Eighteenth-century Butterflies

This hand-colored etching of butterflies was produced in the late 18th century by Carl Gustav Jablonsky, an artist/naturalist who was also the private secretary to the queen of Prussia.

This page was part of the book Natural System of All Known Domestic and Foreign Insects (1783–1806), an 11-volume set that formed one of the most attractive natural history works of the period. Jablonsky wrote the first two volumes, and after he died at just 31 years of age, German entomologist Johann W. Herbst wrote the remaining nine.

These butterflies are now on display in The Collectors: A Life in Lepidoptera at Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, an exhibition of works that depict how the science of entomology has been furthered by the passion of collectors and the skill of artists. The Collectors is included with Museum admission and runs through September 7 in the John and Peggy Maximus Gallery.