Saturnia Maia and Aglia Io. Lizars fine engraving c1835.

by Lizars, William Home

Large Silk Moths or Emperor Moths antique print.

Small original steel engraving c1835 with fine contemporary hand-colour, by eminent Edinburgh engraver William Home Lizars (1788-1859) for Lepidoptera (moths) by James Duncan for Sir William Jardine's The Naturalist's Library, published in Edinburgh and London.

By leaving the background habitat uncoloured, the subject stands out beautifully on the page. W.H. Lizars mastered exceptional detail in his exquisite engravings of all kinds of fauna. They are still considered to be some of the finest small portraits ever produced.