AN EXTRAORDINARY and BEAUTIFUL ALBUM OF VELLUM BUTTERFLIES, MOTHS AND CATERPILLARS, each example composed of delicately painted vellum wings, torso and pupae mounted on the page. There is a clear scientific element to this album, as many of the butterflies are shown in two postures - with their wings both open and closed. Many of the European butterflies and moths appear to be modeled on images available in Jean Fuessly’s work ‘Archives de l’histoire des insectes’ (Germany, 1794) as noted on one leaf; while the exotic specimens are probably inspired by Donovan’s works on Chinese and Indian insects (published in 1798 and 1800). Although entomological research was pioneered in Holland in the early 18th century, it remained an unusual pursuit in England even in the early 19th century. Edward Newman (1801 -1879) in his ‘Grammar of Entomology’ (1835) referred to the common opinion ‘that a person who could take an interest in pursuing a butterfly is a madman’.