This is not a hand-colored engraving, it is an original, beautifully executed ink and watercolor drawing—one of several I purchased from a seller in Germany, and which appear all done by the same person, c. 1840s I believe. Whether made in advance of, or after, an engraving for a zoological volume I am not certain (though I'd guess the former)--whatever the case, quite spectacular, and with the fantastic execution amplifying a sense of wonder at creatures that already seem quite fantastical! I've tried doing some translation of the ink-written names to understand exactly what species are being represented, coming up with "Ringed caecilian" for the first (a foot-long or more, understudied amphibian that lives underground like a worm), some sort of legless lizard for the second, etc. etc....all very strange, and seems likely there has been some reclassifying and better understanding of them since this was done, which makes the rendering feel all the more of another world. Marvelous.
10 5/8" x 8 5/8" and in very good condition. The last photo was shot directly over a lamp, to give a sense of the paper, which appears to me to be wove--relatively thin but quite strong.
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