One of the most beautiful of its tribe.

I have long had an interest in the history of zoological illustration and much admire the exquisite and detailed drawings, paintings, etchings and lithographs made by the Victorian naturalists. Today I thought I might share another one with you.

This beautiful lithographic illustration is from A Monograph of The British Nudibranchiate Mollusca by Joshua Alder, Albany Hancock and Sir Charles Elliot. It was published by The Ray Society, in 10 parts, between 1845 and 1910.

The lithograph shows a colourful nudibranch known as Eolis coronata, described thus by the authors: this fine species - one of the most beautiful of its tribe. To fully appreciate the skill of the lithographer take a look through the looking glass.

A modern photograph of the species will help emphasise the interpretive skill of these Victorian illustrators.

As an aside, the famous fossil of Archaeopteryx, at the time the earliest known bird, was discovered in a slab of the limestone used for lithographic printing..