Delicate Mollusc Shells. Gualtieri Conchology Plate 24 copperplate engraving. c1742

by Gualtieri, Niccolo

Antique Print of Beautiful Shells engraved for Gualtieri Conchology Plate 24. Finely hand-coloured original copperplate engraving circa 1742 of a collection of shells for Index Testarum Conchyliorum quae adservantur in Museo Niccoli Gualtieri (List of Shells in the Museum of Nicolai Gualtieri) by Niccolo Gualtieri, published in Florence, Italy circa 1742.

Natural history engravers Menabuoni and Pazzi created 110 splendid copperplate engravings from specimens in Gualtieri's personal shell museum collection. Elegant groups of marine life, arranged in families, are shown against a plain background, with shells standing on end and casting small shadows. These shell illustrations combine scientific observation and aesthetic appreciation of the natural colors, textures, and shapes of the shells.

Niccolo Gualtieri (1688-1744) was an Italian medical doctor and professor at the University of Pisa. In 1716 Gualtieri co-founded the first European botanical society, the Botanical Society of Florence. His main passion was conchology, and his collection of molluscs, and the system he devised for classification, were commended by eminent zoologists.

Page size is 455 x 320mm (17.7/8 x 12.1/2 inches). Approximate measurements of plate mark: 370 x 240mm (14.1/2 x 9.1/2 inches).