Berlin, privately published, 1782-1795. Oblong folio (24.7 x 38.4 cm). Well-preserved hand-painted engraving of exotic fish.

A very attractive, original plate from Bloch's edition of foreign and exotic fishes - if not the most attractive of all. The exotic fish engravings are arguably the most spectacular produced by Bloch, surpassing his magnum opus, which is on German fish, and this goldfish print is widely regarded as the best. Bloch, a German Doctor and Naturalist, is considered to be one the most important ichthyologist of the 18th-century and his collection of roughly 1500 specimens are preserved in Humboldt University's Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin. All of the prints are beautifully coloured, with a fine glazing that cannot be reproduced in modern prints. Bloch's plates often have one or two folds, if they are from the 8vo edition of Bloch's work, which is usually the case, as is this copy. Otherwise in excellent condition with minor discoloration and a rough left edge of the sheet, leaving ample clean margin. In contrast to many Bloch plates, this one was deliberately printed in red, to support the general "orange redness" of the goldfishes depicted. Dean I, p. 139; Nissen Schöne Fischbücher, 22.