Garden Spider with Magnified Fangs, Antique Bertuch Print, circa 1805

About this sheet

This hand coloured copper engraving of the European garden spider, or cross spider, with magnified studies of its fangs, spinnerets and claws, comes from the Vienna edition of Friedrich Justin Bertuch's Bilderbuch, engraved by J. J. Schmuzer. It is one of the plates in which the Bilderbuch turns a familiar creature into a lesson in anatomy.

The heading reads Insekten XLV and Insectes XLV at the sides, while the Latin heading is engraved as Insecta XLX with a stroke through it, an engraver's slip left on the copper. The mark at lower right reads X.B.42 and the signature J. J. Schmuzer appears at the foot. Three spiders hang from their threads at the top, their red and cream bodies carefully coloured, and below are the greatly enlarged jaws with pink fangs, a spinneret shown drawing out its silk, and a group of claws.

The Vienna edition was published by Anton Pichler under the title Bilderbuch zum Nutzen und Vergnügen der Jugend, with German and French text, in volumes of fifty plates each, and its plates were newly engraved in Vienna, many of them by the brothers Jacob Xaver and J. J. Schmuzer. It follows the Weimar original of Friedrich Justin Bertuch, the great illustrated encyclopaedia for children issued by the Landes Industrie Comptoir from 1790 onwards, subject for subject, and it was sold with the plates 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 X, which places it circa 1801 to 1807.

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 and a few faint pale stains in the image between the figures; the spiders and magnified details remain clear.

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.