Fishes
The example above of the mesopelagic crested oarfish colored by artist and lithographer Karl Joseph Brodtmann (1787-1862) is from Naturgeschichte und Abbildungen der Fische, a work by Heinrich Rudolph Schniz (1777-1861). The work includes ninety-seven hand-colored copper plate engravings of more than 320 fishes. Schinz, Dr. Stiassny writes in Opulent Oceans, "borrowed heavily from authorities such as Marcus Elieser Bloch (1723-1799)...and others..." for his two-volume publication. Having never seen some of the actual specimens in the tome, some were incorrectly described or identified by Schinz. What remains, however, is a remarkably beautiful work of art which reflects the classifications of fishes in his day.
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