Prodromus Entomology
Encyclopedia
Prodromus Entomology is one of the earliest books about Australia
n natural history
, and the first book about Australia containing plates engraved in Australia. The full title of the first edition is Prodromus Entomology. Natural History of Lepidopterous Insects of New South Wales, collected, engraved and faithfully painted after nature.
, travelled from England to the new British settlement of New South Wales
in 1799 (arriving in January 1800), becoming the colony’s first professional artist. His journey was sponsored by wealthy amateur
entomologist
Dru Drury
, who was to be repaid with specimens of new insect
s. Despite initial delays and distractions, Lewin began his investigations of the natural history in the general vicinity of Sydney, eventually producing illustrated books on moth
s and bird
s, of which the Prodromus was the first.
, with accompanying descriptive and scientific text, with which Lewin was considerably assisted in the identification and classification of the species depicted, by entomologist Alexander Macleay
. The moths are shown accurately with the food plants of their larvae, from which they were cultured by the author. Lewin etched the copper plates for the illustrations in Australia and then sent them to his brother Thomas in London for printing. The book was offered for subscription at varying prices for different qualities of plate colouring, and issued in imperial quarto
, medium quarto and demy quarto sizes. It was dedicated to The Right Honourable Lady Arden. In the preface Thomas Lewin says:
A third, facsimile, edition was published in 2007 by Gaston Renard of Melbourne, limited to 212 copies in the Edition Renard series. As well as the text and illustrations of the early editions, it contains historical, bibliographical
and publication notes, a list of the current scientific names of the moths depicted, an appendix with a table indicating the ownership and whereabouts of known surviving copies of the early editions, with acknowledgements to those assisting with the bibliographic research.
The Prodromus, in both its first and second editions, is a bibliographic rarity. Julien Renard comments:
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n natural history
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
, and the first book about Australia containing plates engraved in Australia. The full title of the first edition is Prodromus Entomology. Natural History of Lepidopterous Insects of New South Wales, collected, engraved and faithfully painted after nature.
History
The author and illustrator, John William LewinJohn Lewin
John William Lewin was an English-born artist active in Australia from 1800. The first professional artist of the colony of New South Wales, he illustrated the earliest volumes of Australian natural history.-Early life:...
, travelled from England to the new British settlement of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
in 1799 (arriving in January 1800), becoming the colony’s first professional artist. His journey was sponsored by wealthy amateur
Amateur
An amateur is generally considered a person attached to a particular pursuit, study, or science, without pay and often without formal training....
entomologist
Entomology
Entomology is the scientific study of insects, a branch of arthropodology...
Dru Drury
Dru Drury
Dru Drury was a British entomologist, one of the foremost of his time.He was born in Wood Lane, London. His father was a silversmith, and Dru took over the business in 1748. He retired as a silversmith in 1789 to devote his time entirely to entomology...
, who was to be repaid with specimens of new insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s. Despite initial delays and distractions, Lewin began his investigations of the natural history in the general vicinity of Sydney, eventually producing illustrated books on moth
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
s and bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s, of which the Prodromus was the first.
First edition
The Prodromus was published in 1805 in London. The first edition contains 18 colour plates of moths found in the vicinity of SydneySydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, with accompanying descriptive and scientific text, with which Lewin was considerably assisted in the identification and classification of the species depicted, by entomologist Alexander Macleay
Alexander Macleay
Hon. Alexander Macleay MLC FLS FRS was a leading member of the Linnean Society and a fellow of the Royal Society.Macleay was born on Ross-shire, Scotland, eldest son of William Macleay, provost of Wick...
. The moths are shown accurately with the food plants of their larvae, from which they were cultured by the author. Lewin etched the copper plates for the illustrations in Australia and then sent them to his brother Thomas in London for printing. The book was offered for subscription at varying prices for different qualities of plate colouring, and issued in imperial quarto
Quarto
Quarto could refer to:* Quarto, a size or format of a book in which four leaves of a book are created from a standard size sheet of paper* For specific information about quarto texts of William Shakespeare's works, see:...
, medium quarto and demy quarto sizes. It was dedicated to The Right Honourable Lady Arden. In the preface Thomas Lewin says:
”The contents of this little Volume are Lepidopterous Insects, indigenous of New South Wales, were there collected, painted, and engraved, by the Author; and sent to London by him for publication, to furnish him with the means of returning to England, his native country, after an absence of near eight years, which he has spent almost solely in the pursuit of natural history, principally in the branches, OrnithologyOrnithologyOrnithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and the aesthetic appeal of birds...
and Entomology; in which he has in New South Wales, and in OtaheiteTahitiTahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous...
, made some hundred of original paintings; from which it is hoped he may, by the profits of this little first effort, be enabled to return and reap an honourable benefit, as their publication, under his ingenious hand, we flatter ourselves, would somewhat redound to the honour, reputation, and increase of those branches of the sciences in Britain. The insects here figured are new, and some of them extraordinary in their natural history, the singularity of which, with the correctness of the figures, must render this Work, we conceive, particularly valuable. For till this author, none has discovered, or expected to find lepidopterous insects of the families here figured, as the destroyers of timber, or the depredators of massy and hardest trees, in the way which is here made known. And it should be observed also, that the natural history, as well as the engraving, was done on the spot, and not from dry specimens, or notes still more abstruse.”
Later editions
After Lewin’s death in Sydney in 1819 and his wife’s return to England, a second edition of the book was issued in demy quarto format, including an additional plate as a frontispiece, with the full title reduced to Natural History of the Lepidopterous Insects of New South Wales, painted after nature. The date on the title page is 1822, though many issues of the second edition were not printed until later, some as late as 1827.A third, facsimile, edition was published in 2007 by Gaston Renard of Melbourne, limited to 212 copies in the Edition Renard series. As well as the text and illustrations of the early editions, it contains historical, bibliographical
Bibliography
Bibliography , as a practice, is the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology...
and publication notes, a list of the current scientific names of the moths depicted, an appendix with a table indicating the ownership and whereabouts of known surviving copies of the early editions, with acknowledgements to those assisting with the bibliographic research.
The Prodromus, in both its first and second editions, is a bibliographic rarity. Julien Renard comments:
”A survey of auction records since 1896 reveals ten copies of the 1805 edition of which five are explicitly identified in later collections represented in the table. Bookseller’s records available to me indicate a possible further four copies, making a maximum total of thirty-four copies of the first edition (in all forms) identified or identifiable. Similarly, auction records show twenty-two possibly distinct copies of the 1822 edition of which one is positively identified in the table and bookseller’s records indicate a possible four additional copies, making a maximum total of fifty copies of the second edition identified or identifiable. There are undoubtedly at least several more copies in private hands and still others as yet unidentified in institutional collections, but this survey gives some indication of the absolute rarity of the work.”