Phoenix, Pelican, Harpy, Griffin – an engraved plate from “Historiae naturalis de serpentibus et draconibus” Merian & Jonston, 1657

Description

Phoenix, Pelican, Harpy, Griffin – an exceptionally rare engraved and hand-coloured print of mythical creatures by Merian & Jonston from “Historiae naturalis de serpentibus et draconibus libri II” published in 1657 in Amsterdam.

John Jonston, or Joannes Jonstonus (1603 – 1675) was a Polish scholar and physician, descended from Scottish nobility and closely associated with the Polish magnate family of the Leszczyńskis. He earned his first degree at the University of St Andrews and then worked as a private tutor in Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and continued his studies in Cambridge, Frankfurt, Franeker and Leiden. Jonston has published major natural history studies including Thautomatographia naturalis and Theatrum universale omnium animalium, piscium, avium, quadrupedum, exanguium aquaticorum, insectorum et angium.

Matthäus Merian der Ältere (1593 – 1650) was a Swiss-born engraver who worked in Frankfurt for most of his career, where he also ran a publishing house. Born in Basel, Merian learned the art of copperplate engraving in Zürich. He next worked and studied in Strasbourg, Nancy, and Paris, before returning to Basel in 1615. The following year he moved to Frankfurt, Germany where he worked for the publisher Johann Theodor de Bry, who was the son of renowned engraver and traveler Theodor de Bry. Early in his life, he had created detailed town plans in his unique style. With Martin Zeiler, a German geographer, and later with his own son, he produced a Topographia Germaniae in 38 parts. After Merian’s death, his sons Matthaus Jr and Caspar continued publishing of Topographia Germaniae and Theatrum Europaeum. It includes numerous town plans and views, as well as maps of most countries and a World Map – it was such a popular work that it was re-issued in many editions. He also took over and completed the later parts and editions of the Grand Voyages and Petits Voyages, originally started by de Bry in 1590. He was also noted for the finesse of his alchemical illustrations.

This poster is a high quality “giclee” reproduction of a restored antique original, custom-printed on Standard Single-weight Matt Coated art paper 140gsm or  Heavyweight Matt Coated art paper 230gsm (more of a thin card density), or superb Epson Matt Canvas 320gsm, according to your choice. We use the latest UltraChromeHDX pigment inks which guarantee 60 years of colour  permanence (up to 200 years fade-proof for colour prints).  This poster is suitable for mounting and framing, as well as direct display on a wall.

IMPORTANT: If you are going to frame this print we recommend art paper 230gsm or canvas 320gsm. The 140gsm art paper option makes sense if you wish to DIY-frame or to tack the poster to a wall without framing, due to it being lighter and more flexible. All three options are giclee prints of the same high quality.

POSTER PRINT QUALITY

Please note that our reproduction posters are made to order and every print is checked before posting. The images we use in most cases are scans of antique originals, professionally restored in order to remove the most evident stains, folds, tears and other damage. We strive to balance the restoration and saving the overall integrity and antique appearance of the original. Our restored images are unique and these prints can be purchased only from www.VictorianMaps.com.

There will be no watermark on your image but there might be a white border depending on aspect ratio of the original. Please note that when a large antique original is reduced to a smaller size print some text may not be readable. Please check our measurements: every poster has its own aspect ratio same as original and printed exactly as pictured.