MAYNARD, Charles J. A Manual of North American Butterflies.
Boston: De Wolfe, Fiske & Co., 1891. First edition.
A highly attractive Victorian natural-history guide, complete with ten hand-coloured plates depicting butterflies from across North America, supported by numerous wood-engraved illustrations throughout the text.
Maynard designed the book for both the amateur collector and the serious student, deliberately avoiding unnecessary technical language. His colour plates present representatives of almost every North American butterfly genus then recognised, while the extensive woodcuts illustrate distinguishing characteristics across hundreds of species.
Charles Johnson Maynard was a remarkable self-taught American naturalist, collector and scientific illustrator. A founding figure in the Nuttall Ornithological Club, he worked across ornithology, entomology and conchology and was unusually involved in the physical production of his publications, drawing and engraving much of his own illustrative material.
Octavo, 226 pages. Illustrated with ten hand-coloured plates and numerous woodcuts. Bound in the original brown publisher’s cloth, lettered in gilt and decorated in black to the upper board and spine.
