Cabinets of natural curiosities were the precursors of today’s natural history museums. Essentially, they were collections, displayed in cabinets, of interesting specimens found in nature, including everything from insects to seashells, to plants to fossils, to monstrosities such as two-headed animals. The first ones appeared around 1500 in the courts of Italian princes but, by the following century, they were quite popular and widespread.     Albertus Seba (1665-1736), a Dutch apothecary, had one of the most extensive collections of natural curiosities in Europe. He sold his first collection to the Russian czar, Peter the Great, who used it to start the Russian natural history museum. He immediately started another collection and items from it can be found in the Zoological Museum in Amsterdam, the British Museum in London and the Natural History Museum in Stockholm.       Throughout his life, Seba commissioned artists to draw all the specimens in his cabinets as they would have appeared in life. He had them engraved and published them as a set of folios. This poster was created from those folios. It's a great tribute to the beginning of today’s natural history museums.      Great care went into selecting a diverse range of subjects. They include shells, coral, insects, reptiles, fish, crustaceans and many other natural curiosities. They are presented within a “cabinet” border permitting everybody to have their very own curiosity cabinet.

Standard poster is large 24" x 36" size that fits standard frames.  Printed on heavy, acid-free paper using non-fade inks, then coated to provide satin finish and provide protection from UV rays and scratching.  Laminated poster is standard poster encapsulated in 3 mil plastic.

Standard: No. GA110-CCS.  Only $9.95 Laminated:     No. GA110-CCL.  Only $14.95