Ichthyology in Print (1504-2004): The Gerald F. and Marjorie G. Fitzgerald Fish Book Collection offers the rare opportunity to view some of the most exquisite examples of printmaking in a single collection. Made up of 142 volumes, the collection provides stellar examples of five centuries of Western printmaking, typography, and bookbinding. Printed in seven languages, the monographs serve as an exemplary compilation of fish scholarship including pre-Linnaean (pre-1735) naturalists Pierre Belon, Ippolito Salviani, and Guillaume Rondelet. The seminal works Piscium, Serpentum, Insectorum, written and illustrated by Mark Catesby, and Allgemeine Naturgeschichte der Fische, written by Marcus Bloch, are also on display.
The exhibit Ichthyology in Print intends to highlight the art of print and bookmaking. The enlarged prints enable viewers to see the detail in the etchings and engravings that create the meticulous illustrations within the Fitzgerald volumes. Contemporary artists Andy Owen and Joan Sonnenberg have generously loaned their works to the exhibit, providing the rare opportunity to view the plate alongside the subsequent print, both pieces of fine art.
Gerald F. and his wife Marjorie G. Fitzgerald graciously donated the Fish Book Collection to Florida Gulf Coast University Library in 2009. The beauty and scope of the Fish Book Collection has the Florida Gulf Coast University community indebted to the Fitzgerald family for providing our students, faculty, and Southwest Florida access to these rare books. In the near future, the FGCU Library hopes to digitize the collection, making it available to the global community of fish lovers and bibliophiles alike.
