Kirby - Pair of Butterfly Lithographs

Kirby - Pair of Butterfly Lithographs
This attractive butterfly lithograph is from W. F. Kirby & H. Grose Smith's Rhopalocera Exotica, being Illustrations of New, Rare, and Unfigured Species of Butterflies. The work was published in London by Gurney & Jackson between 1887 and 1902. Each lithograph features original hand-finished coloring.

"The present work is designed to illustrate some of the rarer and more beautiful new species of butterflies which are continually being sent to Europe from all parts of the world by travellers and missionaries, as well as professional collectors, and it may be regarded as supplementary to late Mr. Hewitson's 'Exotic Butterflies', and 'Illustrations of Diurnal Lepidoptera' . The insects figured and described in this volume are chiefly selected from the Collection of Mr. Grose Smith, and with a very few exceptions have not been previously figured." (From the Preface) Some of the butterflies were also drawn from the collections of W. Rothschild, Staudinger, and Hewitson.

The work is in very good to excellent condition overall. Some of the plates have some tissue residue or faint toning near the edges. There may be a few minor imperfections to be expected with age. Please review the image carefully for condition and contact us with any questions.
~ 8 1/4" by 11"