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“I was looking at some of the fantastic animal books we have and I was going through the pages of the wonderful Theatre of Insects, or Insectorum sive Minimorum Animalium Theatrum to give it its true title . . . While looking through our copy I chanced upon a butterfly (a small tortoiseshell I think) next to its accompanying image. There is a striking similarity between the woodcut and butterfly, which of course was the intention so that the various species could be identified by the amateur insect enthusiast.” The librarian noted that the find was rather unexpected, “It is relatively common to find  botanical specimens  inside old books, but unusual to find an insect specimen. This one could have been put there by the first owner back in the 17th century, and if so it is amazing that is has survived there for so long.” 

City ofUnited kingdomTheodore mayerneTrinity hallMusei petiverianiTrinity hall cambridgeEdward wottonJenni lecky thompsonLawrence strangmanThomas pennyMarek slusarczykJames petiverConrad gesnerMinimorum animalium theatrumCambridge universityCambridge university library