Item PZ 198.4 Lithographic colour proof - Pyrameis itea, Australian Admiral Butterfly, and Pyrameis kershawi, The Blue-spotted Painted-Lady Butterfly, by Arthur Bartholomew

Summary

Full colour proof of a Yellow Admiral Butterfly, Vanessa itea, and an Australian Painted Lady, Vanessa kershawi, by Arthur Bartholomew. These illustrations were commissioned by Frederick McCoy, the first Director of The National Museum of Victoria, for Plate 198 in The Prodromus of the Zoology of Victoria; Figures and descriptions of the living species of all classes of the Victoria indigenous animals. At the time, McCoy placed both species in the genus Pyrameis.

Bartholomew's work forms part of the Museum's 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 Unfortunately, almost 90 plates in the collection remain unpublished, and hundreds of illustrations were either not completed or not printed.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

Australian Admiral, Vanessa itea Fabricus & Australian Painted Lady , Vanessa kershawi by Arthur Bartholomew (del). Lithographic proof - Lithographic ink, watercolour and pencil on paper, 29 cm x 38 cm. One colour proof finally published as Plate 198 in The Prodromus of Zoology by Frederick McCoy.