How lucky are we that someone held onto this 1822 French natural history dictionary? Probably protected it from wars, multiple changes of ownership and who knows what all. Today we get to enjoy the wonderful hand-painted book plates of the many animals it contained. This sea anemone drawing is one of two that were included in the first volume of this five volume work. The author was Jean Baptiste Geneviève Marcellin (1778-1846). I could not determine if there was any sort of recognition for the authors but I think it is safe to say that everything from this text is in the public domain.
Please forgive me that I can’t figure out the name of this orange sea anemone, after all, the book is in French and it’s not a language I know. Even without knowing exactly what this animal us, we can still enjoy this brightly orange-colored ocean-dweller. It looks a bit like a fancy vase with an orange vessel and a pretty leopard-spotted fringe around the top. But, this fellow is no simple vase. It is a predator of the deep that waves those fringe-like tendrils to attract unwary fish. The fish, once they enter the sea anemone are not there to be admire but to be devoured.
If you like the colors of this sea-life image, you might also want to check out another sea anemone drawing that was included in the same book.
This image is copyright free and in the public domain anywhere that extends copyrights 70 years after death or at least 120 years after publication when the original illustrator is unknown.
