Name/Title
CE 1657 John Jonston, Domestic Fowl, Guinea Fowl, and Ornamental Chickens (Tab. 19)Description
John Jonston (1603–1675)
After Matthäus Merian the Elder (1593–1650)
From Historiae naturalis de avibus
Amsterdam: Johannes Jacobus Schipper, 1657
Copper engraving on paper with hand coloring
Plate 19
This plate presents several varieties of domestic and ornamental fowl, including chickens and guinea fowl, arranged individually against an otherwise largely blank field. Latin labels distinguish the forms represented, allowing differences in plumage, crests, tails, combs, and body shape to be compared directly.
The inclusion of visibly unusual varieties reflects early modern naturalists’ interest in variation within domesticated animals as well as in species imported into Europe through expanding commercial and colonial networks. Such images circulated alongside descriptions compiled from earlier natural histories, contemporary reports, specimens, and observation.
Jonston’s Historiae naturalis was intended as a broad synthesis of zoological knowledge rather than a taxonomic work in the modern sense. The comparative arrangement of these birds nevertheless anticipates the increasing use of standardized illustrations to document anatomical and morphological differences.
The illustrations derive from the visual tradition of Matthäus Merian the Elder’s workshop. This impression belongs to the 1657 Amsterdam edition.Create Date
August 1, 2026Update Date
September 6, 2026
