One of my rarest book "Icones Ornithopterorum"

[mygos]

To make a change with dead specimens of your collections, today I would like to show one of the most beautiful book from my collection !

This is a book from RIPPON robert H.F. :
"Icones Ornithopterorum : a monograph of the Papilionine Tribe Troides of Hübner, or Ornithoptera (bird-wing butterflies) of Boisduval", in 2 volumes
Originally planned for 20 parts, it was finally published in 25 parts between 1890 and 1910.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Henry_Fernando_Rippon

Also Rippon claimed to have over 80 subscribers, they are only 33 known coloured copies of this extremely rare work as Rippon died before he was able to finish the colouring ...

Here are some pictures of my own copy :


















My copy contains 111 plates (1 couloured frontispiece, 1 B/W portrait and 109 plates of which 95 in colour (82 plates and 13 maps)

I purchased that book last year through an american book dealer who obtained it from a private collection ...

If anyone is interested with rare books, I will be pleased to show more of them !

A+, Michel

[nomad]

WOW Your very lucky to own the Icones Ornithopterorum . Very beautiful plates I enjoyed seeing those. That book is very rare especially in a good condition like yours.

nomad

Show as many as you like, I for one will look forward to seeing them.

[mygos]

By the way, I am an entomological (and ornithological) book dealer, and I may be able to find books or extracts you are researching ?

My web site is : www.topduck.fr

I am also interested to buy unwanted books you may have, don't hesitate to contact me !

A+, Michel

[Deleted]

Wow, what a treat to see these....thanks mygos

Btw......regarding another thread on blue/form niclasi occuring naturally, these pics from the book clearly illustrate this. I doubt any UV treatments existed back in 1912. Perhaps specimens were stored in the sun, but note the yellow abdomens. Note his extreme detail to coloration, like w the T. brookiana.....the blue they typically have was portrayed perfectly....in other words, no apparent blue enhancement on his part. And then a few Ornithopteras had some blue shown just like it must have been back then with illustrated form niclasis.

Today, I firmly believe some of what we see with the blue is artificially UV treated while the portrayals in the book must be the real things......naturally occuring blue forms.

Just a few thoughts.

[africaone]

excepetionnel
ca sent bon le vieux livre !

[mygos]

Jan 13, 2013 11:46:28 GMT -8 africaone said:

excepetionnel
ca sent bon le vieux livre !

Bonsoir Thierry, je ne te le fais pas dire ...

A+, Michel

[froggy]

Cher Michel,

Quel magnifique ouvrage! Merci de le partager sur le net, et felicitation.

For those interested one can access each page (including all the magnificient plates) of the copy in the Smithonian at the link below:

archive.org/stream/IconesornithoptIRipp#page/n0/mode/2up

Truly a work of passion!
Enjoy...

Thierry

[Adam Cotton]

The link above is only to volume 1. Here are links to pages where you can either view or download both volumes:

Vol. 1
archive.org/details/IconesornithoptIRipp

Vol. 2
archive.org/details/IconesornithoptIIRipp

Adam.

[steve]

They are incredible ..... speechless. Thanks for sharing the links.

[anthony]

Just fantastic, thank you for sharing this treasure. Congratulations.

[clinton9]

These books did not had plates of ornithoptera alexandrae.

[Chris Grinter]

I would assume because O. alexandrae was described in 1907, and perhaps the author did not know of the species in time to illustrate.

[mygos]

Good news ! There is one copy of this rare work for sale at Antiquariat Junk for 18.000 euros ...
Here it is : www.antiquariaatjunk.com/item.php?item=9166&c_sourcepage=search.php%3Fpg%3D1%26amp%3Bs_subject%3DButterflies%2520%252F%2520Lepidoptera%26amp%3Bs_currency%3D%26amp%3Bs_viewmode%3Dlist%23booknr9166&s_currency=

A+, Michel

[Deleted]

What a pleasure it would be to have such volumes on the shelves in my study...$24,000 is an expensive impulse buy though

[nomad]

It would be a real pleasure to have those on my bookshelf, but at that Price, it would be great if Father Christmas could bring me a copy. Thanks in advance.