J. WILKS ENCY. LOND: MARINE LIFE: HOLOTHURIA ELEGANS & PRIAPUS SEA CUCUMBER print 1796 - 1822

This very beautiful 1807 copperplate engraving by J. Pass, with exquisite handcolouring of - " Holothuria Eelgans and Priapus" is from the “Encyclopaedia londinensis, or, Universal dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and Literature.... , forming a comprehensive view of the rise, progress, and present state, of human learning in every part of the world.”

Encyclopaedia londinensis, compiled and arranged by John Wilks, was a monumental work consisting of 24 volumes published in London from 1796 - 1828, and provides an eloquent visual presentation of the history and most recent developments in the Arts and Sciences of the time.

It also serves as an extraordinary record of the talents of such fine engravers as Pass and Chapman.