Insecta Coleoptera Pl 052

Frederick DuCane Godman prints come from one of the great natural history projects of the Victorian age, the Biologia Centrali-Americana. Godman and his friend Osbert Salvin spent decades documenting the animals and plants of Mexico and Central America, and the work grew to 63 volumes with 1,677 plates. Our collection of fine art prints includes its birds, butterflies, moths, beetles, spiders and mammals.

About Frederick DuCane Godman

Frederick DuCane Godman was born on 15 January 1834 at Park Hatch, near Godalming in Surrey, one of thirteen children of a partner in the Whitbread brewery. Poor health cut short his time at Eton, and in 1853 he went to Trinity College, Cambridge, where he met Alfred Newton and Osbert Salvin. The friends learned to skin and mount birds and helped found the British Ornithologists' Union in 1858.

An inherited fortune let Godman travel widely, to Norway, Guatemala and Belize, the Azores, the Canary Islands, India and Africa. He corresponded with Charles Darwin. He and Salvin gave their huge bird and butterfly collections to the British Museum in 1885, including nearly 520,000 bird skins.

In 1876 Godman and Salvin began the Biologia Centrali-Americana, issued in 215 parts from 1879 to 1915. Leading scientists wrote its volumes, and it treats more than 50,000 species, over 19,000 of them new to science. Godman also wrote on the Azores and on petrels, and collected Islamic pottery now in the British Museum. He died in London on 19 February 1919.

Style and Subjects

The plates of the Biologia Centrali-Americana are lithographs, more than 900 of them in colour, made for scientists but beautiful in their own right. Insects and spiders are laid out in neat rows on a plain page, each specimen drawn with fine detail and true colour.

The butterfly and moth plates have the brightest colour, with iridescent blues, oranges and yellows. The beetle plates show glossy, jewel-like shells, and the bird plates picture tropical species perched in simple settings.

Famous Works

• Biologia Centrali-Americana (1879–1915). The 63-volume natural history of Mexico and Central America he edited with Osbert Salvin.
• Insecta Lepidoptera-Rhopalocera Pl 058 (1879–1915). A butterfly plate from the Biologia.
• Aves Pl 11 (1879–1915). A bird plate from the volumes on Central American birds.
• Insecta Coleoptera Pl 291 (1879–1915). Rows of glossy beetles from the largest section in our collection.
• Arachnida Araneidea Pl 33 (1879–1915). Spiders of the region, drawn in close detail.
• Mammalia Pl 19 (1879–1915). A mammal plate from the Biologia.

Decorating with Godman Prints

The butterfly and beetle plates make a striking cabinet-of-curiosities wall in a study, library or hallway. Hang a grid of six or nine in thin black or brass frames for a museum feel.

The bird plates bring tropical colour to a living room or garden room, and a single spider or moth plate is an unexpected touch in a bathroom or home office.

FAQ

Who was Frederick DuCane Godman?

Frederick DuCane Godman (1834–1919) was an English naturalist who studied butterflies, insects and birds. With Osbert Salvin he is remembered for documenting the wildlife of Central America.

What is the Biologia Centrali-Americana?

It is an encyclopaedia of the natural history of Mexico and Central America, issued in 215 parts between 1879 and 1915. It has 63 volumes and 1,677 lithograph plates.

Did Godman draw the plates himself?

No. Godman and Salvin edited the work, and the plates were drawn and lithographed by artists for the scientists who wrote each volume.

Where are Godman's collections?

He and Salvin gave their bird and butterfly collections to the British Museum in 1885. A memorial to the two men is in the Natural History Museum in London.

Is the Biologia still used today?

Yes. It remains fundamental for the study of plants and animals of the American tropics, and all its volumes are digitised in the Biodiversity Heritage Library.

Related Artists

• John Gerrard Keulemans: drew the plates for Godman's Monograph of the Petrels
• John Gould: the leading Victorian publisher of bird plates
• Maria Sibylla Merian: earlier painter of tropical American insects
• Ernst Haeckel: another great natural history illustrator of the era