Carl Gustav Jablonsky. Plate CCCXVIII. From Natursystem aller bekannten in- und ausländischen Insecten.
Berlin, Pauli Reimer, 1783+. Approximately 7 x 8 1/2 (platemark). Engraving. Excellent original hand color. Very good condition.
A print from a rare and superbly illustrated work on exotic and European butterflies. Carl Gustav Jablonsky (1756-1787) was a naturalist who was also private secretary to the Queen of Prussia. Jablonsky died unexpectedly at the age of 31, and the writing and editing of the text fell to his colleague, Johann F. W. Herbst (1743-1807), a German naturalist and entomologist. The plates were designed mostly by Jablonsky, with some by Krüger of Berlin. The engravers are the same ones as those working for Marcus Elieser Bloch’s Histoire Naturelle Des Poissons, primarily Ludwig Schmidt. This work on butterflies is one of the most attractively illustrated entomological works of the period, with brilliant coloring and fine engraving. A sequel was published to this work dealing with Coleoptera, and these sets form a fine monument to Jablonsky's skill and knowledge.
Other Jablonsky butterflies: