John Curtis (1791-1862) was an English entomologist and illustrator. He was born in Norwich and learned his engraving skills in the workshop of his father, Charles.

At the age of 16 he became an apprentice at a local lawyer's office but devoted his spare time to studying and drawing insects and, with insect collecting becoming a growing craze, he found he could make a living selling the specimens he found. Thus, when he left his legal job, he went to London and became probably the first ever professional entomologist.

His greatest achievement was British Entomology - being illustrations and descriptions of the genera of insects found in Great Britain and Ireland, widely considered one of the finest works on the subject of the nineteenth century. It was published monthly by subscription from 1824 to 1839, each instalment featuring four plates with 2 pages of text to accompany them. The finished work consisted of 16 volumes covering 769 insect species.

Curtis suffered with poor eyesight in later life and, by the end of 1856, was totally blind. Many years after his death, when the original illustrations for British Entomology were up for sale, there were fears that the precious collection would be split up. The whole collection was, however, purchased by Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild and later bequeathed to the Natural History Museum, where they remain today.

External Link

Biography and images of plates from British Entomology on Natural History Museum official site [1]