Pretty white butterflies on yellow flowers. Humphreys lithograph.

by Humphreys, H.N.

Life-cycle of Butteflies with caterpillar, chrysalis and plant hosts.
Insects. 1.Pieris Rapae (Small garden white butterfly) male, 2.female underside, 3.Caterpillar, 4.Chrysalis, 5.Pieris Metra (Howard's white butterfly) female), 6.male underside, 7.Pieris Napi (Green-veined white butterfly) male, 8.female under-side, 9.Caterpillar, 10.Chrysalis, 11.Pieris Sabellicae (Dusky-veined white butterfly) female, 12.male underside. Plants: 13.Brassica Rapa (Rape), 14.Brassica campestris (Field Mustard).

Original  hand-coloured lithograph arranged and illustrated by H.N. Humphreys Esq., with characters and descriptions by J. O. Westwood, Esq. F.L.S. (secretary of the Entomological Society), for British Butterflies and their Transformations published in London c1849.

Humphreys (1810-1879), was a British naturalist, entomologist, illustrator - and numismatist. His presentation of the butterflies with caterpillar and chrysalis, impressed curators at the British Museum, who adopted this method of illustrating the transformation lifecycle of insects. Humphreys lovely engravings surely echo the exquisite medieval manuscripts he studied in Italy when a young man. He wrote: “The study of natural history is the learning of the characters with which the wonderful story of nature is written.. 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.”

Page size is 285 x 210mm (11.25 x 8.25 inches). This delightful lithograph is slightly soiled and rubbed.