Lot 308: 9 EDWARD JULIUS DETMOLD (1882-1957) INSECT PRINTS

9 Edward Julius Detmold (1883-1957) Professuonally framed and Matted Insect Plates from Fabre's Book of Insects, 1921. All in matching gilt frames with cream matts. In frame each 11 1/2"x12 1/2"x1". Weight on all 15 pds. PROVENANCE: A Private Charleston SC Estate. Edward Julius Detmold and his twin brother Charles Maurice Detmold were prolific Victorian book illustrators.Edward and his twin brother Charles Maurice Detmold (1883 – 1908) were born in London in 1883. They were tutored by an uncle who fostered their artistic talents and their love of natural history. Their animal subjects were always among the most sensitive of their drawings. Prodigious early talents, they exhibited watercolours at the Royal Academy when they were 13 and had a portfolio of etchings issued in 1898. The brothers worked jointly on their etchings and illustrations. Their first book illustrations were produced jointly for the 1899 Pictures From Birdland. Their next project, at the age of 20, was a portfolio of sixteen watercolours inspired by Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book. They were well on their way to joint and individual success when Maurice suddenly committed suicide in 1908 – he was twenty-four years of age. No satisfactory explanation for the act has even been given. The coroner's inquest returned a verdict of suicide 'whilst unsound of mind' and there was apparently a note as well.

good