Pot bellied sea horse, plate 18 of William Beulow Gould’s Sketchbook of Fishes. Gould (1801-1853) was an English painter who was transported to an Australian penal colony after being convicted of several petty offenses. During his sentence he was assigned to several naturalists in Tasmania (then Van Diemen’s Land) who commissioned him to document the local wildlife and landscape. His book of fish was painted circa 1832 in the Macquarie Harbor Penal Station; in 2011 UNESCO designated it a world heritage document. The State Library of Tasmania has a gorgeous hi-res digital version which you should spend a few minutes perusing, if you like fishies and stuff. View high resolution

Pot bellied sea horse, plate 18 of William Beulow Gould’s Sketchbook of Fishes.

Gould (1801-1853) was an English painter who was transported to an Australian penal colony after being convicted of several petty offenses. During his sentence he was assigned to several naturalists in Tasmania (then Van Diemen’s Land) who commissioned him to document the local wildlife and landscape.

His book of fish was painted circa 1832 in the Macquarie Harbor Penal Station; in 2011 UNESCO designated it a world heritage document. The State Library of Tasmania has a gorgeous hi-res digital version which you should spend a few minutes perusing, if you like fishies and stuff.