Matthäus Merian the Younger

Elephas Tab. VII (Indian Elephant)

1650

DR. ROBERT JOHN THORNTON (c1765 – 1832). The Temple of Flora. London, 1798-1810. Painted by Reinagle, Henderson, Pether, et. al. Engraved by Ward, Caldwall, Earlom, et. al. A...

JOHN WILKES (1750-1810) Encyclopedia Londoninensis London, 1801-1828 Copper Plate Engraving Original Hand-Color 9” x11” Unframed At its best, the zoological art of the early...

ROMA (Italy) A. Aquaroni. Engraving. Modern Hand-Color. Rome, Italy 1750. Ever wonder what pre-dated the postcard? By the mid-eighteenth century, travel and exploration had be...

BASIL BESLER (1561 – 1629). Hortus Eystettensis. Konrad Bauer. Altdorf, 1613, 1640, 1713 – 50. Copper plate engravings with modern hand-color 374 plates. Hortus Eystettensis...

DR. ROBERT JOHN THORNTON (c1765 – 1832). The Temple of Flora. London, 1798-1810. Painted by Reinagle, Henderson, Pether, et. al. Engraved by Ward, Caldwall, Earlom, et. al. A...

...Etruscan, Greek and Roman Antiquities.... Hamilton, Sir William. 1730 – 1803. Collection of Etruscan Greek and Roman Antiquities from the Cabinet of the Hon. W. Hamilton. 4 vols. Naples, 1766-7. D’Hancarvills, sculpt. Aquatint Engravings in Black and Terra Cotta Inks. Finishing in Original Hand-Color. In 1764, Sir William Hamilton arrived in Naples to take up his new appointment as British Envoy Extraordinary to the Bourbon Court of King Ferdinand IV. At the time of his arrival, Italy was still a largely untapped field of archaeological discovery and there was ample opportunity for the private individual to amass a collection or 'cabinet' of classical antiquities at relatively little expense. The sites of the buried cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, although now under Royal control, were still being only haphazardly excavated and were openly vandalized. Hamilton himself complained of the fact, but also seems to have taken advantage of it. Hamilton's first collection was in fact acquired by the British Museum in 1772 where it formed the foundation of the now great collection of Greek and Roman antiquities. This was the first major collection of Greek vases (or, as they were then known, Etruscan) to reach England's shores. "To Hamilton belongs the merit of being the first to appreciate with warmth the severe beauty of their shapes, colouring and drawing, the mingled simplicity and feeling of the designs figured upon them; and it was he who recognized the value of these unpretentious vessels for forming and ennobling modern art-taste". (Adolph Michaelis, Ancient Marbles in Great Britain, Cambridge 1882, p. 110) Hamilton found a worthy ally in Josiah Wedgwood who was setting up a new factory appropriately called "Etruria". Opened in June of 1769, Wedgwood was to use Hamilton's models again and again in his pottery with many designs taken directly from the engravings. Etruscan antiquities...

Wolverine or Gulo gulo.. . Hand-colored copperplate engraving from a drawing by George Edwards from Ebenezer Sibly's "Universal System of Natural History" 1797. . . The prolific Sibly published his Universal System of Natural History in 1794 1797 in five volumes covering the three natural worlds of fauna, flora and geology. The series included illustrations of mythical beasts such as the sukotyro and the mermaid, and depicted sloths sitting on the ground (instead of hanging from trees) and a domesticated female orang utan...

18th Century (c1740) etching/engraving , John II, Count of Hainaut Holland & Zeeland (1247-1304)

Antique Steel Engraving Published 1866 by Blackie & Son, London for "A History of the Earth and Animated Nature" by Oliver Goldsmith. Matt siz...

Mandrill Antique print Matt size 33.5cm x 26cm Image Size 17cm x 11 cm

Small Baboon Antique print Matt size 28cm x 21cm Image Size 16cm x 10 cm

This is a hand-colored copper-plate engraving entitled "I. Spatula foetida - II. Caucalis Dodonei - III. Cruciata", depicting three flowering plants, including an Iris, from Basilius Besler's landmark work, Hortus Eystettensis (Garden at Eichstatt), first published in 1613 in Eichstatt, Germany near Nuremberg and later in 1640 and 1713. This beautiful hand-colored botanical engraving is presented in a gold-colored wood frame with a French mat...