Argynnis Butterflies. caterpillars, chrysalis, pink and blue flowers.

by Humphreys, H.N.

Humphreys Fritillary Butterflies lifecycle transformation antique print c1860.
1. Argynnis Adippe (high brown Fritillary Butterfly) female, 2. underside, 3. Caterpillar, 4. Argynnis Lathonia (Queen of Spain Fritillary Butterfly), 5. underside, 6. Caterpillar, 7. Chrysalis.
with Host Plants. 9. Anchusa officinalis (Alkanet), 10. Onobrychis sativus (Common Sainfoin).

Original  hand-coloured lithograph arranged and illustrated by Henry Noel Humphreys (1810-1879), with characters and descriptions by John Obadiah Westwood, F.L.S.and secretary of the Entomological Society, (1805-1893), for British Butterflies and their Transformations published in London c1860.

British author, illustrator, naturalist and numismatist, Humphreys illustrated butterflies with caterpillar, chrysalis and their host foliage - impressing curators at the British Museum, who then adopted this method of illustrating the transformation lifecycle of insects at the museum. About the study of natural history, Humphreys wrote, “... cannot conceive a more pleasing and natural introduction to its general study than entomology, of which I think the division of Lepidoptera... the most easy and attractive section.  H. N. Humphreys, Esq.”

This is a very pretty lithograph but price has been reduced because of faint paper rubs, soiling and indentation at top left. There is sufficient margina around the image that they could be framed out of sight. Page size is 285 x 210mm (11.25 x 8.25 inches).