Item PZ 10.3 Lithographic colour proof - Pieris (Thyca) aganippe, life stages and host plant, by Arthur Bartholomew

Summary

Colour proof of the life stages and host plant of the Red-spotted Jezebel Butterfly, Delias aganippe, illustrated by Arthur Bartholomew, with Frederick Schoenfeld as lithographer. This work was commissioned by Frederick McCoy, the first Director of The National Museum of Victoria, for Plate 10 in The Prodromus of the Zoology of Victoria; Figures and descriptions of the living species of all classes of the Victoria indigenous animals. McCoy referred to this species as Pieris (Thyca) aganippe, noting that the larvae feed on the leaves of Loranthus, the 'Native Mistletoe'.

This print forms part of the much larger Prodromus Collection. Many of the original illustrations and prints in the collection informed the production of The Prodromus, the first major publication of the National Museum of Victoria. Between 1878 and 1890, McCoy published his zoology 'Prodromus' as 20 parts in two volumes, with each part comprising 20 Plates. Unfortunately, almost 90 plates in the collection remain unpublished, and hundreds of illustrations were either not completed or not printed.

Description of Content

Wood White Butterfly, Delias aganippe (Donovan) by Arthur Bartholomew. Colour proof a, lithographic ink and pencil on paper, 30cm x 19cm. Published as Plate 10 in The Prodromus of the Zoology of Victoria by Frederick McCoy.