Magnified Insect Larvae and Small Moths, Antique Bertuch Print, circa 1805

This hand coloured copper engraving shows two greatly magnified bristly larvae, several small moths and a magnified louse like insect, on a plate from the Vienna edition of Friedrich Justin Bertuch's Bilderbuch engraved by Jacob Xaver Schmuzer. The subject is probably a group of household or storage pests, but the species have not been established with confidence. The specific subject is not yet established and is being checked against the Bilderbuch text.

The heading reads Insecten, Insecta and Insectes, plate XV, and the mark at lower right reads V.B.49 beside the signature Jacob Xaver Schmuzer. The two large larvae, lettered a and b, are shown from above and below, flanked by small moths lettered c to f, with two tiny figures in circles giving natural size, and a large oval insect lettered g at the centre.

The Vienna edition was published by Anton Pichler under the title Bilderbuch zum Nutzen und Vergnügen der Jugend, with German and French text, in volumes of fifty plates each, and its plates were newly engraved in Vienna, many of them by the brothers Jacob Xaver and J. J. Schmuzer. It follows the Weimar original of Friedrich Justin Bertuch, the great illustrated encyclopaedia for children issued by the Landes Industrie Comptoir from 1790 onwards, subject for subject, and it was sold with the plates coloured by hand. The small mark at the foot, giving the Vienna volume and plate number, is what distinguishes these sheets from the Weimar issue. As a copper engraving coloured by hand for a teaching book, it combines scientific ambition with a direct, appealing clarity. This sheet comes from Vienna volume V, which places it circa 1801 to 1807.

A plate like this suits a study, a library or a collection of early natural history, and it hangs well in a group with other Bertuch insect and microscope plates, where the variety of subjects and the consistent format of the series come into their own.

The sheet is in good condition for its age, with light toning, faint show-through of text and a small brown spot in the lower margin; the image is clean and crisp.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed. Any framed or interior images are shown for presentation and inspiration only, unless the listing explicitly states that the item is sold framed.