Free printable vintage 1940s and 1950s yearbook pages are stunning antique ephemera that make great wall art and can be used for art/junk journals and numerous DIY projects!
Looking through old yearbooks of any era provides a fascinating perspective on education, school culture, and much more, such as fashion styles, trends in photography, and pop culture icons. Even 80 to 90 years later, it’s amazing to see how much hasn’t changed about school life and what we choose to document about it.
I’m sharing a set of 32 antique high school yearbook pages that are from four different yearbooks, all from the 1940s or 1950s. There is a nice mix of posed and candid photos with class spreads (including more detailed senior photo pages), teachers and other staff information, marching band, sports teams and statistics, class officers, clubs, yearbook staff, notable events (i.e., dances, class banquets), and general school life, such as eating in the cafeteria, club meetings, and groups of friends gathering in between classes.
Old yearbook pages make wonderful wall art for homes, offices, classrooms, libraries, and more. They can also be used as layering pieces for art/junk journals, greeting cards, scrapbook pages, and much more.
About the vintage yearbook pages
You may use the old yearbook pages for as many personal projects as you like, which includes classroom use. You may also use them for limited runs of commercial projects (5,000 items or less). Commercial use DOES NOT include made-to-order sites, such as Society6 and Redbubble. Digital commercial items must consist of your own original content and be in flat, finished form (i.e., not Photoshop files). You are not authorized to sell the yearbook pages, either as individual items or as part of larger collections.
Finally, please don’t send the yearbook image files to anyone directly. If family, friends, or co-workers are interested in their own vintage printables, please send them a link to this post so that they can download the files themselves. Your support allows me to continue to offer free printable vintage collections. Thank you!
Vintage 1940s and 1950s yearbook pages downloads
I’m offering vintage 1940s and 1950s high school yearbook pages from four different yearbooks over these two decades. There are four front and back pages from each of the four yearbooks, making for a total of 32 digital pages. Each page measures 4600 x 6260 pixels and is in 300 dpi JPG format for the highest resolution possible. I’ve split the four different yearbooks into four different folders for easy downloading. I have instructions on extracting and downloading the ZIP folders immediately after the download links.
Extracting and downloading the ZIP folders
I’ve created ZIP folders for the vintage yearbook pages. Zipped folders enable me to provide high-resolution files for crisp, vivid printing while protecting said files against potential theft. It’s a pretty simple process to extract and download the ZIP folders from Google Drive. Please note that it does take a little time to download each folder in full.
- When you click on the download link, select the Open with ZIP Extractor option at the top of the page.
- The folder will open in a new window. The files will download.
- Once the files have downloaded, click Extract Now.
- When the files have extracted and uploaded, click View Extracted Files.
- Double click on the folder.
- To download, select the files you’d like to download. Click the three horizontal dots More Actions button. Choose Download.
I strongly recommend moving your downloaded files out of your downloads folder and into your main photos folder. I also highly suggest making a second copy of the files on an external hard drive or cloud storage drive. Label the folder “Vintage Yearbook Pages” or something similar, so you’re able to find them again with ease.
Now you’re ready to use your vintage printables for home decor and endless craft projects!
Printing antique book pages
When you print full vintage yearbook pages for wall art, my personal pick for at-home printing is Finestra Art Paper. The paper boasts an acid-free, matte surface, which dries ink quickly, producing crisp, vibrant images. I prefer the aesthetic that you get with Finestra over the look that you get with regular printer paper, presentation paper, or card stock.
Aside from basic affiliate commissions, I don’t receive any sponsorship or compensation from Finestra for mentioning their products. I found Finestra Art Paper through my own research and love the consistent results that it has provided through many years of creating decor for blog posts as well as for my own home.
When you use vintage yearbook pages for art/junk journals, scrapbooks, mixed media art, and other DIY projects, I recommend printing them on white card stock. You’ll still get high-quality, durable results without spending the money that you would on art paper.
[Disclaimer: There are a few affiliate links in this post. Thanks for your support!]
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More free vintage ephemera collections:
Visit the free printables section of the blog for more free vintage printables, including book pages, sheet music, and postcards. Head to my VintageDigitalRose shop for even more antique digital paper offerings.
