Tiny Shells. Gualtieri Seashells antique print Plate 5 c1742

by Gualtieri, Niccolo

Very pretty collection of tiny Shells. Gualtieri Plate 5, antique print c1742. Fine original hand-coloured 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 shell collection.  Groups illustrating the different families of marine life, are arranged in rows against a white background, with some shells standing on end and casting small shadows. The 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 325mm (18 x 12 3/4 inches). To plate mark measures 37 x 24cm (14.5 x 9.5 inches).