These gorgeous vintage bird illustrations come from a book published in the late 1700s. The book is in Dutch, but the title roughly translates as, Collection of Foreign and Rare Birds, Together with Some Strange Animals and Plants. I continue to be amazed and impressed by the quality of the images from that time period. Some good examples are these elegant plants collage sheets or these American plants collage sheets.

I had a really hard time editing out illustrations. Sometimes I come across less exciting collections of images that are easy to whittle down to a handful, but these were all so pretty! Scroll down and you will find three different collage sheets of 2.5” x 3.5” ATC-sized images.

Since they make such great subjects, I have a number of free bird illustration collage sheets available for you to download and add to your journaling supplies. Make sure you also check out these Language of Birds Collage Sheets or these Hummingbird Collage Sheets for more colorful bird illustrations.

Vintage bird illustrations are a great choice for mixed media junk journaling and art journaling. Their aesthetic appeal is undeniable. The intricate details, delicate lines, and muted color palettes of vintage bird illustrations exude a timeless charm. These illustrations also offer great versatility. They can serve as focal points, background images, or be incorporated into collages, allowing for diverse and creative compositions.

Vintage bird illustrations create a connection with nature. Birds symbolize freedom and beauty, and including these illustrations in a journal, can infuse your pages with a sense of tranquility and whimsy.

Beyond their visual appeal, vintage bird illustrations reflect the artistic styles and scientific understanding of the eras they originated from, giving a glimpse into the past.

I hope you are able to use these collage sheets as inspiration for your mixed media art journaling, junk journaling, bullet journaling, collage, artist trading cards (ATCs), scrapbooking, and other crafts.

If you enjoy these free printables, be sure to follow me on Instagram and Pinterest, so you’ll see when I post new ones.

Art Journal Idea

I created this art journal page centered around an illustration of a bird holding a pair of bright red cherries in its beak. To give the "berry thief" a proper spotlight, I framed its paper collage cutout near the top center, backing it with torn strips of painted yellow text pages and broad, sweeping strokes of teal paint over a washed-purple background. I added fun mark-making in a light blue paint pen, sketching playful geometric shapes on the left, and loose, floating circles and dashes on the right. To balance out the top, I grounded the bottom left with a large, bright yellow textured paper swatch featuring a lovely blue floral cut-out with a tiny dragonfly, creating a layered spread full of story and color.

Other Free Image Used: Vintage Flower Illustration