✨ Why and How I Curate Antique Illustrations From Forgotten Pages to Digital Treasures: A Journey Through Time and Nature
🧐 What does it mean to curate antique illustrations?
Curating antique illustrations means carefully sourcing, researching, and preserving historical artwork—often hidden in centuries-old books—then restoring them digitally so they can be appreciated, studied, or used in creative projects today.
🌿 Why I’m Drawn to Antique Natural History Illustrations
My love of antique illustrations grew from three passions:
- A deep respect for the natural world
- A background in anthropology and medieval studies
- A lifelong fascination with forgotten history
During my anthropology studies, I explored how people relate to the natural world across cultures and time. My medieval studies minor gave me a taste for illuminated manuscripts, herbals, and early scientific texts—each illustration offering a glimpse into how people once interpreted plants, fungi, and wildlife.
There’s something grounding and magical about holding an old book and knowing someone, hundreds of years ago, painted a mushroom or butterfly by hand in painstaking detail—trying to understand the world just like we are now.
I found this 1903 copy of Medicology in a tiny town in Orgeon. I was passing through on a road trip and I love searching for antiques in small towns. This text was packed with full colour medical illustrations and botanicals.
📚 Where do I find these antique illustrations?
I source illustrations from a mix of:
- Personal antique book collection (which I hunt for at flea markets, estate sales, and dusty bookstores)
-
Public domain archives like:
- The Biodiversity Heritage Library
- Archive.org
- Europeana
- New York Public Library Digital Collections
- University digitized collections, especially those focusing on botany, zoology, or early science
Each image I select must speak to me—not just visually, but historically. I ask: Who made this? Why? What purpose did it serve? Is it scientific? Symbolic? Magical?
🧼 How do I restore and curate antique illustrations?
Once I find a piece, I:
1. Research its origin (book title, date, artist, cultural context)
2. Digitally restore it:
- Remove discoloration, damage, or stains
- Preserve ink and pencil textures
- Maintain the soul of the piece—never over-editing
3. Curate by theme:
- Sea creatures
- Apothecary labels
- Witches' gardens
- Fungi & lichen
- Faeriecore flora
The final piece may be part of a scrapbook sheet, a witchy journal kit, or simply shared as a digital relic.
💡 What makes antique illustration curation meaningful?
This isn’t just image restoration—it's cultural preservation.
These illustrations were once:
- Tools for learning
- Objects of beauty
- Records of folk knowledge
- Sacred to early scientists, artists, and healers
Bringing them back into the light means giving modern creatives, students, and dreamers a direct connection to the past.
For me, curating these works honors both art and ancestry—a quiet rebellion against throwaway trends and a devotion to slowness, detail, and meaning.
🔍 Key Takeaways: Why and How I Curate Antique Illustrations
✅ I draw from my background in anthropology and medieval studies to find illustrations with historical depth.
✅ I source from antique books, public domain archives, and university collections.
✅ Each piece is digitally restored with care to retain its original character.
✅ My curation themes are rooted in the natural world, folklore, and forgotten science.
✅ This work preserves culture, celebrates nature, and connects past with present.
