Pufferfish (1864)

Title: "CCIX Tetraodon Argenteus" (Pufferfish)

Latin name: Tetraodon Argenteus

Artist: P.W. Bleeker & C.W. Mieling

Place of Publication: The Netherlands

Year: 1864

Technique: Original chromolithography on paper

Size (inc. mat): 46.8 x 56.2 cm Size image: 26.1 x 41.5 cm

Professionally matted in acid-free museum quality mat-board, with centre-fold as issued.

Condition: some foxing

Pieter Bleeker’s (1819–1878) Atlas Ichthyologique des Indes Orientales Néerlandaises is one of the most lavish books about fish ever published in the Netherlands. It covers over 12,000 descriptions of specimens found surrounding Southeast Asia and Australia. This monumental work was published across 36 volumes between 1862 and 1878, containing over 1,500 chromolithographic plates. Initially, there were only 60 subscribers for the work, which makes these plates quite rare.

Pieter Bleeker was a Dutch physician and ichthyologist. While working as a doctor with the Dutch army in Indonesia, Bleeker studied fish species obtained from local fishermen or from specimens sent to him from nearby islands. During his life, Bleeker published over 500 publications on fish, in which he described 511 new genera and 1,925 new species.

The technique used for these plates is chromolithography, a popular printing process developed in the 19th century. Lithographic stones were used as a medium to print an image onto paper. For every single colour, a separate stone needed to be used. This technique was particularly useful for scientific publications, as it allowed the images to accurately depict the species in their natural colours.