Three plates from The Wondrous Transformation of Caterpillars and their Strange Diet of Flowers.; "Wolfsmelk Rupsen;" "Wolfsmilch, Raupe und Schmetterling," Plates: XLVIII; XLIX & L.

Amsterdam: J F Bernard, 1730. Each an engraving with hand coloring in watercolor and gouache printed on one sheet of watermarked Honig cream laid paper, each measures 6 1/4 x 5 inches (157 x 121 mm), sheet measures 20 5/8 x 14 inches (522 x 355 mm), full margins. With handling creases in the lower right sheet quadrant, as well as minor, loose cockling, otherwise in very good condition. The colors are superb with exceptionally fresh and bright saturation. Engraved between 1679 and 1683, printed 1730. Plates included: XLVIII; XLIX & L. Maria Sibylla Merian was one of the most highly respected entomologists of the 17th century, and remains today to be one of the field's most significant figures. A German-born naturalist and scientific illustrator, she reared herself on the study of caterpillars, and made tremendous contributions to the knowledge of the life cycles of numerous species. Until her detailed and careful study of the process of metamorphosis it was thought that insects were "born of mud," through spontaneous generation.

Trained as a miniature painter by her stepfather, she published her first book of illustrations in 1675, at the age of 28. In 1679, Merian published the first volume of the two-volume series on caterpillars, The Wondrous Transformation of Caterpillars and their Strange Diet of Flowers; the second volume followed in 1683. Each volume contained 50 plates that she engraved and etched. In 1699, Merian traveled to Dutch Guiana to study and record the tropical insects native to South America. The result was her 1705 magnum opus Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium. Merian's Metamorphosis has been credited with heavily influencing the way naturalists presented their illustrations to include a life form in various stages of development.

Years after her death, Merian has been honored by having a number of taxa and three genera named after her. According to Jennifer Pomeroy's 2018 biography, three butterflies have been named after Merian; in 1905 a form of a split-banded owlet butterfly Opsiphanes cassina merianae; in 1967 a subspecies of the common postman butterfly Heliconius melpomene meriana; and in 2018 a rare butterfly Catasticta sibyllae from Panamá. In addition, the Cuban sphinx moth has been named Erinnyis merianae, a Tessaratomidae bug has been named Plisthenes merianae, a genus of mantises has been named Sibylla, the orchid bee Eulaema meriana, and the bird-eating spider Avicularia merianae was named in her honor, referencing her research on spiders. The spider Metellina merianae was named after her in 2017. An Argentine tegu lizard has been named Salvator merianae. A toad was named Rhinella merianae. A snail was named Coquandiella meriana. The Madagascan population of the African stonechat bird was given the name Saxicola torquatus sibilla. A genus of flowering plants was named Meriania, and an iris-like plant was given the name Watsonia meriana.

[Sarah B. Pomeroy; Jeyaraney Kathirithamby (2018). Maria Sibylla Merian: Artist, Scientist, Adventurer. Getty Publications.]

Notes on the watermark:

"Watermarks representing the arms of Strasbourg, a bend on a •shield surmounted by a large fleur-de-lys, are characteristic of 'Royal Paper'; paper of the largest standard size and always of high quality. In various forms, the 'Strasbourg Lily' occurs in Angoumois, Dutch and English papers in the later seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The `WR' monogram at the bottom of the mark probably originated as the personal sign of Wendelin Riehel, a printer who rented a paper mill in Strasbourg during the sixteenth century; it was later widely used as a neat but meaningless termination to the pendant centre-line of many heraldic watermarks."

[Viola a da Gamba Society, Appendix I: Watermarks and Paper Types, 268-272]

The design of the Strasbourg Lily was used by the Honig papermakers between 1741 and 1822. The lettering "C & I HONIG" occurs between 1730 and 1869. It is known that the brothers Cornelis Jacobszoon and Jan Jacobszoon Honig worked together under the name "C & I Honig" but started new companies, each one for himself, in 1738. Cornelis (1683-1755) continued under the name "C & I Honig," now together with his son Jacob Cornelisz Honig (1707-1770).

[Klepikov, S. A., Some information over the "Honig" watermarks, IPH Information. Bulletin of the International Association of Paper Historians (IPH), N.S., vol. 6, no. 1 (January 1972), 10-13.].