Dragonflies

This beautiful entomology engraving is from Dru Drury’s Illustrations of exotic Entomology, containing upwards of six hundred and fifty figures and descriptions of foreign insects, interspersed with remarks and reflections on their nature and properties. A new edition … by J.O. Westwood. The work was printed in London by H. G. Bohn in 1837. This is the second and last edition with superb, original hand-coloring to each engraving. Most the of the plates were by and after Moses Harris.

Dru Drury (1725-1803) was a wealthy goldsmith who had a passion for insects and possessed over 11,000 species in his collection. “By virtue of his marriage and inheritance of the family business he was a reasonably wealthy man who could afford to support his most serious hobby entomology. Drury’s collection had great fame during his life time. He spent much time and money persuading others to collect specimens for him from foreign countries. He had a wide correspondence with entomologists around the world. Linnaeus (1707-1778) and William Kirby (1759-1850) both named species after him.” (Harvey, Gilbert & Martin, A catalogue of manuscripts in the Entomological library… 119).

“Although originally conceived as a publication to illustrate all the specimens that came in, Drury soon changed his mind and eventually decided to illustrate only those specimens which had not previously been drawn. Years later, the eminent British entomologist W.F. Kirby described the work as an ‘Opus entomologicus splendissimus.'” (Gilbert, Butterfly Collectors and Painters, p.140) His vast collection was sold in London after his death, where Edward Donovan won the lot for 614 pounds.