These antique prints of fish are by Jonathan Couch (1789 - 1870). Couch was born in Cornwall. He was a doctor, fascinated by many things! He wrote articles for scientific, medical and historical journals.
His most notable work was "A History of the Fishes of the British Islands". This was the first ever with colour plates of fish found in British waters.
Why had it taken so long for someone to do this? The answer is there are a lot of fish species and you need to observe them fresh, as the colours rapidly fade. Couch spent many hours at fishing docks, keeping his eyes peeled for any he did not recognise. Then he had to speedily paint the fish whilst fresh.
His hand coloured engravings are based on his paintings. They're excellent. A testimony to his scientific knowledge and artistic talent.
Here are some of the engravings for you to choose from. They are genuine antiques, made in the 1870s.