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The Silver Stripe Butterfly

Order Item BSM-P86

$25.00

Captain Thomas Brown (1785-1862), was a British naturalist born in Perth, Scotland and was educated at the Edinburgh High School. After joining the Forfar and Kineardine Militia at the age of twenty, he was raised to rank of Captain in 1811. While quartered in Manchester, he became interested in nature. He purchased the Fifeshire flax mill after his regiment was disbanded. The mill burned down before he had the opportunity to insure it. Also a malacologist (studying mollusks), he began to write books about nature to earn a living. For twenty-two years beginning in 1840, he was curator of the Manchester Museum. Additionally, he became a fellow of the Linnean Society, a member of the Wernerian, Kirwanian, and Phrenological Societies. Of the several natural history books he wrote, some dealt with conchology (studying the shells of mollusks). There was a shell named after him called Zebina browniana.

Plate XIII, Papilio paphia. The Silver Stripe Butterfly has bright yellow wings, considerably indented on their posterior margin. The upper surface is elegantly spotted with black, while the underside is striped with a silver metallic lustre. The caterpillar is found on the grass in May. It remains in the chrysalis condition for about twenty one days and appears in the winged state early in June. It is native to Britain.

This particular plate is an original hand-coloured engraving from "The Book of Butterfies, Sphinges, and Moths" by Captain Thomas Brown, Volume One (1834). This bright, vividly coloured plate measures approximately 4 X 6.5 inches. It is very clean for the age with no foxing, only a small smudge on the left edge, which does not interfere with the frameable area. The engraved portion could be matted and/or framed to an area 3 .5 inches square, or larger to include the plate number and name of butterfly. The corresponding descriptive text page is included with the purchase of this fine engraving.

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