The Timber Rattlesnake
Mark Catesby, 1731–1743
$82
Print check at 10 x 8 in: 204 dpi, excellent. Trimmed 7.3% to the shape of the print.
Shipping to a US address: $24.80 for this piece, from the print room in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Checkout is not open yet. Your cart is saved on this device.
Catesby coils his timber rattlesnake into a tight defensive spiral, head raised and tongue extended, its diamond-patterned body rendered scale by scale — one of the more technically demanding plates in the Natural History, and a reminder that Catesby documented the region's dangers as thoroughly as its beauty. Two supplementary studies flank the main figure: the segmented rattle itself, drawn at two different lengths to show how it grows with age (a new segment is added at each shed, though the popular myth that segment count reliably tells a rattlesnake's exact age is false), and a single isolated fang. What to notice: European audiences reading Catesby's book had largely never encountered a venomous snake firsthand — this plate functioned as much as a practical warning for prospective colonists as a scientific record, hazard and specimen in the same image.
- Maker
- Mark Catesby
- Date
- 1731–1743
- Medium of the original
- Plate
- Original held by
- Wikimedia Commons
- Credit
- Wikimedia Commons
- Rights
- Public domain, verified
- Catalogue number
- PA-00289
| Picture | 10 x 8 in |
|---|---|
| Outside size | 11.6 x 9.6 in |
| Depth | 0.9 in (22 mm) |
| Weight | [[REAL PROOF NEEDED: shipped weight per size and frame]] |
| Hanging | [[REAL PROOF NEEDED: hanging hardware Prodigi fits to this frame]] |
| Material | Enhanced matte art paper, 200 gsm; acrylic glazing |
| Made in | Charlotte, North Carolina, by Prodigi |
Before a size goes on sale, the file is measured against it: pixels per inch at that size, how much of the picture a crop would lose, tone and sharpness. A size that fails is not offered, so there is nothing to choose wrong.
| Size | dpi | Grade | How it fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 x 8 in | 204 | Excellent | Trimmed 7.3% |
| Size | Why |
|---|---|
| 12 x 8 in | Wrong shape: a 10% crop |
| 14 x 11 in | 148 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 16 x 12 in | 136 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 18 x 12 in | Wrong shape: a 10% crop |
| 20 x 16 in | 102 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 24 x 16 in | Wrong shape: a 10% crop |
| 24 x 18 in | 90 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 30 x 20 in | Wrong shape: a 10% crop |
| 30 x 24 in | 68 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 36 x 24 in | Wrong shape: a 10% crop |
| 40 x 30 in | 54 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 48 x 36 in | 45 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 60 x 40 in | Wrong shape: a 10% crop |
- Scanned
- 2026-10-07
- Master file
- 2,200 x 1,632 px, srgb
- Tone
- Darks 82, lights 246 of 255; 0% clipped light, 0% clipped dark
- Colour
- 0% vivid
- Sharpness
- 23.61
- Notes
- Neutrals lean warm (yellow): the paper and varnish of the original, kept as scanned
Shipping for this piece to a US address is $24.80, the print room’s own rate, charged per piece. Checkout shows the total before you pay.
Every piece is printed after you order it, in Charlotte, North Carolina, and ships from there. For now we ship to US addresses only.
A piece that arrives damaged, misprinted or in the wrong size is replaced at our cost. The details: shipping and returns and replacements.
Cabinet of Curiosities
The old world’s book of wonders, for your wall.
All 69 pieces from Cabinet of Curiosities
