As an avid colorist and publisher of vintage coloring books, I find it delightful that the New York Academy of Medicine (NYAM) is encouraging libraries to join the adult coloring realm by offering free downloadable coloring pages of illustrations from their special collections.

All ages are encouraged to download the coloring book PDFs and post their colorings to social media using the #ColorOurCollections tag. The event will take place from February 1st through 5th.

This is a marvelous opportunity to collect and color illustrations from vintage texts from around the world. Here is a small sampling of the images available. A full list of participants can be found on Twitter by @NYAMNYC.

More info: nyamcenterforhistory.org

From “De historia stirpium commentarii insigne” in the Library of the NY Academy of Medicine

Source: nyamcenterforhistory.files.wordpress.com

“Flora Brasiliensis” from the Biodiversity Heritage Library

Source: www.flickr.com

“Aquila volante” from the Bodleian Libraries at the University of Oxford

Source: www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk

“Liber chronicarum, [Nuremberg]” from the University of Missouri Libraries

Source: library.missouri.edu

“Weighted mask” from the Dittrick Medical History Center Rare Books Collection

Source: artsci.case.edu

From “Celtic art in pagan and Christian times” at the Smithsonian Libraries

Source: library.si.edu

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