antique & rare butterfly plate from Seitz Macrolepidoptera of the World, Vol. 5

Description: If making more than one purchase, see the note following the red text below! Antique chromolithograph butterfly plate from Macrolepidoptera of the World, Volume 5, Dr. Adelbert Seitz, Editor. Butterflies of the American tropics. This is a spectacular example of scientific illustration and printing from the early 1900s. The use of metallic inks is unusual and makes some plates particularly dynamic. These were printed over a period from 1907 to 1954, with interruptions by two World Wars. Plate 152: Thecla, neotropical hairstreaks or "blues." The contrast between upperside and underside is well illustrated here. These butterflies often disappear into bushes to perch, and are seen perched on roadsides but not drinking at seeps, imbibing dew from leaves instead. This plate is particularly well preserved, an excellent plate, with metallic blue and silver inks. This will mat and frame handsomely. It measures 9 3/4 " x 13" with a roughly 1 1/4" margin outside the black frame line. On a cream paper that is only very slightly edge-toned. Rare and unusual and from a set that was assembled over the years from loose pages that were published unbound. Macrolepidoptera of the World was started as a multi-volume multi-year project before 1906. The first volumes were published by Fritz Lehmann in Stuttgart. Lehmann sold the project to Alfred Kernen Verlag, also of Stuttgart. When Kernen died in 1924 his son Otto took over the publishing house. Kernen is often cited as the publisher, with no mention of Lehmann. Editions in German and English were published by both Lehman and Kernen. A French edition was published by Le Moult in Paris and never completed. Volume 5 is titled Macrolepidoptera of the American Faunistic Region.Publication was interrupted by two World Wars, ceasing in World War I and taking some time to resume. It was again suspended in World War II, with the stock being moved to a church attic and two barns in the Black Forest. The publishing house was bombed and destroyed in 1944 and the entire project was abandoned in 1954, incomplete, 17 years after Seitz's death. Publication was originally in separate fascicles, each covering a section of the work as it was completed. These were sent to subscribers in parts, each with sections of of eight pages with one or more color plates. A bound edition of Volume 5, one volume of text and one of 204 plates, was published by Kernen in 1924. This is a rare and still very useful entomological reference. Making multiple purchases?Just add items to your cart. When finished shopping, click on "view cart" and then click on “request combined shipping” at upper right in the Shopping Cart window. Do not proceed to checkout. We will send an eBay invoice with the correct combined shipping. Shipping: Priority Mail or Ground Advantage, whichever is cheaper, unless we can find a better rate. Rates vary by weight and zip code. We can usually ship for less than eBay will charge, and will refund the overpayment as soon as the box is packed.Pay securely with your debit or credit card through PayPal! You do not need a Pay Pal account to do this. Yes, we do combine shipping! Click on "Request total" in the shopping cart for a no-obligation invoice to see the total with shipping.

Price: 27.5 USD

Location: Olancha, California

End Time: 2024-12-29T03:43:18.000Z

Shipping Cost: N/A USD