Original 18th century Coral Engraving. Nicolai Gualtieri c1742.

by Gualtieri, Niccolo

Gualtieri Conchology. Coral antique print. Plate 3, c1742.

Fine original hand-coloured copperplate engraving of coral 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 Giuseppi Menabuoni and Pietro Antonio Pazzi created 110 splendid illustrations combine scientific observation and aesthetic appreciation of textures and shapes. 

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

Page size: 455 x 325mm (18 x 12.3/4 inches). Plate mark: 370 x 240mm (14.5 x 9.5 inches). This is one of the finest engravings of coral that we have seen - despite small top left corner page missing, and slight offset printing.