Moth Life Cycles with Caterpillars, Antique Bertuch Print, circa 1815

This hand coloured copper engraving shows three moths with their caterpillars, pupae and a cocoon, on a plate from the Vienna edition of Friedrich Justin Bertuch's Bilderbuch. The species have not yet been identified with confidence, so the plate is described here by what can be established from the image itself. The specific subject is not yet established and is being checked against the Bilderbuch text.

The heading reads Insekten, Insecta and Insectes, plate LXXI, and the small mark at lower right reads XV.B.39. The first figure shows a reddish moth with its hairy caterpillar, a pupa, a cocoon and a long spun case, the second a small patterned moth, and the third a grey brown moth with a green caterpillar spotted in red and a banded pupa. Each stage is lettered so that the reader of the original text could follow the transformation from egg to adult.

The later volumes of the Vienna edition, published in Vienna under the title Bilderbuch zum Nutzen und Vergnügen der Jugend, continued the reprint of Friedrich Justin Bertuch's Weimar Bilderbuch fuer Kinder in volumes of fifty plates each, with German and French headings in place of the three languages of the earlier plates. The Weimar original, the great illustrated encyclopaedia for children issued by the Landes Industrie Comptoir from 1790 onwards, was followed subject for subject, and the plates were sold 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 XV, which places it circa 1813 to 1818.

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, a few small spots, a faint crease in the right margin and a small pencil mark; the image is clean and well coloured.

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.