28 pts. in 29 (8 v. in 3) : ill. ; 37 cm. + atlas (3 v. : col. ill. ; 32 cm.) (fol.)
Type:
Early works to 1800
Pictorial works
Place:
Europe
Date:
1779
1793
1779-1792 [i.e. 1793]
Notes:
Issued in 29 fascicles. Each part was originally issued in printed gray paper covers.
Statement of responsibility from covers of parts.
Dedication to M. Gigot d'Orcy signed: J.J. Ernst.
According to Quérard in La France litteraire, some of the descriptions were written by A. Carangeot; see British Museum cat. (Nat. hist.) v. 2, p. 539.
Imprint on covers of parts: À Paris. Chez Ernst, auteur ... P.M. Delaguette, imprimeur-libraire, Bazan et Poignant, marchands d'estampes ...
Imprint varies. Vols. 6-8: A Paris: Chez la veuve Delaguette ...
Dates on title pages for each of the text tomes: t. 1, MDCCLXXIX [1779]; t. 2, MDCCLXXX [1780]; t. 3, MDCCLXXXII [1782]; t. 4, MDCCLXXXV [1785]; t. 5, MDCCLXXXVI [1786]; t. 6, MDCCLXXXVIII [1788]; t. 7, MDCCXC [1790]; t. 8, MDCCXCII [1792]. Pt. 28 (text t. 8) is dated at foot of p. [89]: 1793. The atlas title pages are undated.
Text tomes 1-2 also called Premiere partie; with engraved t.p., which reads: Insectes d'Europe, peints d'apres nature ... Premiere partie, les chenilles, crisalides et papillons de jour ...
Text tomes 3-8 also called Seconde partie. Tome 3 has subtitle Chenilles, crisalides, & papillons sphinx. Tomes 4-8 have subtitle Chenilles, crisaldes, & papillons-phalènes.
Text volumes 1-2 are paged continuously.
Pagination of text: t. 1: [8], xxxiv, 86, xi, [1] p.; t. 2: [5], 88-111, [4], 114-206, [3], 208-343, [1] p., uncolored leaves of plates I-III; t. 3: [4], x, 132 p.; t. 4: [4], 90, [2], 91-215, [3] p.; t. 5: [4], 152, [2] p.; t. 6: [4], 176, [2] p.; t. 7: [4], 173, [5] p.; t. 8: [2], 157, [1] p.
Atlas consists of three tomes of "planches," each with an engraved t.p. that reads: Insectes d'Europe, peints d'apres nature .... Atlas t. 1 has imprint: Se vend à Paris, chez Ernst, auteur ..., De Laguette ..., Bazan & Poignant. Atlas t. 2 has imprint: Se vend à Paris, aux adresses des Papillons de jour, et chez Bellu et compagnie .... Atlas t. 3 has imprint: Se vend à Paris, chez Delaguette, imprimeur libraire ... [et] Bassan et Poignant md. d'estampes .... Atlas t.p. for t. 1 and t. 2 are hand-colored; atlas t.p. for t. 3 is uncolored.
Atlas has 357 leaves of plates in various foliations; approximately 12 plates were issued with each part. Three numbered, uncolored plates depicting collecting equipment are inserted in text t. 1. The atlas tomes have hand-colored etchings numbered I-CCCXLII; I-VIII (III suppl.). Plates LV-LXXIX have alternate numbering for I. suppl.: I-XXV; plates LXXX-LXXXIV have alternate numbering for II. suppl.: 1-5.
Plates are signed by various illustrators and engravers. Some of the illustrators include Devillers, F. Engramelle, Fossier, M.E. Hochecker, Müller, Ranson, and J.M. Zell[e]. Some of the engravers include Gerardin, J. Juillet, Car. Fran. Kraul, N. Ransonnette, Roger, Staignand, F.L. Swebach Desfontaines and others, after Ernst, and others.
Signatures for text tomes: t. 1-2: pi1 a-i² (i2 signed "A") B-Z² chi1 2A-2B⁴ 2chi1 2C-2I⁴ 3chi1 2K-2V⁴ 2X² 2Y-3K⁴; t. 3: [superscript pi] A⁴ (A4+"B") A-F⁴ G² H-Q⁴ R² S⁴; t. 4: pi² 2pi1 A-L⁴ M1 N-X⁴ Y² Z⁴-2E⁴ 2F²; t. 5: pi² A-D⁴ E² F-R⁴ S² T-V⁴ X²; t. 6: pi² A-P⁴ Q² R-X⁴ Y² Z⁴ 2A1; t. 7: pi² A-C⁴ D² E-V⁴ X⁴ (-X4) Y-Z⁴; t. 8: pi1 A-E⁴ F² G-X⁴.
"Moyen facile de se procurer beaucoup de chenilles, & méthode pour les dessécher & les conserver" ([2] p.), inserted in text t. 4, between p. 90 and 91.
Head- and tail-pieces; title vignettes; side-notes.
Errors in paging.
The hand-colored plates are accompanied by blank tissue guard-sheets.
A partially-completed supplement for classe I was issued in limited distribution in 1793, containing a few hand-colored plates only because of disruptions experienced during the French Revolution. See article by R. Homberg: Some unknown plates in Ernst & Engramelle's Papillons d'Europe peints d'apres nature, 1779-1793. Journal of the Society for the bibliography of natural history, v. 3 (Dec. 1953), p. 28-33.
Nissen, C. Zoologische Buchillustration, 1300
Percheron, A. Bibliographie entomologique, p. 101
Hagen, H. Bib. entomologica, I, p. 213
Also available online.
SCNHRB copy has the text bound in 3 v. (t. 1-2; t. 3-5; and t. 6-8), and the atlas bound in 3 v.
SCNHRB copy has the subscriber list bound in text t. 3.
SCNHRB copy has stamp: Smithsonian Library, Nov. 4, 1952; accession nos. 349270-349275. With ms. pencil accession information inscribed in gutter of each tome following the title leaf: "SI. priv. fnd. ... Bernard Quaritch Ltd. 3 Nov. 52."
SCNHRB copy of text t. 2 has p. 208-213 and an unpaginated leaf of tables misbound in this order: p. 208, [table leaf 1], [table leaf 2], 211-212, 209-210, 213 ....
SCNHRB copy has a later blind- and gilt-tooled green half-leather binding with raised bands, and marbled boards and endpapers. The text tomes are housed in later linen-covered drop-back boxes with printed brown paper spine labels. Atlas t. 1 and t. 2 are housed in later archival paperboard boxes, with bookplate: Smithsonian Institution Libraries ... preservation supported by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.
