Imagery of goldfish in living color from “Histoire naturelle des dorades de la Chine”, published in France in 1780. Written by Louis-Edme Billardon de Sauvigny, but based on a roll of paintings and notes sent to Louis XV’s court minister, Henri-Léonard Bertin, by two Chinese priests with whom he was in close contact.

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Kin-yu: 1. Le Souci – 2. La Capucine. Dessiné en Chin. François-Nicolas Martinet, engraver. Hand colored engraving. Page 44 of Louis-Edme Billardon de Sauvigny’s Histoire naturelle des dorades de la Chine. Published in 1780. Harvard University, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Ernst Mayer Library Collections. In the public domain due to age. https://archive.org/details/histoirenaturell00bill/page/n44/mode/1up

Kin-Yu: 1. La Mouche – 2. Le Marbré. Dessiné en Chin. François-Nicolas Martinet, engraver. Hand colored engraving. Page 46 of Louis-Edme Billardon de Sauvigny’s Histoire naturelle des dorades de la Chine. Published in 1780. Harvard University, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Ernst Mayer Library Collections. In the public domain due to age. https://archive.org/details/histoirenaturell00bill/page/n46/mode/1up
Kin-yu: Le Mauricot. Dessiné en Chin. François-Nicolas Martinet, engraver. Hand colored engraving. Page 56 of Louis-Edme Billardon de Sauvigny’s Histoire naturelle des dorades de la Chine. Published in 1780. Harvard University, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Ernst Mayer Library Collections. In the public domain due to age. https://archive.org/details/histoirenaturell00bill/page/n56/mode/1up
Ouen-Yu: 1. La Jujube – 2. Le Baté. Dessiné en Chin. François-Nicolas Martinet, engraver. Hand colored engraving. Page 60 of Louis-Edme Billardon de Sauvigny’s Histoire naturelle des dorades de la Chine. Published in 1780. Harvard University, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Ernst Mayer Library Collections. In the public domain due to age. https://archive.org/details/histoirenaturell00bill/page/n60/mode/1up
Ya-Tan-Yu ou Oeufs de Canne: 1. Le Ferrugineux – 2. Le Tettard – 3. Le Frangirouge. Dessiné en Chin. François-Nicolas Martinet, engraver. Hand colored engraving. Page 72 of Louis-Edme Billardon de Sauvigny’s Histoire naturelle des dorades de la Chine. Published in 1780. Harvard University, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Ernst Mayer Library Collections. In the public domain due to age. https://archive.org/details/histoirenaturell00bill/page/n72/mode/1up
Kin-Yu: 1. Le Mauri-jaune – 2. l’Ensanglanté – 3. le Tout-Chair. Dessiné en Chin. François-Nicolas Martinet, engraver. Hand colored engraving. Page 82 of Louis-Edme Billardon de Sauvigny’s Histoire naturelle des dorades de la Chine. Published in 1780. Harvard University, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Ernst Mayer Library Collections. In the public domain due to age. https://archive.org/details/histoirenaturell00bill/page/n82/mode/1up

Kun-Yu: Le Vermillon. Dessiné en Chin. François-Nicolas Martinet, engraver. Hand colored engraving. Page 93 of Louis-Edme Billardon de Sauvigny’s Histoire naturelle des dorades de la Chine. Published in 1780. Harvard University, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Ernst Mayer Library Collections. In the public domain due to age. https://archive.org/details/histoirenaturell00bill/page/n93/mode/1up
Kin-Yu: 1. le Souffré – 2. le Petit-Gris. Dessiné en Chin. François-Nicolas Martinet, engraver. Hand colored engraving. Page 111 of Louis-Edme Billardon de Sauvigny’s Histoire naturelle des dorades de la Chine. Published in 1780. Harvard University, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Ernst Mayer Library Collections. In the public domain due to age. https://archive.org/details/histoirenaturell00bill/page/n111/mode/1up

Choui-Yu ou Dormeurs: 1. l’Emirube – 2. Le Palimembres – 3. Le Jaunitaché. Dessiné en Chin. François-Nicolas Martinet, engraver. Hand colored engraving. Page 119 of Louis-Edme Billardon de Sauvigny’s Histoire naturelle des dorades de la Chine. Published in 1780. Harvard University, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Ernst Mayer Library Collections. In the public domain due to age. https://archive.org/details/histoirenaturell00bill/page/n119/mode/1up

I didn’t come across this rare book in an auction catalog. I found an article about it in an email from Public Domain Review here. The article has much fascinating information both about goldfish and the author and engraver. https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/chinese-fishes/?utm_source=newsletter

Published by sarahbguestperry

On a voyage to see how much mileage I can get from the creative ability and eye for images that my family thought was useless. On line art curator, fiction writer and now blogger. Historian's daughter. Follow me . . .even I have no idea where I'm going next.

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