Tyroff Pl. XXII "Simia Maura"

H. I. Tyroff Pl. XXII. "Simia Maura." From Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber’s Die Saugethiere in Abbildungen nach der Natur mit Beschreibungen.

Erlangen: Wolfgang Walther, 1775.  Quarto. 9 3/8 x 6 7/8 (plate mark). Engraved by Tyroff.  Original hand color.  Very good condition.

One of a series of delightful prints of monkeys and other primates from Johann van Schreber’s natural history.  Von Schreber studied theology, medicine and natural history, ending up in 1773 as director of the botanical gardens and natural history museum at Erlangen.  There he authored a natural history which included 755 engravings of the mammals of the world, including these charming monkeys.  Von Schreber relied, for his illustrations, on a number of artists, some of whom drew their images based on written or verbal descriptions rather than first hand observations.  Thus the prints contain many errors, and indeed in some cases have a fantastical appearance.  They are, though, wonderful examples of eighteenth century natural history with a decorative appeal that has appealed across the years.