It has been a while since I have found a nice floral endpaper to share with you. All too often, the endpapers suffer from watermarks, foxing and the artistic endeavors of children who owned the book. The years have been kind to this book. The pattern does have a bit of discoloration but it is hard to see unless the image is looked at very closely.
The endpaper was originally a very pale gray color. I wanted to make it a bit darker and what could be better than purple?! There is a recognizable repeat here. I’ve included several of the repeats and I will leave someone with a steadier hand and eye to turn this into a usable tiled repeating pattern. (If you do take the time to make a nice tile, please let me know. I would love to share it with everyone on Art Filled Days and give you full credit; and link to your own online endeavors if you would like.)
Frank T. Merrill (1848-1936) illustrated the rest of Rose Buds and Holly Berries but it is unclear if this endpaper is also his work. The book was published in 1888.
As always, I look forward to seeing what wonderful ways to use this vintage purple floral endpaper image in their own creative endeavors.
This image is copyright free and in the public domain anywhere that extends copyrights 70 years after death or at least 120 years after publication when the original illustrator is unknown.