Set of Six Framed 18th c. Engravings of Moths

Description

A set of six original hand-colored engravings of rare and unusual moths.  Plates from The Aurelian or Natural History of English Insects (1766) by Moses Harris.  These engravings were purchased and reframed in 1980 by Mrs. Bunny Williams of Parish Hadley for the hallway of a duplex apartment at 740 Park Avenue.  They are satinwood framed with ebonized highlights and mounted in scribed mats.  Each bears a dedication to one of the artist’s patrons.  One, for example, bears the inscription “To My Ingenous Friend and Benefactor, Mr. Dru Drury This Plate is most Humbly Dedicated by his Obliged Servant Moses Harris”.  Moses Harris and Dru Drury were early English entomologists (one who studies insects) who specialized in lepidoptera (the study of butterflies and moths).  Both were involved with the precursor society to the Royal Society of Entomologists.  Harris’ engravings are highly collected and sought after today.