George Brettingham Sowerby I, II and III
Shell Prints
from Thesaurus Conchyliorum, or Monographs of the Genera of Shells
London: 1842-87
Hand-colored lithographs
6.25 x 10.5 inches each
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Shell Prints from Thesaurus Conchyliorum
George Brettingham Sowerby, 19th Century
George Brettingham Sowerby, 19th Century
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Exquisitely rendered natural history prints from a rare monograph on seashells produced by the Sowerby dynasty of shell experts. The plates combine scientific accuracy and a sophisticated aesthetic sense in terms of the arrangements of shells on each page, as well as in the depiction of colors and decorative patterns.
The members of the Sowerby family were prolific authors and illustrators in the study of mollusks. James Sowerby (1757-1822) was a scientific illustrator who published major works on botany, mineralogy and shells. George Brettingham Sowerby I (1788-1854) published his first of some 50 works on shells in 1825, cataloguing the collection of a British earl. He would go on to catalogue other collections, direct journals on the subject, collaborate with his brother on two books and finish a two-volume work begun by his father. Thesaurus Conchyliorum was a comprehensive five-volume work with 234 illustrated plates, the achievement of three generations of George Brettingham Sowerbys. Begun by the senior Sowerby and his son George Brettingham Sowerby II (1812-1884) in 1842, it was finished by George II and his son George Brettingham Sowerby III (1843-1884) some 45 years later. The work also included the contributions of other researchers. George II and George III became experts in their own right, illustrating and writing their own works on shells. Between James, the three Georges and a few cousins, the Sowerbys introduced an estimated 5,000 new names into the molluscan literature.
References:
"Current Projects in the Mollusca Section." National Museums & Galleries of Wales. 12 January 1999. http://zoology.nmgw.ac.uk:591/Museum/mol_projects.htm (27 September 2002).
"Malacologues Célèbre." La Société Belge de Malacologie." http://users.swing.be/sw216502/s-dictio-malacologues.html (27 September 2002).