I get so excited when I find vintage colored images that are in good shape and a large enough size that provides as many options as this book plate of rabbits and acorns does.
It was part of a charming children’s book entitled The Old Oak Tree from 1881. It was written by Miss Moncrieff and published by Dean & Son. I tried to see if Miss. Moncrieff could have been the illustrator but just having that bit of a name has made her elusive. That and the fact that there’s a famous race horse with that name have made it something I will leave to someone with more time and more interest in this particular drawing. Anyway, the book did not identify an illustrator. But, that works to our benefit because that omission, when paired with the publication date, puts this drawing and all of the others from this book in the public domain.
This drawing of rabbits and acorns includes three gray rabbits at the base of the old oak tree. They all have orange eyes and appear to be looking upon the viewer almost as if we are bothering them. Their eyes match the color of the acorns at their feet and the ferns growing at the base of the tree. There’s also a single white flower growing but there’s not enough detail to determine what kind of flower it is.
The rabbits and acorns are the central focus of the book plate but there is what appears to be a stately home in the background with a horse and carriage riding up the driveway or road.
This drawing is so large that I could see a number of ways to crop out and isolate aspects of it. Have fun and as always drop me a line here at Reusable Art to let me see what great stuff you’ve created.
Please note: to save a little bandwidth and ensure this page displays as it should, the image shown here is slightly smaller than the original. Just click on the image to see the full-sized version.
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.
