ABOUT 

Large-scale antique wall chart of the anatomy of the "emys orbicularis", (European pond turtle). Lithograph on two sheets of paper, mounted on canvas. Vibrant colors, some creasing and discolouration, slightly cropped at the top and bottom, crack at the center top, protective taping at the edges, but overall very good condition considering its age and use. Author and illustrator was Prof. Dr. Paul Pfurtscheller. Pfurtscheller (1855-1927) produced a series of 39 "Zoologische Wandtafeln" (zoological wall plates) to be used for higher educational purposes. Although he was a modest high school teacher by training he gained recognition by the scientific community worldwide for this outstanding work. The turtle is "Plate 20" in the series, easily one of the most striking compositions that Pfurtscheller had created and one of the rarest Pfurtschellers. Especially from the early editions not many have survived, definitely not in such a great condition. The Pfurtscheller wall charts were first published in Vienna, Austria, in 1902, by 'A. Pichler's Witwe & Sohn'. Later editions were also published by Dutch company 'Martinus Nijhoff' until 1953. This item was pubished in Vienna, Austria, by 'A. Pichler's Witwe & Sohn' presumably in 1913. Beautiful use of colors and it is one of the early lithographed editions, whereas later editions used offset-printing. Lithography of course is an enormously demanding technique, especially at this large-scale, which required 15-20 manual print-cycles for a single piece, since each color had to be applied seperately. These colors of course were not supposed to overlap in the end. This process is what gives lithographs their extraordinary depth and unusual longevity to their colors.

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