REFERENCE: ANTIQUE NATURAL HISTORY PRINTS

Though I hoped to create something for Invisible Cities as well as Waterland, I cannot think of a clear rationale for doing so - other than liking both books - so I am focusing my efforts on Waterland. This is just some visual reference material and stock images to establish the look I am aiming for: prints and studies from the late 1800s and early 1900s, often engraved, as would be found in old reference books and encyclopedias. There is a scholarly dryness to this kind of technical illustration that I find hard to emulate, but I think is very fitting to the tone and nature of the text, and hope I can do justice.

These images were taken from Vintage-Views and Fine Rare Prints. Arkive also features some photographic references that will be useful for capturing the general anatomy of the eel.