Sea Anemones (1880)

Title: Sea Anemones

Artist / Publisher: F.W. Schiertz

Place of publication: Oslo, Norway Year: c. 1880-1901

Technique: Original chromolithography on paper

Size (inc. mat): 50 x 36 cm

Size image: 30.5 x 21 cm

Professionally matted in acid-free museum quality mat-board.

Condition: minimal foxing

This original lithograph originates from a report of a physical and biological expedition sponsored by the Norwegian government in the late 1870s. Under the leadership of Captain C. Wille, the expedition explored the Northern Arctic waters between Norway, Iceland, Jan Mayen, and West Spitsbergen. Artists such as F.W. Schiertz (1813–1887) and H. Bucher, alongside marine biologists like G.O. Sars (1837–1927) and Carl Nielsen (1848–1908), executed the plates.

Intended primarily for educational purposes, these plates were initially printed in black and white. In some instances, they were colour-printed or subsequently hand-coloured to accurately reflect the natural hues of newly discovered species.

Lithography is a planographic printing technique, meaning the image is pulled from a flat surface—traditionally a leveled stone. Developed and refined during the 19th century, this method allowed for larger print runs, finer detail, and highly efficient production across various media. It became the standard for printing music scores, classroom posters, magazine covers, theater posters, and book illustrations. Eventually, modern commercial printing techniques, such as offset lithography, gradually replaced traditional stone lithography for newspapers and full-color illustrations.