An original antique, hand-colored Insect engraving, one of the classics from the Insectes section of D'Orbigny's epic Natural History Atlas.

The drawing, detail work in the stipple-engraving, the coloring  'A La poupee' (colored in the plate) & hand-finishing are remarkable.

Generally one only finds these as reproductions, giclees & such anymore. I happen to have this scarce original antique copy in my collection.

This is a true find. If you're looking for an original antique copy to make giclees from, or just to frame & stare at in awe on your wall, here's a very rare chance to acquire one.

The Volumes: Dictionnaire Universel d'Histoire Naturelle (Dictionary of Natural History) was edited by the French naturalist Charles Henry Dessalines d'Orbigny (1802-1857). Regarded as one of the best illustrated encyclopedias of natural history, the Atlas volumes featured exquisitely detailed and scientifically accurate illustrations that appeal to both the academic and artistic eye. Other topics in the series included mammals, birds, insects, fish, etc. published by Renard & Martinet of Paris. The superb, beautifully hand colored plates are from the leading French artists of the day such as Susemihl, Traviès, Oudart and Pretre. The order, genus & species is on each print in Latin & French.

Every part of these prints was made by hand: Hand drawn & engraved on Copper which was hand-mined, smelted & rolled, printed onto handmade cotton rag paper, inked & colored with hand-ground pigments individually by hand, & they were usually hand sewn into handmade leather-bound books.

Condition: Appears to be in superb, almost pristine condition for a centuries-old engraving. The hand-coloring appears to remain sharp & brilliant as the day it was painted. Almost no age-toning to the paper for a print this old. A very clean example of this plate.

These prints are very old & may have minor imperfections expected with age, such as some typical age-toning of the paper, oxidation of the old original watercolors, spots, text-offsetting, artifacts from having been bound into a book, etc. Please peruse the detailed photos.

Text Page(s): This one comes without original text page(s) as those were bound separately. I've added a scan of a sample cover page from one of the volumes to the listing photos for reference, it's not part of the listing.

About these gorgeous creatures:

• Order Coleoptera are Beetles.
• Petrognatha is a monotypic longhorn beetle genus belonging to the subfamily Lamiinae, tribe Petrognathini. It was described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1792. Its only species, Petrognatha gigas, the giant African longhorn beetle, described in the same year by Fabricius, is found in Central Africa.
• Stellognatha maculata is a species of beetle belonging to the family Cerambycidae from Madagascar.
• Tragocephala formosa is a species of beetle in the family Cerambycidae. It was described by Olivier in 1792, originally under the genus Lamia. It is known from Mozambique, South Africa, Malawi, Kenya, and Zimbabwe, and has been introduced into Seychelles.
• Taeniotes subocellatus is a species of flat-faced longhorn beetles in the subfamily Lamiinae of the family Cerambycidae. This species is present in Guyana, Suriname and Venezuela.

Size: 6" x 9-1/2" inches approximately.

Shipping: Multiple prints combine into one USPS Flat-Rate envelope. If you'd like to combine & need more time to choose, please send a message & we'll do our best to oblige. If you're assessed multiple shipping for one combined package, we'll endeavor to refund any overage asap.

Thanks for Visiting!