Iconotypes : A compendium of butterflies and moths. Jones's Icones Complete

'a book of considerable scientific value and artistic beauty. As a modern research source—at a time when habitat destruction and a changing climate are a reality and decline of butterflies globally is alarming—it is invaluable. Without doubt, this impressive volume will result in further research and discussion' - The Art Newspaper

An enhanced facsimile of Jones's Icones, one of the most scientifically important and visually stunning works on butterflies and moths ever created

From around 1780 to 1810, William Jones “of Chelsea” (1735-1818)—skilled painter, scholar and naturalist—created almost 1,300 images of butterflies and moths, covering 856 species, using specimens from his own collection and the collections of Joseph Banks, Dru Drury, Sir James Edward Smith, John Francillon, the British Museum and the Linnean Society. Unpublished and privately owned until the early 20th century, Jones’s archive over time came to Oxford University and his original seven volumes are combined in Icones. 

With Iconotypes Jones's seminal work is published for the first time, accompanied by expert commentary and contextual essays, and featuring annotated maps showing the location of each species. 

For every specimen painting he provided a species name, the collection from which it was taken and the geographical location in which it was found. In 1787, during a visit to London, the Danish scientist Johann Christian Fabricius studied Jones's paintings and based 231 species of butterfly and moths on them. In this enhanced facsimile, Jones's references to historic references are clarified and modern taxonomic names are provided, together with notes on which paintings serve as iconotypes.

The wealth of imagery is enhanced by an introduction from the former keeper of entomology at the Natural History Museum and butterfly expert, Dick Vane-Wright. He weaves the story of Jones, his accomplishments, painting techniques and colour construction, alongside his most significant contemporaries, into a comprehensive and highly readable whole. Contributions by others on the early study of Lepidoptera, 18th- and 19th-century collecting, the art of painting, and a general decline of butterflies and moths around the globe 

Details

• Author: Richard Vane-Wright
• Hardcover: 688 pages | 1600 colour illustrations
• Date published: November 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN: 978-0500024324
• Product Dimensions: 25.8 x 20.0 cm