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Botanical Prints #1 | Botanical Prints #2 | Botanical Prints #3 | Botanical Prints #4 | Botanical Prints #5 | Butterfly Prints #1

The Nicippe Butterfly

Order Item BSM-P89

$20.00

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 XLV, Papilio nicippe. The Nicippe Butterfly is said to inhabit Virginia in the United States. It is also found in Pennsylvania and in all the southern states. These butterflies are natives of various regions of the globe. Some of them are very frequent in almost every field. Some species occasionally alight in great numbers on moist places on roads.

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. The engraved portion is in very good condition for the age. The text area has moderate noticeable foxing. 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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