Johann Christiaan Sepp Beschouwing der wonderen Gods 1762

We are delighted to present these exceptionally rare butterfly & moth prints from Johann Christiaan Sepp’s “Beschouwing der wonderen Gods, in de minst geachte schepzelen” 1762-1836. It is considered one of the finest works on butterflies ever published, according to Nissen. The engravings are the pinnacle of entomological illustration & the only prints we know of that reveal further detail when inspected under the magnifying glass. The quality of the engravings and hand coloring is so precise & intricate it is difficult to imagine the skill required to create these works of art.

Jan Christiaan Sepp (1739-1811) was part of a dynasty of collectors, publishers & print dealers founded by his father Christian Sepp (c. 1700-1775), in Goslar, Germany. Christian established himself in Amsterdam after the birth of his eldest son as an engraver of maps. He was an avid collector of butterflies & insects, which proved a valuable resource for his many natural history publications. Christian’s son, Jan Christiaan Sepp joined his father's business and succeeded him on his death. The Sepp publishing house produced some of the finest Dutch natural history colour-plate books of the 18th &19th centuries. Three more generations of Sepps continued the business until 1868 and the publication of beautiful works on butterflies & moths continued well into the 1900s.

All the engravings we are offering are from the five early volumes dated 1762-1836. They are all ORIGINAL hand colored stipple engravings on fine watermarked chain lined paper. The condition is excellent with each print measuring about 7 inches by 9 inches, though on some the paper is a little larger, with the image size always the same. The original descriptive text & a copy of the highly decorative title page come with each print. We have grouped prints that show host plants and different stages of the life cycle. The photos do not do justice to the color and incredible detail of these prints. All our prints are authentic hand colored antique prints, and these are about 250 years old.