Enjoy this selection of free vintage vegetable prints curated from the pages of the renowned Vilmorin-Andrieux & Co. seed catalogs!
If you had told me ten years ago that I’d one day be trying to convince you to hang a picture of a turnip on your wall and call it art, well madam, I’d have pointed you in the direction of the nearest loony bin, then called ahead and made you an open-ended reservation.
Yet here we are.
Some people have a framed Rubens on their wall.
We framed a rhubarb.
Life’s a hell of a thing, ain’t it?
But what can I say? We’re DIYers (and bloggers, to boot), so the standard artistic fare doesn’t always cut the mustard.
I suppose there’s a certain freedom in being a DIY blogger.
I could literally hang a toilet on my wall and call it art, and as long as I took good photos and wrote convincingly, I could get at least some of you to hang toilets on your walls!
But I prefer to use my powers of persuasion for good, not evil, so no toilets on the wall (yet!)
Anyway, back to the vintage vegetables.
About 250 years ago, give or take, the French seed company Vilmorin-Andrieux & Co. began publishing catalogs to sell their seeds. This family went on to become a horticultural powerhouse – a seed dynasty that stretched generations.
Those catalogs though…
In the days before cameras and film, a company needed a good artist (or artists) on board to bring their products to life on the pages of a catalog.
Vilmorin-Andrieux & Co. did not disappoint.
The company employed over a dozen painters who turned the mundane into the magnificent. They were the Rembrandts of rhubarb, the Picassos of parsnip. For the next century, their catalogs were a feast for the eyes and treasured as much for their glorious color plates as they were for the seeds sold within.
About 150 years ago, they published a collection of their most famous works of art in book form. To buy one of the original books now would cost you several hundred dollars.
Fortunately for you, we found some scans of the originals that we were able to enhance and offer to you here today.
Now here is some information on today’s printables: we designed these free vintage vegetable printables only in 16×20 inch size, but you can scale them up or down as necessary. 16×20 inch scales down to 12×15 / 8×10 / 4×5 inches with no problems, and if you need help with scaling down these printables so you can print them on your home printer, then make sure you check out Handan’s “How To Easily Resize Pictures” post.
Also, if you don’t have a large format printer like the Canon i8720 Printer (prints up to 13×19 inches) and are wondering the best place to get these printables printed bigger than 8×12, we recommend trying Staples in your area or Amazon print shop. Both stores offer custom-sized prints on matte or glossy paper, and they both cost about the same. Office Depot and Staples also offer Engineering Prints, which are really affordable for large-format prints, but in some areas, they must be ordered from their online print shop.
Now it’s time to click on the button below to download today’s free fall printables – they are all in the Vintage Illustrations section of The VIP Patch.
If you’re not a Navage Patch VIP, you won’t be able to access our Freebies Library. But that can be easily fixed! Subscribe for free on the form below and become a Navage Patch VIP. Once you subscribe, a password will be sent to you in our Welcome email, and that will give you access to The VIP Patch [Freebies Library]. For more information on this process or on our free printables, please check our Printables FAQ page.
Last year we shared some beautiful vintage botanical prints from Adolphe Millot (think Cavallini & Company), which you all loved. It is our sincere wish that you will find these Vilmorin vintage vegetable prints equally beautiful and worthy of display in your home.
If you do, be sure to take a picture and post it on Instagram! Don’t forget to tag us @TheNavagePatch! We love to see our free printables out in the wild!
And the fun doesn’t stop with Vilmorin! We’ve teamed up with a group of our blogging buddies to offer you even more free printables! Be sure to check out the links below and hop on over to their sites. You’ll soon be swimming in free printables, madam!
Free Fall Printables: Pretty Watercolor Pumpkins from Lovely Etc.
Free Vintage Hydrangea Botanical Printables from Postcards from the Ridge
Free Fall Coloring Page from Sustain My Craft Habit
Fall Printables | Free Watercolor Art from Sunny Side Design
Colorful Free Fall Printables for Home Decor from DIY Beautify
Free Fall Printables for the Home from Sweet Pea
Autumn Pumpkin Watercolor Printable from Domestically Speaking
Free fall printable: Sweet as pumpkin pie from Green with Decor
Free Fall Printables from Angela Marie Made
Free Fall Watercolor Printables from Our Crafty Mom
Cute Pumpkin Printable for Fall from Twelve on Main
Free Autumn Printables For Decor or Gifts from What Meegan Makes
Fresh Pears Fall Printable Art from Houseful of Handmade
Free Vintage Vegetable Prints from The Navage Patch (this is us!)
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Giselle D. says
The printables are beautiful but the video of the hummingbird is truly heartwarming. The trust he/she had was amazing. I’m so glad you were able to help him/her! In these turbulent times it was so nice to see something so pure!
Greg says
Thank you, Giselle! That was a special day when I rescued that little guy! 🙂
Gracie says
These printables are absolutely stunning! Can’t wait to print some up for my kitchen!! Thank you for your hard work n generosity!!!
Greg says
Thank you, Gracie, and you are so very welcome!
Carrie says
Who knew vegetables could look so good! These are awesome, thanks for sharing!
Greg says
Thanks, Carrie! 🙂
Lynne Parish says
May I obtain the password for the printables? I promise this time I’ll write it down! The fruits and vegetables are beautiful!
Greg says
Hi Lynne, just look at the top of the email you received from us! 🙂
Michelle says
Love their vintage look, thanks for sharing!
Greg says
Thank you so much, Michelle!
Meegan says
I love botanical style art. These are absolutely fabulous! I would really like these in my kitchen. But they would also look fabulous in my dining area all year long. Thanks for inspiring me!
Greg says
Thank you so much, Meegan! We love it, too! 🙂
Maryann says
Love your vintage veggies! They’d be so cute in a kitchen!!!
Greg says
Thank you, Maryann – we agree! 🙂
Sonja says
These are gorgeous, definitely each a work of art. I’d prefer rhubarbs over Rubens anyway 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing.
Greg says
Thank you so much, Sonja! It is our pleasure! 🙂
Colleen says
I am super excited to print these! I love the other prints that you posted and I wanted something for my kitchen that had vegetables. I found a frame from Ikea that was 16 1/4 by 20. Do you think that would still work or should I find a frame that is more fitting? May I ask, where did you buy your frames from?
Thanks in advance 🙂
Greg says
Your frame should work just fine, Colleen – we made these to print at 16×20, so you’re only off by 1/4 inch. We get our frames from all over, but the new ones mostly come from Michaels.
Kathy says
I love these, oh I love these. Please leave them out there on your VIP site forever, because when that someday comes that we actually build the garage with the upper room for my she shed, I’ll be figuring out how to print these. I have no room in my kitchen now, unless I want to change out one wall and honestly I’m too tired right now to think about it.
I love these, did I say that? Thanks for always bringing inspiration and smiles!
Greg says
Thank you so much, Kathy! I’m so happy you love them! Wait, you did say you loved them right? Or did I read that somewhere else?? 😀
[email protected] says
I love these designs and the history behind them. These would look wonderful framed and hanging in a kitchen.
Greg says
Thank you so much, Paula! 🙂