Frohawk's The Natural History of British Butterflies

[nomad]

Frederick William Frohawk's two volume work,The Natural History of British Butterflies published in 1924 is a masterful work of great accuracy. Frohawk's skill as an illustrator enabled him to depict the early stages and adults in great detail. It took Frohawk 24 years to breed all 68 species of British Butterflies so that he could include the complete life cycle of the different species in his work. The books may never have been completed if it were not for the sponsorship of his friend Lord Walter Rothschild.

Anybody wishing to know more should get hold of a copy F. W. Frohawk His Life and Work by June Chatfield published in 1987.

[trehopr1]

Wow, this fellow Frohawk was most certainly a giant among British lepidopterists. To think of the man dedicating 24 years of his life to breeding out all the known species of his time is staggering..... I'm sure it's a great book but, how much does it cost on average and where would you even find a copy as it's probably considered a rare book by now and it gorgeous illustrations probably mean it's expensive.

[nomad]

Frohawk's great work is a medium rarity as regards British butterfly books, copies can be found here www.abebooks.co.uk/book-search/title/natural-history-of-british-butterflies/author/frohawk/

The distribution of British butterflies has changed much since Frohawk's day, the fields, woods and waysides were full of butterflies, many species were abundant at the time when he was writing and the great lepidopterist would no doubt be in disbelief at their decline.

What makes Frohawk's work a valuable resource, is the details and figures of the early stages, the latter a fine work of Art.