If you’ve ever wondered what a baker would look like dressed entirely in loaves of bread or a clockmaker wearing clocks from head to toe, you’re in for a treat!
This wonderfully quirky collection of 18th-century prints by Martin Engelbrecht features men and women transformed into walking advertisements for their trades. Every figure is cleverly assembled from the tools, products and equipment of their profession, creating some of the most imaginative and entertaining engravings you’ll come across.
The series is packed with bakers, gardeners, carpenters, watchmakers, musicians, hat makers, potters and many more. They may look a little surreal today, but these colourful prints were designed to celebrate the incredible variety of skilled crafts and professions of the time.
Who Was Martin Engelbrecht?
Martin Engelbrecht (1684–1756) was a German engraver, publisher and print seller based in Augsburg, one of Europe’s most important printing centres during the 18th century. His workshop became famous for producing beautifully engraved decorative prints, paper theatres, costume illustrations and ornamental designs that were collected across Europe.
Among his most memorable works is the wonderfully titled series “Neü-eröffnete Sammlung der mit ihren eigenen Arbeiten und Werckzeugen eingekleideten Künstlern, Handwerckern und Professionen”; a collection of nearly 190 hand-coloured engravings showing artists, craftsmen and professionals literally clothed in the tools of their trade. The figures continue a tradition of “composite portraits”, where everyday objects are arranged to create a human figure, resulting in prints that are equal parts art, humour and visual puzzle.
The vibrant hand colouring makes these engravings even more eye-catching. Every apron, hat, basket and tool bursts with colour, making them just as appealing today as they were almost 300 years ago.
How To Download The Free Prints
Below you’ll find over 40 occupation prints. Simply click on any image to open a high-resolution version in a new tab. From there, you can save it to your computer.
Because these illustrations are in the public domain, you can use them in all sorts of creative projects. They’re perfect for framing, junk journals, collage, decoupage, greeting cards, scrapbooking and other paper crafts. They also make unusual wall art for a home office, workshop or studio.
Apothecary, Artist, Baker & Bell Founder
A Male apothecary with medicinal plants, bottles, jars, a mortar and pestle, and other pharmacy apparatus arranged around his trade costume.
Antique costume print of an apothecary’s wife with bottles, a still or kettle, ladle, bowl, and other pharmacy vessels arranged around her costume.
Painter’s wife standing by an easel and painted canvas, with a palette, brush, and artist at a drawing table nearby.
There’s also a collection of vintage art materials illustrations from an old art supplies catalogue on the blog.
A baker carrying loaves and a bread peel, with baskets, bread rolls, and an oven or bakehouse scene behind him.
With casting tools, a bell or moulding apparatus, measuring instruments, and foundry equipment.
Bellow Maker, Blacksmith and Brass Worker
A bellows maker with wooden bellows, frames, handles, and workshop tools, standing near a small smoky fire.
A blacksmith or farrier with a horse, horseshoe tools, a small forge frame, and smithing equipment.
A blacksmith’s wife wearing farrier and smithing tools, including hammers, tongs, horseshoes, and an anvil-like work surface.
Holding a lantern and brass vessel, with shears, tools, a kettle, and rolled brass sheet nearby.
A brass worker’s wife displaying brass trade objects, including candlesticks, vessels, a crescent form, and rolled sheet metal.
Butcher, Cantle Maker, Carpenter
He wears a large ox head across his chest like armour, holds a square meat cleaver in one hand, and lifts a raw leg of meat with the other. A long animal tail trails behind his red cloak, while various tools like knives and sharpeners hang from his belt. Next to him, a table displays sausages and cuts of meat.
A female butcher carrying a pig’s head and meat, with a dog, knife or cleaver, and a butchery scene behind her.
Candle maker with candle moulds, wick frames, a dipping stand, and a small furnace or melting pot.
A carpenter carrying planks, a saw, square, plane, and other woodworking tools
A female carpenter beside a large wooden screw press, holding woodworking tools with timber and bridge carpentry details in the background.
Clock Maker, Fisherman, Fishmonger, Gardener & Glasses Maker
Print 20. Female Clock and Watchmaker
A female clock and watch maker posed as an ornate clock, with a watch dial, pendulum, key, and decorative timepiece case.
Don’t forget to explore the site’s collection of fabulous vintage fish illustrations, all free to download.
A fisherman’s wife with a carrying basket, fishing net, fish, and sea creatures worked into her costume.
Landscape gardener wearing flowers and greenery, holding garden tools beside potted shrubs, a rake, plant stakes, and a garden plan.
(I’ve actually come across this print as a greeting card in a Stately Home gift shop.)
Glasses maker wearing spectacles and optical tools, holding a measuring rod beside lenses, frames, and people using eyewear in the background.
If you’re interested in antique optics, you’ll also enjoy this collection of vintage science posters by John Emslie, which includes several fascinating illustrations of optical science.
Print 27. Female Glasses, Maker
Female glasses maker wearing spectacle frames and optical instruments, with lenses, measuring rods, and eyewear tools decorating her costume.
Glazier, Hatter, Knife Grinder and Parchment Maker
A glazier holding glass panes and tools, with lead came, a brazier, and window glass panels beside him.
A hatter carrying hats and hat brims, standing beside a furnace-like hatter’s stove and stacked hat forms.
Carrying a portable grinding bench, sharpening frame, small tools, and measuring or cutting instruments.
Print 32. Female Knife Grinder
Carrying a grinding wheel frame, blades, shears, and sharpening tools as part of her trade costume.
With hide-stretching frames, scraping knives, barrels, and prepared skins around the workshop scene.
Print 34. Female Parchment Maker
Parchment makers transformed animal skins, typically sheep, calf, or goat, into a durable, smooth material. They used this for writing, bookbinding, and drumheads by painstakingly scraping, liming, and stretching the hides on wooden frames.
Playing Card Maker, Potter, Spicer, Tin Smith & Wheelwright
Print 36. Female Playing Card Maker
A potter with a kiln, clay pot, jugs, bowls, fire, and pottery tools shown around the workshop.
A spicer was the ultimate neighbourhood shopkeeper for exotic luxuries! These merchants filled their shelves with rare treasures from around the world, like fragrant cinnamon, precious sugar cones, and fresh citrus fruits. Because their goods were so expensive, they used delicate hand-scales to measure every pinch with absolute precision. Part grocer and part pharmacist, the spicer brought a world of rich flavour and early medicine straight to local doorsteps.
A wheelwright or cartwright with a large cart wheel, axle, hammer, and other wheel-making tools.
More Vintage Costume & Historical Prints
If you enjoyed these occupation prints, you might also like my collection of Vintage French Fashion Prints, featuring elegant clothing and costume illustrations from 18th-century France.
For more historical figures, have a look at my Vintage Paper Dolls collection. It includes printable paper dolls and costume illustrations from different countries and time periods.
For more glimpses of historic trades, browse my collection of vintage Japanese photographs, which includes flower sellers, lantern makers and other artisans captured in everyday life.
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