Species of Dragons - a page from "Historiae naturalis de serpentibus et draconibus" Merian & Jonston, 1657 (N1)

Species of Dragons - an exceptionally rare engraved and hand-coloured print by Merian & Jonston from "Historiae naturalis de serpentibus et draconibus libri II" published in 1657 in Amsterdam. (Please note we now have two versions of hand-colouring of this print, please check the other (N2) option in a separate listing.)

John Jonston, or Joannes Jonstonus (1603 – 1675) was a Polish scholar and physician, descended from Scottish nobility and closely associated with the Polish magnate family of the Leszczyńskis. He earned his first degree at the University of St Andrews and then worked as a private tutor in Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and continued his studies in Cambridge, Frankfurt, Franeker and Leiden. Jonston has published major natural history studies including Thautomatographia naturalis and Theatrum universale omnium animalium, piscium, avium, quadrupedum, exanguium aquaticorum, insectorum et angium.

Matthäus Merian der Ältere (1593 – 1650) was a Swiss-born engraver who worked in Frankfurt for most of his career, where he also ran a publishing house. Born in Basel, Merian learned the art of copperplate engraving in Zürich. He next worked and studied in Strasbourg, Nancy, and Paris, before returning to Basel in 1615. The following year he moved to Frankfurt, Germany where he worked for the publisher Johann Theodor de Bry, who was the son of renowned engraver and traveler Theodor de Bry. Early in his life, he had created detailed town plans in his unique style. With Martin Zeiler, a German geographer, and later with his own son, he produced a Topographia Germaniae in 38 parts. After Merian's death, his sons Matthaus Jr and Caspar continued publishing of Topographia Germaniae and Theatrum Europaeum. It includes numerous town plans and views, as well as maps of most countries and a World Map - it was such a popular work that it was re-issued in many editions. He also took over and completed the later parts and editions of the Grand Voyages and Petits Voyages, originally started by de Bry in 1590. He was also noted for the finesse of his alchemical illustrations.

This poster is a high quality "giclée" reproduction of a restored antique original, custom-printed on Standard Single-weight Matt Coated art paper 140gsm or  Heavyweight Matt Coated art paper 230gsm (more of a thin card density), or superb Epson Matt Canvas 320gsm, according to your choice. We use the latest UltraChromeHDX pigment inks which guarantee 60 years of colour  permanence (up to 200 years fade-proof for colour prints).  This poster is suitable for mounting and framing, as well as direct display on a wall.