Butterfly Book Pages

These butterfly book pages are the first three pages of an encyclopedia article about butterflies.

The first page also includes a brief illustrated article about the buttercup, a yellow wild flower or weed of the roadside and field, found in England, The United States and Canada.

A short poem, under the illustration, reads:

“The buttercups, bright-eyed and bold,
Held up their chalices of gold
To catch the sunshine and the dew.”
– DORR, in Centennial Poem.

The second page includes a labelled sketch of the principal parts of a butterfly. The following parts are identified: (a) Antennae; (b) Body; (c) Wings; (d) Mandibles; and (e) Eyes. A labelled sketch of the outline of a butterfly wing is also included on the second page. The parts identified are: (a) Apex; (b) Base; (c) Costal margin; (d) Discal area; (e) Limbal area; (f) Outer margin; (g) Inner angle; and (h) Inner margin.

The following short poem by Thomas Wentworh Higginson, a lover of butterflies, is included on the second page:
 
“Birds have their nests; they rear their eager young,
And flit on errands all the livelong day;
Each fieldmouse keeps the homestead whence it sprung;
But thou art Nature’s freeman – free to stray
Unfettered through the wood,
Seeking thine airy food,
The sweetness spiced on every blossomed spray.”

The third page includes an illustration of the life history of a butterfly. Included in the illustration are: (1) Eggs, highly magnified; (2) caterpillar; (3) chrysalis; and (4) butterfly.

Here are black and white clip art versions of the labelled sketches from the second page and the illustration from the third page.

I scanned the original vintage butterfly book pages from an encyclopedia in my collection that was published in the United States in 1922.

New in my Etsy shop is a shabby printable altered art collaged paper pack.

Preview image is linked to my shop.