Vespae (Hornets) - D. F. Sotzmann, 1784.
This illustration of the Vespa genus (hornets) by D. F. Sotzmann was made for Johan Herbst's Kurze Einleitung zur Kenntniss der Insekten für Ungeubte und Anfänger.
Born in Petershagen bei Minden, Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Herbst (1743-1807) was best known for joining Carl Gustav Jablonsky in the Sisyphean effort to produce a comprehensive survey of the Order Coleoptera (beetles), an enormous task that resulted in the massive, but still incomplete Naturgeschichte der in-und ausländischen Insekten, 10 vols. (1785-1806).
An energetic and prolific author of essential works in entomology, his smaller Kurze Einleitung (a mere three volumes) attempts to survey the major taxa of what is now considered the phyllum arthropoda, including insects, spiders, crabs, and scorpions.
About this illustration
This natural-history plate shows hornets (Vespae, genus Vespa) from Johann F. W. Herbst’s Kurze Einleitung zur Kenntniss der Insekten, published in Berlin between 1784 and 1787. Plates from this period are credited to Herbst and D. F. Sotzmann, a Berlin cartographer and copper engraver. The clean engraved figures frame neatly as wall art and suit natural-history home decor.
Craft & finishOur hornet natural-history art print is made on hand-processed paper, highlighted with subtle gold and sealed with beeswax for an authentic parchment feel. Please note that colors can look slightly different from screen to screen.
Find more prints like this in the Insects collection.
Vespae (Hornets) Print - D. F. Sotzmann, 1784.
In case your print creases during the travel, as it usually does travel for some time, you can safely warm it up with a hair-dryer, and the wax will melt back right into it. You can also use a lighter, which is a much faster method, but be careful to keep the flame either above the paper or parallel to it (which means holding the paper vertically) so it doesn't smudge or even catch fire. The chance of the print actually creasing is very small, as they are rolled in bubble-wrap and shipped in a cardboard box. Also, be sure to keep the print out of the direct sunlight, as it can melt or fade.
Visit the link below to see more about how our replicas are made, how to display them, and repair the damage:
https://www.artifex-replicas.com/post/about-our-parchment-replicas
