The Old Print Shop

1. Lancehead Pit Viper, 2. Arboreal Mexican Alligator Lizard, 3. Banded Sea Krait. Tab. XXX.

  • ARTIST: Albertus Seba

  • PUBLISHER: Published in Amsterdam by J. Wetstein, G. Smith, and the Janssonio-Waesberg family

  • MEDIUM: Engraving,

    DATE: c. 1745

  • EDITION SIZE: Image size 10 1/4 x 16 3/8" (26 x 41.5 cm).

  • DESCRIPTION: This print is from Locupletissimi Rerum Naturalium Thesauri Accurata Descriptio, et Iconibus Artificiosissimis Expressio (Amsterdam, 1734–1765), Albertus Seba’s famous natural history atlas. Issued in four large folio volumes, it illustrates specimens from Seba’s renowned cabinet of curiosities, which included shells, birds, reptiles, insects, and exotic animals from around the world. The plates are engraved with great precision and often show unusual groupings that reveal both the collector’s eye and the taste of the period. Today the work is regarded as one of the most impressive achievements of eighteenth-century natural history publishing.

  • ADDITIONAL INFO: This piece is in a 16 x 21 inch archival mylar for handling.

  • CONDITION: Good condition save some minor foxing. Modern hand coloring.

  • REFERENCE: