Paul Gervais

The Skull and Brain of an Ape - Original Lithograph by Paul Gervais - 1854

1854

The Skull is an original lithograph on ivory-colored paper, realized by Paul Gervais (1816-1879). The artwork is from The Series of "Les Trois Règnes de la Nature", and was published...

The Skull is an original lithograph on ivory-colored paper, realized by Paul Gervais (1816-1879). The artwork is from The Series of "Les Trois Règnes de la N...

This lithograph, titled *Schedels* (Skulls), is another detailed work by Carel Christiaan Antony Last from Heinrich Rudolf Schinz's *Volledige Natuurlijke Historie der Zoogdieren* (1...

Anthropology and Skull Comparison Print by T Bromme, 1865 Ethnographic Atlas This original 19th-century hand-colored lithograph comes from one of the ethnographic atlases compiled by German geographer and publisher Traugott Bromme, most likely from his Illustrirter Hand-Atlas der Erde und der Menschheit, published around 1865. It is a striking example of how physical anthropology and ethnography were visually represented in the mid-1800s. The plate features a carefully arranged sequence of numbered portraits and skull studies, combining human figures from various continents with anatomical illustrations. The individuals are depicted in regional costume and positioned alongside skull diagrams, suggesting comparative analysis of cranial structure. The layout reflects the period’s fascination with human classification, framed by theories of physiognomy and early racial science, many of which are now thoroughly discredited. At the top of the image is a European figure, and at the bottom, the sequence moves toward stylized or even caricatured faces and ape skulls, underlining the problematic ideologies that shaped these works. Traugott Bromme’s ethnographic atlases were widely used in educational institutions across Europe and are now valued both as visual documents and as historical records of 19th-century thinking. This print exemplifies the high-quality lithographic techniques of the time, including precise linework and finely applied color. It offers a fascinating and revealing perspective on how science, illustration, and colonial-era worldviews intersected in printed media. This is a valuable item for collectors of antique scientific prints...