Octopus / Squid

Are you obsessive about octopuses? Spellbound by squid? Mesmerized by molluscs? Well, this gallery of the best vintage octopus and squid illustrations is for you, my enthusiastic friend. Below you’ll find the most beautiful collection of natural history illustrations we’ve collected from the public domain. There are works by Jean Baptiste Verany, Giuseppe Jatta, and the father of marine science illustration, Ernst Haeckl.

The octopuses and squid are illustrated on their own, and some have multiple angles or views to show the different ways the molluscs swim, move, or hide. Some of the octopuses are coiled up tight, and some are stretched out, so you can see each tentacle. I particularly love the vintage marine science charts, where the artist has placed more than one type of octopus or squid in the image, or even different parts of the animal close up.