It’s the second day of #ColorOurCollections, a week-long special collections coloring fest we’ve organized on social media. Yesterday, the number of participating cultural institutions grew from nearly 60 to nearly 100—thanks to all who are taking part (see our growing list)!
Every day on our blog, we will feature #ColorOurCollections coloring sheets from our library, along with content from participants worldwide. You can also download our full #ColorOurCollections coloring book.
Today’s coloring pages come from Bartolomeo Scappi’s Opera. Renaissance chef Scappi (ca. 1500–1577) cooked for six popes and was installed as chef at the Vatican while Michelangelo was completing the Sistine Chapel. His famous cookbook, first published in Venice in 1570, contains more than 1,000 recipes as well as charming and detailed illustrations showing the kitchens, implements, and culinary tools of a high-end Italian household. Here are two his illustrations; you can find three more in the full coloring book.
Coloring page from Bartolomeo Scappi’s Opera, 1596. Click to download the PDF coloring sheet.
Coloring page from Bartolomeo Scappi’s Opera, 1596. Click to download the PDF coloring sheet.
Yesterday’s offering of #ColorOurCollections images was extraordinary. Today, we are thrilled to feature two coloring books and two image collections. The Massachusetts Historical Society’s book has fantastic images from its archives, including “Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Transparent Eyeball.”
“Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Transparent Eyeball.” Christopher P. Cranch journal, p. 10, 1839. Courtesy of the Massachusetts Historical Society.
Duke University’s David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library’s coloring book offers the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to color a manticore.
Manitchora from The History of Four-Footed Beasts and Serpants by Edward Topsell. London, 1658. Courtesy of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.
We also love the image collections from DPLA and the Folger Library. Here’s a favorite DPLA offering:
Illustration from The history of the Caribby-islands, 1666. Courtesy of DPLA.
And a Hamlet illustration from the Folger:
Illustration by John Austen for a 1922 edition of Shakespeare’s Hamlet (ART Box A933 no.30). Courtesy of the Folger Library.
In New York? Want to color with others? The New York Botanical Garden’s Mertz Library is hosting #ColorOurCollections coloring parties on Wednesday, February 3 and Friday, February 5, from 12pm–2pm.
Keep following #ColorOurCollections on your favorite social media outlets, and keep an eye on our Pinterest boards, where we are pinning images shared by participating special collections along with images colored by fans. On Friday, our final #ColorOurCollections post will include a list of all of the coloring books created and shared by participants.
Books, Health and History 