This page lists out-of-copyright books that are available for you to download. Simply 'Rightclick' on the title you are interested in, and save the book, which will download as a PDF file.
If you have a book which is in the public domain, and which you think we might be interested in, please contact us and we will make it available through our website for you.
Copyright law is a minefield to say the least. As far as we can understand it, as a general rule a book is out of copyright - in the public domain - if both the Author and the Artist died before 1955. Things become complicated when the author or a named contributor outlived the subject of the book. For example, the 1933 AGNSW guide for the loan exhibition of works by Elioth Gruner is out of copyright because it was published more than fifty years before the 2005 Copyright Act was passed. On the otherhand, the Art in Australia special edition featuring Elioth Gruner which was published in the early 1920's is still in copyright because Norman Lindsay was a contributor, and he lived until 1969. To complicate matters still further, all of the images from the 1920s edition are out of copyright because Elioth Gruner died more than fifty years before the 2005 copyright act was passed. If we're wrong, please let us know.
Suffice to say, all books available on this website are made available for educational and research purposes, and if you believe you own the copyright of anything made available here, please contact us.
If you are unsure, go to www.copyright.org.au who provide useful information.
Our Downloadable books:
Modeling and sculpting the human figure: by Edouard Lanteri
The Art and life of David Davies Published by The Speciality press Pty. Ltd C1920
The Art and life of Walter Withers Published by the Speciality press Pty. Ltd. C1920
Catalogue of the loan exhibition of works by Elioth Gruner at the AGNSW 1933
The paintings of A E Newbury Published by Alexander McCubbin 1921
Books downloadable from other online sources:
(Click the link to go to the download site)
Andrew Loomis instructional books
Save Loomis! is a fansite dedicated to the great illustrator guru of the America early 20th Century. His instruction manuals are all available as PDF's here.
NEW: Titan Books has recently released a facsimile copy of a couple of Loomis books, which you can purchase via the links below. These books are actually cheaper than the cost of printing the pdf at a print shop.
Books from Archive.org:
George Bridgeman:
Henry Rankin Poore:
Pictorial Composition and the Critical Judgment of Pictures
John Ruskin:
The elements of drawing in three letters to beginners : with illustrations drawn by the author