Ancient Marine Life: Handcolored Fossils of Cephalopods and Corals, 1845
€ 220
One of a kind: this is the sheet in the photographs. Ships from Langweer, the Netherlands.
Date
1845
Sheet size
26.5 × 17 cm (10.4 × 6.7 in)
Condition
Good
Reference
BG-13261-139
Condition
Good. Very light offsetting and a few light brownish spots outside the image. Please study the image carefully.
About this sheet
The print illustrates a variety of fossilized marine creatures, specifically cephalopods and gastropods, as well as coral:
1. **Élément d'ostreidé** - This could refer to a part of the skeleton of an oyster or a similar bivalve mollusk. 2. **Conilite unguiforme** - Likely depicting a type of conulariid, which are extinct, tentacled marine invertebrates. 3. **Ammonite de Bayeux** - This is a type of ammonite, which are extinct cephalopods with coiled shells. 4. **Orbulculine numismale** - Possibly refers to a nummulite, which is a type of large foraminiferan (single-celled organism with a shell). 5. **Scaphite oblique** - Scaphites are a genus of extinct ammonoid cephalopods with a distinctive hook-like coiled shell. 6. **Baculite vertébrale** - Baculites are an extinct genus of straight-shelled cephalopods. 7. **Hamite cylindrique** - Hamites are an extinct genus of heteromorph ammonoids with partially uncoiled and twisted shells. 8. **Amplexe coralloide** - Likely depicting a type of coral, given the term "coralloide" suggesting a coral-like appearance. 9. **Turritelle turbinée, var** - Turritella is a genus of sea snails with tightly coiled, elongated shells.
The print is a hand-colored engraving from 'Dictionnaire Classique des Sciences Naturelles', published in 1845. The illustrations served as a visual encyclopedia of natural history, providing scholars and the public with detailed representations of various life forms, including those long extinct.