New York Public Library

I had a different post scheduled for this morning, but I had a 'stop the presses' moment when I saw this post from design*sponge pop up in my reader.

HOLY JACKPOT!!

If you thought Vintage Printables was good, you are going to die when you see the New York Public Library Digital Gallery. There are all sorts of beautiful images just begging to be printed off and framed.

I'm strangely obsessed with floor plans. I would love to frame a series of these NYC pre-war building floor plans.


These pages from the Builder's Pocket Book are AMAZING.



Check out this amazing cabinet maker's guide


A cute little bird to add to a gallery wall


I love the colors in this fish print.


Cool engravings of objects in the Empire style


And of course, more botanical prints than you could ever wish to hang.


These floral prints would be wonderful inspiration for a bedroom



I would use the bottom orange portion of this page


And what an amazing series this set would make


Love this floral


and this one


wow, so pretty


{I'm assuming since there is a 'print' button on all these pages, that the images are copyright-free. Please note that there is also an option to purchase the prints, if you want them in larger sizes.}

57 comments:

  1. glad you went with this post. can't wait to find a couple of hours to browse!

    ReplyDelete
  2. You are right, this might be better than Vintage Printables, which I love. Thanks so much for the scoop. Now I must go check it out.

    Have a great weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow! This is the jackpot....I know what I'll be doing this weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Any suggestions on where to print these if you were to do it yourself?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wow how fantasic. I love the botonical renderings.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thank you so much for sharing! I love the sweet little bird, & the botanical prints too!

    I see that I'm the second one to ask this question, but...do you just print these out at home? I might take them to Kinko's or some other store like that to get a nice print made :) I don't know that my printer would do these beauties justice! ♥

    ReplyDelete
  7. Love this source! What kind of paper do you recommend printing on, if you're going to frame it?

    ReplyDelete
  8. Are you freakin' kidding me? THIS IS AMAZING!!!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE! Thank you so much for illuminating my life!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I am always inspired by such prints, I have a weakness for floor plans, for botanicals as well as all of the above prints. Just stunning.
    pve

    ReplyDelete
  10. To answer the questions about printing, I've had success using photo paper or good quality pure white cardstock (both available at Target or Walmart). That said, I'm always happiest with the prints I take to Kinko's or my local print shop.

    Hope that helps!

    ReplyDelete
  11. this post completely negates the horrible morning i was having. :) thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Love them all - especially the floor plans!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Very cool.

    Beinecke Library at Yale also has a fantastic digital library with super cool print possibilities.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Unfortunately, they aren't free, the prints from the NYPL site. I just tried a couple and each is $30. Just an FYI for everyone.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hi Nancy,

    I just meant that it is free to download and print out the images yourself. The professional prints that they ship to you are definitely not free.

    j

    ReplyDelete
  16. OHHHHHHH I love these!!! You are the best!

    ReplyDelete
  17. wonderful, especially the fish print

    ReplyDelete
  18. Wow, this is awesome! I'm so glad you posted this. Must prevent self from browsing until this evening.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Woo hoo happy to see that I'm ahead of the curve. I blogged about this in Nov (http://high-heelfootinthedoor.blogspot.com/2009/11/i-heart-library.html)

    I loved all the different options they have so cool. The library has always been one of my favorite places so it was nice to find this gem there.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Ohmygosh, this is SOO awesome!! Thanks for the tip!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Little Green, are you KIDDING me?! This is awesome. I mean, really, awesome. I am dying to print off about nine of those images and immediately redesign my wall decor... for free. Those botanical prints are so pretty. I'm itching to go search for pretty prints with shades of olive and avocado and kelly with which I will cover my walls. Have I gushed enough? Thanks for the tip!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Thanks for sharing this find! I too LOVE floor plans - must be that I wish I had followed my heart and studied architecture but instead went into pre-medicine and then education. Go figure!

    I am loving your sense of style, it is rubbing off on me. I usually love black and white but am actually considering splurging on some chiang mai fabric! Yikes! So out of my comfort zone!

