The Volumes:
The full title of this epic masterwork with its famously, amazingly intricate engravings, is:

"Encyclopaedia londinensis, or, Universal dictionary of arts, sciences, and literature : comprehending, under one general alphabetical arrangement, all the words and substance of every kind of dictionary extant in the English language : in which the improved departments of the mechanical arts, the liberal sciences, the higher mathematics, and the several branches of polite literature, are selected from the acts, memoirs, and transactions, of the most eminent literary societies, in Europe, Asia, and America : forming a comprehensive view of the rise, progress, and present state, of human learning in every part of the world : embellished by a most magnificent set of copper-plate engravings..." (Whew!)

John Wilkes (1750-1810) compiled the Encyclopaedia Londoninensis, which was published between 1801 and 1828.  John Pass (1783-1832) undertook the engravings.  Wilkes' name was often printed at the base of each plate (as in this case) and the name of Pass is printed on the lower right corner.  Three of the 24 volumes contained copperplate engravings.

The Artist:
Albertus or Albert Seba (May 12, 1665, Etzel near Friedeburg – May 2, 1736, Amsterdam) was a Dutch pharmacist, zoologist, and collector. Seba accumulated one of the largest cabinets of curiosities in the Netherlands during his time. He sold one of his cabinets in 1717 to Peter the Great of Russia. His later collections were auctioned after his death. He published descriptions of his collections in a lavishly illustrated 4-volume Thesaurus. His early work on taxonomy and natural history influenced Linnaeus.

The Editor:
John Wilkes (of Milland House, Sussex) was an 18th-century English printer, bookseller, and publisher who compiled and arranged the massive 24-volume Encyclopaedia Londinensis, universal dictionary of arts, sciences, and literature published from 1810 to 1829. 

The Prints & Technique:
Line-engraving or Copperplate engraving is a highly exacting & labor-intensive process for intaglio printmaking. The original drawing is cut into the surface of a copper plate, with shading created by many fine cut lines, or hatching. Before printing takes place, the plate is heated, covered with ink. The warm ink seeps into the finest of depressions and fills the lines and textures of the drawing. The rest of the plate is cleaned off. The copper plate is now pressed with a printing press on to moistened paper which soaks up the ink from the depressions in the plate. The copperplate-engraving technique is very exacting, time-consuming and exhausting for the engraver, who needs a lot of strength for it.

Condition:
Appears to be in Very Good condition for a centuries-old engraving. Very little age-toning for an antique print this old.

These prints are very old & may have imperfections expected with age, such as age-toning of the paper, oxidation of the old original watercolors, spots, text-offsetting, artifacts from having been bound into a book & handled, etc. Please examine the photos & details carefully.

Size: 11 x 8-1/2 inches approximately.

Combined Shipping:
Yes! Multiple prints can be combine into one tube. eBay should auto-combine your items if you put all of your selections into your shopping cart & check out all together as one order. If you purchase them individually, eBay charges shipping on each, which I then will need to refund after. If you're assessed multiple shipping charges for one combined package, I will endeavor to refund any overage asap. 

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