 expedition.
King Outina of the Timucua consulting his magician prior to battle. Based on the 1591 engraving after Jacques le Moyne de Morgues, artist on René de Laudonnière’s 1564 expedition.
Skeleton and fourth order of muscles by Jan Wandelaar: Posterior view with Clara, the Indian Rhinoceros, a celebrity in the 18th century.
Skeleton and fourth order of muscles by Jan Wandelaar: Posterior view with Clara, the Indian Rhinoceros, a celebrity in the 18th century.
Britons (Aborigines of England). Couple armed, tattooed and painted with woad.
Britons (Aborigines of England). Couple armed, tattooed and painted with woad.
Skeleton and fourth order of muscles by Jan Wandelaar: Anterior view with Clara, the Indian Rhinoceros, a celebrity in the 18th century.
Skeleton and fourth order of muscles by Jan Wandelaar: Anterior view with Clara, the Indian Rhinoceros, a celebrity in the 18th century.
View of an equestrian performance at Astley's Amphitheatre:. Former cavalryman Philip Astley is considered the father of the modern circus with his invention of the circus ring at his riding school in 1768.
View of an equestrian performance at Astley’s Amphitheatre:. Former cavalryman Philip Astley is considered the father of the modern circus with his invention of the circus ring at his riding school in 1768.