COLLECTION of c. 350 original artistically high-quality watercolors mostly of butterflies, beetles, and caterpillars party sitting on flowers or leaves. Finely drawn and colored on heavy paper sheets with watermark on some leaves "WZ" (i.e. J. Whatman Turkey Mills), dated 1821-25.

N.p., n.d.,, (early 19th century). Approx. 350 drawings on together 87 leaves (85 sheets size 235 x 215 mm; 2 sheets size 151 x 134 mm). In contemporary cloth slipcase, richly decorated with gilt rocaille decors on front and rear covers, all sides with gilt rocaille in same decor (slightly rubbed). Exlibris Heinrich Angst (1847-1922), founding director of the Swiss National Museum Zurich. N.p., n.d., (early 19th century). A beautiful collection of brilliant drawn and colored insects painted on heavy Whatman paper. Up to seven insects are shown partly sitting on flowers or leaves. The work is of quite high quality in both, drawing and coloring and can be compared with the best work of entomological book illustration. It is not possible for us to identify the artist, and therefore we were unable to discover anything about place of origin. Perhaps even the miniaturist Johann Daniel Hartmann (1793- 1862) from St. Gallen cannot be excluded as the artist of these beautifully drawings. Attached is a handwritten letter, probably by Heinrich Angst himself in which he writes (transl.) "that he bought this present collection from Professor Alfred Ernst of Winterthur as an authentic work by J. R. Schellenberg... the Ernst family inherited the whole Schellenberg estate". Unfortunately, J. R. Schellenberg's life data don't mach the data on the heavy Whatman paper.- All leaves are brighly colored and in pristine condition. PRINTS & DRAWINGS ; ENTOMOLOGY ;