THE PERCH & BASS

These beautiful original handcoloured steel engravings are from the Ichthyology section of the 40 volume Naturalist’s Library, printed in Edinburgh and London between 1833 and 1843.

This comprehensive, affordable and intelligent work proved so popular that it was reissued in various formats throughout the century. In 1835, and only a quarter of the way through publishing the series, the eminent Edinburgh printer, W. H. Lizars wrote,

“We have sold upwards of sixty thousand volumes, in which there have been nearly two million four hundred thousand plates.” Sir Willam Jardine, A Life in Natural History by Jackson & Davis, 2001.

Today, these original handcoloured fish engravings are seen as some of the very finest Natural History miniatures ever produced.