Typical Butterflies, Antique Chromolithograph by West, Newman, 1896

This is an original antique chromolithograph, printed in color, from 1896. The caption printed beneath the image reads "TYPICAL BUTTERFLIES."

Ten butterflies are shown with their wings spread on a plain gray ground. At the upper left is a large orange butterfly with dark scalloped wing borders, and at the upper right a small pale blue one. Below it a large black butterfly is flecked with red and blue. A big green butterfly with yellow patches and long tails spreads across the left center, with a small brown and orange butterfly to its right and a white butterfly with dark veins below that. A bright yellow butterfly, its forewings tipped in dark brown edged with orange sits at the lower left beside a small brown and orange one, a blue and black butterfly with eye spots fills the lower left corner, and at the lower right a large butterfly shows black wings spotted with white at the left and blue and brown wings at the right.

There is no artist's signature. The lower right corner below the image is lettered "West, Newman chr. ad nat.", the credit of the London lithographic printers West, Newman and Co.; ad nat. means from nature. There is no plate number.

The plate comes from The Royal Natural History, a popular illustrated natural history in six volumes edited by the zoologist Richard Lydekker and published in London by Frederick Warne and Co. in 1893 to 1896. The title page that accompanies these plates is dated 1896, which is the date given for this sheet.

Light uneven toning, browner towards the edges. Handling soiling along the left and top edges. A few small foxing spots in the margin. Faint offset in the top margin.

This is an original antique plate, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed.