Set of 2 Original Antique Prints of Turtles

€ 290

Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)

Sheet size: 23.4 × 15.3 cm (9.2 × 6.0 in)
Condition: Good
Reference: BG-13214-1, -2

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

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.