    ReplyDelete
  23. HOLY JACKPOT is exactly right! I saw that post this morning and couldn't wait to get home tonight to peruse the virtual stacks and post the very same thing on my blog! Love it.

    ReplyDelete
  24. PERFECTION! Thanks for the information!

    ReplyDelete
  25. wow! what a great find!
    can't wait to browse all of them!

    ReplyDelete
  26. beautiful! love the subtle coloring in the first few. thanks for the great resource!

    ReplyDelete
  27. What a great post! Those are fantastic! I'm in love with the floor plans and the orange/flower one. Kinkos won't know what hit them when I come through the door! Thank you thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  28. Incredible resource - thanks for sharing!!

    ReplyDelete
  29. I love them all - they are fabulous! I love house-related art! It's kind of ironic but awesome all the more. I love that website but don't have a good printer on hand. I should figure out how to get stuff printed to save myself money on art.

    ReplyDelete
  30. oh my gosh. I think I love you.

    THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for this link!!!

    ReplyDelete
  31. What a resource! It appears you are allowed to print them for personal use. HOWEVER, they are not copyright free. In order to use them for anything else--things you make to sell, anything for profit, books, papers, etc, you must obtain permission. You don't necessarily have to buy a print from them, but you have to have permission to use the image. (And you can get a higher res copy). http://littlegreennotebook.blogspot.com/2010/03/new-york-public-library.html
    Also check out the libraries terms of use.

    Not trying to be a downer, but I don't want anyone to get in trouble.

    Like I said, though, it looks like you can use their print function for personal use.

    Thank you VERY much for the link!

    ReplyDelete
  32. That's should have said "library's."

    Sorry. Couldn't leave it like that. :)

    ReplyDelete
  33. i love the idea of hanging vintage blueprints.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Thanks for the clarification. I didn't realize downloading is free. Duh. That's pretty awesome!

    ReplyDelete
  35. I LOVE these! Thanks for posting this.

    ReplyDelete
  36. I saw the Design*Sponge post too and I spent about an hour at work on the NYPL site. Oops.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Great find! I saw design*sponge's post, but yours was more varied and interesting! Plus, the tip to just download and print for free. Awesome. THANK YOU!!

    ReplyDelete
  38. What a wonderful resource, thank you for the info! You could easily buy an inexpensive frame, get an artshop to make you custom matting (cheap!) to fit your frame, and then make sure to make the window in the matting smaller than a printable page and print the pics at home!!

    ReplyDelete
  39. How neat! I love the floor plan idea too!

    ReplyDelete
  40. Jenny, you rock! I was just scouring through Vintage Printable last night looking for some cool architectural-type prints and was SO disappointed when I didn't really turn up anything. Then, this morning, voila! You saved the day!!

    ReplyDelete
  41. What a wonderful find! Thank you for sharing. I know what I'll be doing Sunday afternoon:) Have a great weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  42. These are beautiful. Thank you for sharing :)

    ReplyDelete
  43. ah I love floorplans too! I find them so so satisfying! :) xx

    ReplyDelete
  44. Thanks so much for giving me another place to waste a few hours of the company's time! Know what I'll be doing tomorrow afternoon...Love that orange floral print on the btm of that page. EXCELLENT resource!

    ReplyDelete
  45. Thanks for letting us know. I'm a little obsessed with floor plans as well.

    ReplyDelete
  46. Wow! Thanks so much for posting this! I'll definitely use it!

    ReplyDelete
  47. WOW, thanks! Just love the internet and my blog idols!

    ReplyDelete
  48. Thanks! I found several that are perfect for the room I'm working on.
    Sarah
    http://www.houseofdurhams.com

    ReplyDelete
  49. Thank you soooo much for posting these. I've been looking for vintage floorplans just like this! Do you have any suggestions for printing them (quality? using a professional printer like Kinkos? is it even legal?)

    ReplyDelete
  50. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete

I so appreciate hearing from you. Nice comments make my day! Thanks for keeping things light here, friends! :)