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BRITISH
ENTOMOLOGY: BEING ILLUSTRATIONS AND DESCRIPTIONS
Most Curtis prints are also available with the botanical element only, see the individual pages for the links to the botanical elements only prints, or click here. This superb publication is without doubt the finest 19th century work on the subject and probably the finest such work ever produced. Published in 16 volumes to a initial list of 103 subscribers, in monthly parts from 1823 to 1840. It was, and still is, universally acknowledged as being a masterpiece of the engravers' and colourists' art; described by the eminent French naturalist Georges Cuvier as the "paragon of perfection". One only has to look at a single illustration drawn at random from the work to appreciate the exquisitely accurate detail and fine rendering. This is due in large part to the particularly fine "Rye Mill" paper. The copper-plate engraved and hand-coloured plates are just 8 x 5 ¾ inches (202 x 146 mm) in size with the limbs of many of the insects being less than 1/32nd inch (0.8mm) across yet all are precisely and accurately coloured and finished. Because of this extreme accuracy the prints are all provided at approximately twice life size so that their fine detail can easily be seen without the use of a loupe (magnifying glass).Comprising 770 plates and descriptions, with many of the species described for the first time, each complete with its associated or an appropriate plant also accurately rendered in the finest possible detail. The outstanding quality of the prints made them a prized target for uncaring print dealers and collectors to the extent that very few copies of the work remain intact today. One of the very rare complete survivors (only six are known to exist*) has been made unconditionally available to us and so it is intended to offer a broad sample commencing in the Spring of 2009. Requests for particular plates are encouraged. The associated technical and anecdotal text will also be made available for downloading from these pages. As the majority of plates also include an exquisitely rendered plant, the more attractive of these are available as separate, plant-only prints or plant and insect prints (less the technical line drawings) via the Flora gallery. The original paintings, 778 in total, were considered to be so important that they were purchased by Lord Rothschild who then donated them to the Natural History Museum ("NHM") in London where they remain to this day. Until recently there was a complete set of reasonably good images from their copy of the publication available as an Internet gallery, but this is no longer available due to a scripting error on the Museum's site. Meanwhile, a full, but very poor copy of the publication is available by clicking here. Please let us know if you discover a better, freely available copy or if the NHM website error is corrected. Short biography: John Curtis was born in Norwich, England in 1791, the son of an engraver (father) and horticulturalist (mother), he initially joined a local law firm but soon his main interest in entomology took control and had him supplementing his income by collecting insect specimens for wealthy collectors. At the same time he developed his extra-ordinary artistic talent, encouraged by his father who also taught him copper-plate engraving. His stay with the law firm was short-lived as he was soon able to put his training and talents to good use illustrating the best selling Introduction to Entomology by Kirby and Spence (published 1815-26). He could then afford to move to London where he quickly became acquainted with the leading naturalists of the day. Soon afterwards he commenced his main work, British Entomology. His reputation by this time being sufficient to enable him to attract over 100 wealthy subscribers (rising to 193 for the final volume) giving him sufficient financial resources to complete the entire engraving, printing and publishing process in his own name. He had a troubled relationship with the the natural history establishment whom he thought to be petty-minded and obstructive. Nevertheless, he published his enormous Guide to the Arrangement of British Insects in 1829 and Farm Insects in 1860. The Guide catalogued and scientifically described 10,000 insects and was a landmark of scientific endeavour. He was a member of the Linnean Society from 1822 to 1833 and was president of the Royal Entomological Society of London for two years commencing 1855. His dedication to minute detail had a profound effect upon his eyesight in later life, to the extent that for the last six years he was completely blind. He was granted a civil list pension of £100 for his major contribution to the study of agricultural pests. This was later raised to £150 when his eyesight failed him completely. He lived out his last years at Belitha Villas, Islington, London as a "Gentleman Annuitant" attended by his wife Matilda (Née Durrant) whom he married in Norwich in 1839, she was 30 years his junior. Further details of the author and his work are
available at the excellent
Watson and Dallwitz website with further reading at
Museum Victoria.
MICROGRAPHIA OR SOME PHYSIOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS OF MINUTE BODIES
Robert Hooke was a founder member of the Royal Society, London (in 1660). He was appointed Curator of experiments in November 1661 when aged just 26 years, and it was in this capacity that in 1663 he set about exploring the world of the minute and microscopic making use of a Galileo type of microscope made for him by Christopher Cock of London (now at The National Museum of Health and Medicine in Washington DC., USA..). The Royal Society arranged for his journal to be published with the drawings being copper-plate engraved to the highest standard of the day. Interestingly, some of Hooke's cosmological observations were also included in a book entitled and about microscopy! The book, Micrographia, was published in 1665 and was an immediate best seller. Hooke had investigated everything he could find and place under the lens, from fossils and coal to bluebottle flies and fleas. His descriptions of insect body parts and plants cells set a new standard of scientific description, not least because he wrote in English rather than in Latin thereby making the work accessible to those outside an elitist academia. His cosmological observations were not ground-breaking but they made an interesting diversion to those who easily tired of lice, fleas and flies. The fact is, star-gazing was all the rage in the mid 17th Century and there may have been a certain cynicism in including this subject in a book that might not otherwise have sold so readily. Surviving copies of Micrographia, like most pre-18th Century paper books, are generally in poor condition with the paper having toned to very deep ochre and the inks having faded and migrated to a great extent. Some of the illustrations were in a fold-out format which inevitably means that over the centuries they have become severely creased, torn, stained and rubbed. Much of the restoration work on both The Blue Fly and The Great Belly'd Gnat was dedicated to removing evidence of these major faults. All restored images are copyright. All rights reserved. R e s t o r e d P r i n t s . c o m
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