Natural History Prints

Birds
Scientists are fascinated by the variety of birds and the general public is enthralled by the splendor of their plumage, thus there is a long history of beautiful and important bird prints.

Animals
While the study of quadrupeds has attracted less notice than ornithology, there is also a long history of fascinating studies on the topic.

Botanicals
The earliest natural histories were almost all concerned with the botanical world, because of the medicinal and nutritional aspects of plants, while later botanical prints often focused on the beauty of the flowers and other plants depicted.

Fruit
Fruits have also been long studied, with many scientific prints created over the years, but also ones of great beauty.
Food
The earliest prints showing food are edible plants, but images of prepared foods also became popular in the nineteenth century. These are both decorative and interesting for their social history.

Entomology
Entomology is not usually seen as a natural source for decorative prints, but while some insect images are straightforwardly scientific, others are designed to be as aesthetic as they are precise in detail.

Fish
While ichthyological prints are often less than obviously beautiful, they have an aesthetic appeal of their own. Many series show obscure fish, but others focus on popular game fish such as trout and bass.

Shell
Shells are not as widely pictured as other natural history subjects, but there have been many shell prints over the years that have a unique and striking appearance.

Reptiles
Frogs, snakes and other reptiles have been depicted in prints from the sixteenth century on and they often have a striking decorative appeal

Minerals
Minerals have been depicted in some surprisingly interesting and attractive engravings and lithographs.

Anatomy
Anatomical prints are fascinating in showing the understanding of science in the past, as well as having their own distinct decorative appeal