Silhouette Paper Cuts by Baroness Maydell

The two sisters by Baroness Maydell

A lady or a bride by Baroness Maydell

Paper cuts of sports and social occasions...

The following paper cuts depict everyday life during Jane Austen's era Ladies and gentlemen are dressed in Empire waist gowns and top hats with canes.

People play croquet, a lawn game using wickets, mallets and a wooden ball.

Gentlemen in the field for a hunt with their sporting dogs and rifles.

Ladies and gentlemen greeting one another with a curtsy and bow.

Two lovers sit on a park bench kissing while another vignette shows a mother with children approaching a column in a park setting.

Old-fashioned figures in profile...

Below are old-fashioned silhouettes (paper cuts) of ladies and gentlemen from the Victorian era.

The greeting.

In mourning.

The argument.

Arranging flowers paper cut

   A Japanese lady arranges flowers inside of a vase in this paper cut.

Bessie's Knitting

Little Bessie busy knitting.

Tell me why?

On and on the ever-flitting

Hours go by;

Fleeter still her hands are flying

All so spry;

The soft twilight now is dying;

Night is nigh.

Can you tell me why she lingers

Here so long

'Tis love that prompts her nimble fingers

And her song;

Sweet thoughts of baby sister flocking 

Through her mind,

In the morning a new stocking

Baby'll find.

Paper Patterns by Paul Konewka

      Paul Konewka was an artist remarkable for his skill and expression in silhouette designs. He was a Pole by birth and studied both sculpture and painting. His chief works are the illustrations of "Faust," and of the "Midsummer's Night Dream." I will eventually include these collections under his name. He died at the young age of 31 in Berlin, 1871.

A self portrait of Paul Konewka.

Related Content:

• Literatur von und über Paul Konewka im Katalog der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek
• Silhouetten zu Goethes Faust

Silhouettes by Nelly Bodenheim

These silhouettes are by Nelly Bodenheim who was a Netherlands illustrator, 1874 to 1951.