Various fish specimens
Date
1686
Creator
Unknown, Artist
Object type
Library reference
18574
Material
Dimensions
height (page): 365mm
width (page): 230mm
width (page): 230mm
Subject
Content object
Description
Ichthyological study of various species of fish, including:
1., 2. An unknown species of chub, possibly a common chub, Squalius cephalus, here styled Capito and Cephalus fluviatilis minor respectively.
3. An unknown species of dace, possibly a common dace, Leuciscus leuciscus, here styled Leuciscus and under the common name ‘a Dace’.
4. A silver bream, Blicca bjoerkna, here styled Cyprinus latus and under the common name ‘a Breame’.
5. An unknown roach species, possibly a common roach Rutilus rutilus, here styled Rutilus, and under the common name ‘a Roche’.
6. , An unknown species of nase, possibly a common nase, Chondrostoma nasus, here styled Nasus.
7. An unknown bleak species, possibly a common bleak, Alburnus alburnus, here styled Alburnus and under the common name ‘a Bleak’.
Printed inscription: ‘1. Capito. a Chubb./ 2. Cephalus fluviatilis minor Haster./ 3. Leuciscus 2dus Rond a Dace/ 4. Cyprinus latus sive Brama Gesner a Breame/ 5. Rutilus a Roche Anglis/ 6. Nasus, Naso Germanis./ 7. Alburnus Ausonij/ :B. Hae omnes figurae ex. Baltnero ex Sculptae Sunt./ Tab. Q. 10 Sumpt: D. Thom: Lechmere Armig.’ With further handwritten annotation ‘[1] or Chevin/ [3] or Dare/ [7] A Bleak/ 2 Argentinensibus schnotfish’. Numbered ‘123’ in the top right-hand corner.
Plate Q:10 from De historia piscium libri quatuor, by Francis Willughby and John Ray (Oxford, 1686).
Francis Willughby (1635-1672), British naturalist, was an Original Fellow of the Royal Society.
John Ray (1627-1705), British naturalist, was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1667.
1., 2. An unknown species of chub, possibly a common chub, Squalius cephalus, here styled Capito and Cephalus fluviatilis minor respectively.
3. An unknown species of dace, possibly a common dace, Leuciscus leuciscus, here styled Leuciscus and under the common name ‘a Dace’.
4. A silver bream, Blicca bjoerkna, here styled Cyprinus latus and under the common name ‘a Breame’.
5. An unknown roach species, possibly a common roach Rutilus rutilus, here styled Rutilus, and under the common name ‘a Roche’.
6. , An unknown species of nase, possibly a common nase, Chondrostoma nasus, here styled Nasus.
7. An unknown bleak species, possibly a common bleak, Alburnus alburnus, here styled Alburnus and under the common name ‘a Bleak’.
Printed inscription: ‘1. Capito. a Chubb./ 2. Cephalus fluviatilis minor Haster./ 3. Leuciscus 2dus Rond a Dace/ 4. Cyprinus latus sive Brama Gesner a Breame/ 5. Rutilus a Roche Anglis/ 6. Nasus, Naso Germanis./ 7. Alburnus Ausonij/ :B. Hae omnes figurae ex. Baltnero ex Sculptae Sunt./ Tab. Q. 10 Sumpt: D. Thom: Lechmere Armig.’ With further handwritten annotation ‘[1] or Chevin/ [3] or Dare/ [7] A Bleak/ 2 Argentinensibus schnotfish’. Numbered ‘123’ in the top right-hand corner.
Plate Q:10 from De historia piscium libri quatuor, by Francis Willughby and John Ray (Oxford, 1686).
Francis Willughby (1635-1672), British naturalist, was an Original Fellow of the Royal Society.
John Ray (1627-1705), British naturalist, was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1667.
Object history
The Historia Piscium, a work begun by Francis Willughby (1635–1672), completed by John Ray (1627–1705), was the first comprehensive book of ichthyology. It consists of two parts, the text and illustrations, which were printed separately but frequently bound together. For both parts, Ray drew heavily on works by others, including Hippolytus Salviani (1514-1572), Guillaume Rondelet (1507-1566), Conrad Gessner (1516-1565), Ulisse Aldrovandi (1522-1605) and more.
The Royal Society was responsible for publication of this work, including the printing of its plates, of which there are 187 in total. This proved to be an expensive endeavour, and many of the plates were sponsored by individuals to help defray the costs, such as this one, sponsored by a gentleman named Thomas Lechmere. This copy of Historia Piscium is annotated with the remarks of Tancred Robinson (1658-1748) penned down by Francis Aston (1644-1715); with later annotations by Cromwell Mortimer (c.1699-1752).
The Royal Society was responsible for publication of this work, including the printing of its plates, of which there are 187 in total. This proved to be an expensive endeavour, and many of the plates were sponsored by individuals to help defray the costs, such as this one, sponsored by a gentleman named Thomas Lechmere. This copy of Historia Piscium is annotated with the remarks of Tancred Robinson (1658-1748) penned down by Francis Aston (1644-1715); with later annotations by Cromwell Mortimer (c.1699-1752).
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Associated place