Background:

These richly hand-colored and detailed Butterfly and Moth prints are from the First Edition of Edward Donovan's (1768-1837) Natural History of British Insects.   Together with the work by John Curtis, they represent some of the best of British entomology artistry of the late 1700s-early 1800s.

Each Butterfly and Moth print is provided with the original page of accompanying text, authored by Edwards, which discusses the species in more detail including their "transformations, food and economy".