Curtis, John

John Curtis was born in Norwich, England, on September 3, 1791. During his school years he developed a talent for drawing, and began to collect butterflies. In 1807, he began to work for a solicitor. However, through contact with insect collectors, he found employment as curator and illustrator of insects. After some 12 years he began work on his series of books on “British entomology”, whose first part was published in 1824, with the last, part 16, in 1839. These works were illustrated by his 769 magnificent color plates. He also (1829) published “A guide to an arrangement of British insects.” In 1841 he became editor of the insect part of “Gardener’s Chronicle” and wrote over 100 articles for it, under the pseudonym ‘Ruricola.’ He died on October 6, 1862, in London.