Dictionnaire pittoresque d'histoire naturelle

Butterflies, pelicans, hermit crabs and the humble potato plant share the plates of the Dictionnaire pittoresque d'histoire ...

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Butterflies, pelicans, hermit crabs and the humble potato plant share the plates of the Dictionnaire pittoresque d'histoire naturelle, an illustrated natural-history dictionary produced in Paris under the direction of F.-E. Guérin. The prints date from 1833–1834, and their unexpected pairings, such as the potato plant with limpets and beetles, follow the order of a reference work rather than any one habitat. Other sheets examine butterfly anatomy, moths and mangroves. Figures, labels and the arrangement of each page show how natural forms were compared and explained to nineteenth-century readers, often under historical scientific names.

Butterflies, pelicans, hermit crabs and the humble potato plant share the plates of the Dictionnaire pittoresque d'histoire naturelle, an illustrated natural-history dictionary produced in Paris under the direction of F.-E. Guérin. The prints date from 1833–1834, and their unexpected pairings, such as the potato plant with limpets and beetles, follow the order of a reference work rather than any one habitat. Other sheets examine butterfly anatomy, moths and mangroves. Figures, labels and the arrangement of each page show how natural forms were compared and explained to nineteenth-century readers, often under historical scientific names.

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