Bidspirit auction | John Curtis

John Curtis - Antique Print - Orchesia - Malva Sylvestris - British Entomology - John Curtis. Print originates from ”British Entomology” written by John Curtis. It is subtitled Being Illustrations and Descriptions of the Genera of Insects found in Great Britain and Ireland: Containing Coloured Figures from Nature of the Most Rare and Beautiful Species, and in Many Instances of the Plants Upon Which they are Found. John Curtis (1791 - 1862) was an English entomologist and illustrator. In 1824 Curtis began his monumental masterwork, ”British Entomology”, still widely considered as the finest nineteenth century work on the subject. It was published in monthly parts by subscription from 1824 to 1839, each part comprising 3 or more plates with descriptive texts ranging from usually 2 to as many as 10 pages. The finished work comprised 16 volumes each of 12 parts, 192 parts in all together with 770 plates, available either coloured or plain. Georges Cuvier (1769–1832) described the illustrations of British Entomology as ”the paragon of perfection”.