From a drawing in 'Two Women in the Klondike', Mary Hitchcock, 1899.
Source Firkin
This background pattern contains a seamless texture of bark. It's not very realistic, but I think it looks quite nice.
Source V. Hartikainen
Dark pattern with some nice diagonal stitched lines crossing over.
Source Ashton
A background formed from an image of an old tile on the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art website. To get the base tile, select the rectangle in Inkscape and use shift-alt-i.
Source Firkin
To get the tile this is based on select the rectangle in Inkscape and use shift-alt-i
Source Firkin
I skipped number 3, because it wasn’t all that great. Sorry.
Source Dima Shiper
From a drawing in 'Friend or Fortune? The story of a strange year', Robert Overton, 1897.
Source Firkin
Nicely crafted paper pattern, although a bit on the large side (500x593px).
Source Blaq Annabiosis
From a tile that can be had by selecting the rectangle in Inkscape and using shift+alt+i.
Source Firkin
Prismatic Rounded Squares Grid 3 No Background
Source GDJ
Based on several public domain drawings on Wikimedia Commons. This was formed from a rectangular tile. The tile can be accessed in Inkscape by selecting the rectangle and using shift-alt-i
Source Firkin
The name alone is awesome, but so is this sweet dark pattern.
Source Federica Pelzel
A seamless web background with texture of aged grid paper.
Source V. Hartikainen
CC0 remixed from a drawing. Walter Crane, 1914, Firkin.
Source SliverKnight
He influenced us all. “Don’t be sad because it’s over. Smile because it happened.”
Source Atle Mo
Prismatic Groovy Concentric Background
Source GDJ
Sometimes you just need the simplest thing.
Source Fabricio
A seamless pattern formed from a tile made from page ornament 22. To get the tile, select the rectangle in Inkscape and use shift+alt+i.
Source Firkin
You may use it as is, or modify it as you like.
Source V. Hartikainen
From a design found in 'History of the Virginia Company of London; with letters to and from the first Colony, never before printed', Edward Neill, 1869.
Source Firkin
A monochrome pattern from a tile that can be had by selecting the rectangle in Inkscaope and using shift+alt+i
Source Firkin
One more from Badhon, sharp horizontal lines making an embossed paper feeling.
Source Badhon Ebrahim
Prismatic Groovy Concentric Background 2 No Black
Source GDJ