1762 Drawing Book - The artist's vade-mecum: Being the Whole Art of Drawing

How to draw the head in perspective.
Proportions of the head.


The artist's vade-mecum: being the whole art of drawing, taught in a new work, elegantly engraved on one hundred folio copper-plates, To which is prefixed, an essay on drawing.

R. SAYERS, AT THE GOLDEN BUCK, IN FLEET STREET, MDCCLXII.

Click here to see the 1762 prints for sale on Ebay.

Vade-mecum means a book for ready reference. This book is a compilation of prints designed for the student of art.

How to draw the nose, eyes and mouth.

How to draw the nose and eyes.








How to draw eyes.







The folio was influential to other publishers of drawing instruction books including Chapman's American Drawing Book.

How to draw hands and arms.
How to draw the hand holding objects.



































How to draw clasping hands.

How to draw feet.









How to draw feet.
How to draw the arm.












How to draw feet.

How to draw the leg.












How to draw feet and legs.

How to draw hands.












How to draw the arm and hand.




How to draw hands.

The artist's vade-mecum; being the whole art of drawing, taught in a new work, elegantly engraved on one hundred folio copper-plates; ... To which is ... third edition, with considerable additions.

How to Draw Hands - Anatomical Drawings from French Museums

There are some excellent examples of anatomical drawings on the web at a searchable database of French art museums.

Here are 3 examples. The first two are by Alessandro Allori. Etude anatomique d'une main, squelette et muscles and Trois études anatomiques d'une main.

The third is by Alphonse Henri Perin, called Etude de myologie d'un avant-bras.

Other posts:

How to Draw Hands

How to Draw a Hand

How to Draw Hands, Feet. Arms, Legs and Anatomy

How to Draw Hands, Arms and Figures

Figure Drawing: How to Draw Hands - Hendrick Goltzius






Pontormo, Bronzino, and Allori: A Geneaology of Florentine Art


Alessandro Allori (Archivi di arte antica) (Italian Edition)

Portrait of Bianca Cappello, circa 1580 Giclee Poster Print by Alessandro Allori, 12x16




Drawings of Pontormo (Master Draughtsman Series)






Other posts about drawing hands.

How to Draw Hands - Hendrick Goltzius

Hendrick Goltzius 1558-1617 - Study of a Hand.

The page Handen in de Beeldende Kunst has this note about the work: Hendrick Goltzius 1558-1617 is een bijzonder kunstenaar gebleken niet alleen omdat hij deze bijzondere handenstudie heeft gemaakt, maar omdat hij als een der eersten gebruik heeft gemaakt van het perspectief van een vallende man in een lege ruimte. (Hendrick Goltzius 1558-1617 is an artist particularly worth seeing not only because he has made a special study of a hand, but because he is one of the first use of the perspective of a man falling into an empty space.) See my other post Foreshortening for pictures of he figure in perspective, falling through space.



Another drawing of hands Four Studies of Hands is at The Metropolitan Museum's website.




A print of his, Perseus and Andromeda is for sale on Ebay. This is a portion of the extensive note about him by the seller:

Goltzius's engravings from this period, 1585 to 1590, epitomise the conscious avoidance of naturalism and the deliberate over-refinement of this anti-classical approach. By decade's end a lessening of his 'Sprangerism' is evident in Goltzius's engravings and drawings, a tendency that was reinforced by his journey to Italy. In January 1591, he arrived in Rome, where he sketched after Raphael, Michelangelo, and Polidoro da Caravaggio, and to an even greater degree from antiquities. Goltzius's colourful portrait drawings made on his way to and from Italy are of great beauty and significance as well. He returned to Haarlem by the end of 1591. With the assistance of his many followers, Goltzius throughout the 1590s experienced much success as an engraver and publisher, and his activity with chiaroscuro woodcuts was of consequence as well. By 1600 he enjoyed a far-reaching reputation as Europe's pre-eminent graphic artist.

Hendrick Goltzius on Ebay

The DeLind Gallery of Fine Art in Milwaukee Wisconsin has another print Rhadamanthus and Prosperine. Check out the site, they have a show entirely of figurative work in January and February.



Bryn Mawr College has a copy of his print of The Apollo Belvedere.

Another print by a different artist, Marcantonio Raimondi, at the Metropolitan Museum.


Original scupture.














Drawing Dynamic Hands (Practical Art Books)


Draw Real Hands! (Discover Drawing Series)

Drawing Hands and Feet: Form, Proportions, Gestures and Actions (The Art of Drawing)

Perseus and Andromeda, by Henrick Goltzius.

How to Draw Hands

Robert Sayer was a prolific printmaker and mapmaker and seller in 18th Century London. Two examples of his portraiture products are show below.

The prints of hands and arms were from a portfolio which demonstrated the methods of drawing and included hands, arms, eyes, nose, ears, heads, figures, landscapes and animals
For more examples of how to draw, you can visit my website: Figure-Drawings.com, or another post, How to Draw a Hand, or another How to Draw Hands.

The National Portrait Gallery which has a section on his portraits gives this brief biography of Robert Sayer.

"In 1747, Robert Sayer's elder brother James married Mary Overton, owner of the map and print business of her late husband, Philip Overton. A year later Robert Sayer acquired both her stock and her shop and began running it himself. From his London office on Fleet Street, he continued to publish the Overton stock while acquiring and expanding the business with plates from other printers, including maps, portraits, and nautical engravings. Sayer became a leading figure in the print, map and chart business; he took advantage of common production facilities and distribution channels and exploited the expanding markets in all three fields."



The first image is William Beckford Esq,r Member of Parliment for the City of London James Townsend Esq.r John Sawbridge Esq.r - Published as the Act directs, Sepr. 29th 1769, by Jn.o Smith No. 35 in Cheapside; and Robert Sayer No. 53 in Fleet Street - Large image at Sanders of Oxford, printsellers.

The second image is The Right Honorable William Pitt Esqr. One of His Majesty's Most Hon.ble Privy Council. - London: Printed for Robert Sayer, Map & Printseller, at the Goldern Buck near Serjeant’s Inn, Fleet Street. Artist Richard Houston after William Hoare, published according to the Act of Parliment April 20 1766 - Large image at Sanders of Oxford, printsellers. Search for British Political.

The David Rumsey Map Collection has an extensive listing of his maps.





Draw Real Hands! (Discover Drawing Series)

Drawing Hands and Feet: Form, Proportions, Gestures and Actions (The Art of Drawing)

Drawing & Painting Hands & Feet

British Prints: Dictionary & Price Guide and Prints for the Collector: British Prints from 1500 to 1900 at Amazon.com.



Artistic Costume Designing
Simple clear illustrations characterize this very complete introduction to costume and fashion designing by the founder and Director of Lipson's School of Costume Designing in Los Angeles. The book is designed as a home study book with exercises to work on. It includes sections on how to draw the figure, how to draw hand, feet, legs and how to illustrate costumes and fashions.

















These last imges are from The artist's vade-mecum by R. Sayer. Another post about him is here.