We discovered this precursor to Terry Gilliam's dystopian satire Brazil in Punch, 1872.  Those are encroaching ducts, don't you know.

Over a century before Motown "heard it through the grapevine," climbing and trailing plants of the vine family actually kept secrets instead of spreading them.  The caption of this illustration makes it all clear: "Dear ivy, keep my secret safe; / Like him, you cannot guess / That life and love are centered here, / Where I have written—Yes!" (London Society, 1877).

Staring into the depths: an illustration from an 1898 issue of Century Illustrated magazine.

An illustration from a 1902 issue of The Strand magazine.  The caption reads: "He stood there, very gently swaying."

An illustration from a 1914 issue of Harper's magazine.  The caption reads: "There is something that lives on here, in this room."

"No longer baby":  an illustration from an 1861 issue of Godey's magazine.

Here's a precursor to the spooky wallpaper in Disneyland's Haunted Mansion, from a 1904 issue of Good Housekeeping magazine.  This illustration prefigures the work of M.C. Escher by about three decades.

An illustration from a 1917 issue of Scribner's magazine.

An illustration from an 1899 issue of Quartier Latin magazine.  The caption reads: "Van accepted resignedly the holes burnt in his best Persian praying rug."

An illustration from a 1916 issue of Harper's magazine.  The caption reads: "Miss Holmes made no answer, for she, too, was seeing the vision."

From Prof. Oddfellow's sketchbook:

An illustration from a 1917 issue of Good Housekeeping magazine.

An illustration from an 1860 issue of Harper's magazine.  The caption reads: "Taming a groom."

Staring into the depths: an illustration from an 1899 issue of Harper's magazine.  The caption reads: "He was a man upon the edge of some despair."

Even way back in 1906, the election fairy had a knack for manipulating the voting machine.  From Punch, 1906.

An illustration from a 1907 issue of Good Housekeeping magazine.