Set of Five Antique Prints of Flies and Hymenoptera Insects, 1861
€ 620
Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
1861
Sheet size
23.4 × 15.3 cm (9.2 × 6.0 in)
Condition
Good
Reference
BG-13214-66, -67, -68, -86, -87
What the condition grades mean
Excellent
Bright and clean, with no faults worth mentioning.
Very good
Only light signs of age, such as faint toning.
Good
Normal signs of age for a sheet of this period: toning, some foxing, small marks or neat old repairs.
Fair
Clear faults such as staining, tears or repairs, priced to match.
Every fault we see is written in the condition note, and the whole sheet is shown uncropped in the photos.
Condition
General age-related toning. Minor wear and soiling. With original protective sheet attached. Blank verso. Please review the images for further condition details.
About this sheet
Five plates of flies and hymenoptera 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 "Insectes", and the sets are labeled "Diptères" for the flies and "Hymenoptères" for the bees, wasps and their relatives.
The two fly plates show hover flies and robber flies in a mix of sizes: some are dark and bristled with transparent wings, others are orange and black with long bodies and smoky wings, set out with numbered figures. The three hymenoptera plates show bees and wasps in rich metallic and orange tones, including blue-black and green forms, shown with outline drawings of antennae and legs for identification, and the lettering beneath each plate lists the species by French and Latin name.
D'Orbigny was a French botanist and geologist who identified many of the flowering plant species returned to France from his brother's natural history collecting journeys through South America.
