New identifications of natural history images on the “Bodleian Plate”, an early eighteenth-century engraved copperplate

Abstract

The “Bodleian Plate”, an early eighteenth-century engraved copper printing plate, bears a series of images of buildings erected in Williamsburg, Virginia, USA, as well as depictions of plants and animals. Four of these natural history images portray fragments of marine algae here identified as Sargassum spp. (Sargassaceae) and Ascophyllum nodosum (Fucaceae). A fifth botanical subject is identified as fragments of the inflorescences of Tilia sp. (Malvaceae). Two of the Sargassum fragments show commensal marine organisms, a bryozoan (probably Jellyella tuberculata (Membraniporidae)) and goose barnacles ( Lepas sp. (Crustacea; Cirripedia)). A seahorse ( Hippocampus sp. (Syngnathidae)), a ground beetle and a spider are also depicted. These new identifications contradict the hypothesis that the illustrations portray agricultural or other commodities of financial importance in Virginia during the early 1700s. A putative link with William Byrd II of Westover, Virginia, is not supported by the natural history images.