19th Century Black and White Illustrations
Four Species of Blenny
The gunnel blenny is rendered with a particularly sad face.
Anatomy of a Whitefish
A useful introduction to the external anatomy of fish. With few exceptions, this figure would also be at home in a modern textbook.
Artificial Spawning
The artist of this plate spent a little bit too much time on the Victorian gentleman. The fish pictured is a bit cartoonish and is of an undetermined species.
Broad-Finned Sword-Fish
The swordfish is one of the most popular saltwater game fish.
Chain-Striped Muraena
While this fish looks a little like a snake, it is an eel.
Development of the Wall-Eyed Pike
The wall-eyed pike, or walleye, is an important food and game fish in North America. This plate depicts the early larval development of the walleye.
Development of the Wall-Eyed Pike
The wall-eyed pike, or walleye, is an important food and game fish in North America. This plate depicts the anatomy of newly hatched walleye.
Fisch-Cultur Norwegens
This little pamphlet is an introduction to fish culture methods in Norway. The pictorial wrappers have several library cancellation stamps from universities in Latvia.
Fresh-Water Fishes of New England
The original publisher's wraps depict only a few of the many species found in New England; however, the book details an impressive number of species of interest to both sportsmen and naturalists.
Gemmeous Dragonet and Sordid Dragonet
I certainly wonder what is "sordid" in the life of a dragonette!
History of Fish
This small chapbook, also known as a "toy book," was intended for children. It is remarkable that it has survived the years intact! The original publisher's wrappers feature a whale, even though the whale is a mammal and not a fish.
Inspecting Fish Eggs
This plate depicts men handling fish eggs. It is especially important to remove dead eggs, as the man in the upper left is doing. If dead eggs remain among the healthy ones, fungal infections can threaten the entire batch. Also, notice the formal Victorian clothing. Such formal dress is seldom seen in hatcheries these days!
L'Holocentre
Three species of tropical fish are illustrated.
La Salmone
Three species of salmonids (salmon and trout) are featured in this engraving.
Larval Fish
This plate depicts the early development of a newly hatched larval fish.
Le Chaetodon
Three species of tropical fish are illustrated.
Le Chaetodon II
Three species of tropical fish are illustrated.
Le Perseque
Three species of fish are illustrated.
Le Pilemode
Three species of catfish are illustrated.
Le Pomacanthe and L'Holocanthe
Three species of tropical fish are illustrated.
Le Silure
Three species of catfish are illustrated.
Le Spare and Le Dipterodon
Three species of fish are illustrated.
Le Zee and Le Gal
Three species of fish with unusual fin shapes are illustrated.
Off For a Cruise
Some Victorian books on fish and fishing include comical illustrations. This whimsical woodcut depicts the obvious contradiction of a fish rowing a boat.
Picking Eggs
Several plates in this book are dedicated to the processes involved to sort eggs. It is especially important to remove dead eggs to avoid fungal infections. Notice the division of labour along gender lines.
Picking Eggs
In addition to removing dead eggs, workers pick out eggs belonging to specific stages of development.
Picking Out Dead Eggs
This plate depicts men looking for dead fish eggs. If the dead eggs are not removed, fungal infections can threaten the healthy eggs.
Salmon Live Cars
This plate depicts the boats that were used to transport live fish.
Selecting and Stripping Ripe Trout
This plate depicts men catching and stripping eggs from female trout in hatchery ponds.
Stripping a Whitefish
Salmon and trout are arguably the most important fish species raised in aquaculture operations. However, other fish, including the whitefish depicted in this plate, have been the objects of aquaculture.
Stripping Female Salmon
Workers would manually strip eggs and milt from spawning salmon to use in fish hatcheries. This practice is still used today.
Stripping Whitefish
This plate depicts two men stripping gametes from a mature whitefish.
Stripping Whitefish Eggs
Whitefish eggs and milt are stripped from mature fish and combined to fertilize the eggs while rather dour looking men in suits look on.
The Long-Eared Sunfish
The long-eared sunfish is a popular game fish and is often the first fish species a child will catch.
The Mud Minnow and the Killfish
A simple black and white plate cannot capture the iridescence and tenacity of the mud minnow. It is an exceptional little fish.
The Mumichog
The common names of fish are often fanciful. "Mumichog" is a good example.
The Sea Wolf, The Sturgeon
This little book is notable because it is not a simple reprint of a British chapbook. It contains information about several fish species and their habits in North America (the Sea Wolf, pictured here, is a notable exception).
The Spoils
It has long been popular to pose the day's catch next to a creel and fishing rod. This full-page woodcut depicts such a classic scene.
Transparent Sternoptyx
Not many plates in this series feature both side and front views of fish. I suspect this fish is treated to two views because of the rather curious look on its face.
Unhatched Fish in an Egg
Because many fish eggs are transparent, the development of the fish inside is easy to observe. This plate depicts a later stage of development.
Unseen Dangers
The predatory nature of the northern pike, featured in this woodcut, is often mythologized. Although large pike will occasionally eat ducklings, the reality of such an event is likely less dramatic than the scene pictured here!
Coal-Fish and Common Cod
This plate depicts two species of fish vital to the North Atlantic commercial fishery when this work was published.
A Colourful Cod
Shaw’s General Zoology was a popular natural history compendium published in the first quarter of the nineteenth century. The “Fishes” volumes of Shaw’s Zoology are often found on the market today; however, this is the first (and only!) copy I have seen where all 189 engravings have been professionally hand coloured. This specific plate was chosen to compare with the uncoloured example of the same plate featured in the original exhibition.
A Selection of Fish
In addition to the diversity of perspectives that non-Western books bring to my collection, the physical books themselves reveal differing characteristics of book-making around the world. These Japanese books are bound by punching holes through the boards and text block and then externally stitching the boards and text block together with a string. The pages themselves are made from a thin but supple type of paper folded in half with printed portions on only the outside, but not the inside, surfaces of the resulting folded leaf.
An Engraved Title Page
Despite being a book of a very technical nature, the text volume of Bakker’s Osteographia piscium (1822) includes an attractive engraved vignette on the title page.