Antique Natural HistoryOriginal plates from the naturalists' books, 1600s to 1900s
Set of 2 Original Antique Prints of Turtles
Set of 2 Original Antique Prints of Turtles, view 2
Set of 2 Original Antique Prints of Turtles, view 3

Close-ups

Set of 2 Original Antique Prints of Turtles, close-up 1Set of 2 Original Antique Prints of Turtles, close-up 2

Framed and on the wall

Set of 2 Original Antique Prints of Turtles, shown framedSet of 2 Original Antique Prints of Turtles, shown framed on a wallSet of 2 Original Antique Prints of Turtles, shown framed in a room

Frame and rooms are illustrations of how the print could look; the description says what is included.

Set of 2 Original Antique Prints of Turtles

$325 (£245, €290)

Period original, not a reproduction.

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Shipped from the Netherlands, flat, insured and tracked, worldwide. Returns accepted within 14 days.

Date
Not stated
Size
9.2 × 6 in (23.4 × 15.3 cm)
Condition
Good. General age-related toning. Minor wear and soiling. With original protective sheet attached. Blank verso. Please study image carefully.
Section
Reptiles and amphibians
Reference
f_34632682

Two plates of turtles from the Dictionnaire universel d'histoire naturelle, edited by Charles Henry Dessalines d'Orbigny and published in 1861. Each is a hand-colored engraving headed "Dict. Univ. d'Hist. Nat." and "Reptiles", marked Pl. 1 and Pl. 2, with the animals named in French and Latin at the foot.

The first plate pairs a Mauritanian tortoise, a high-domed shell in brown and gold, with a European pond turtle in green, swimming among water lilies. The second plate has a spiny softshell turtle, shown from above and from below with its pale underside and long snout, over a large dark green sea turtle, lettered "Chélonée franche (Chelonia mydas)", with eggs on the sand beside it.

Both sheets are drawn with soft engraved backgrounds of shore and water, and the lettering lists the order Chéloniens together with the sub-groups of land, freshwater and marine turtles.