This antique color portrait features the colorful image of a single giant Portuguese Man-of-war. The print comes from the book The Book Of Fishes, Revised and Enlarged Edition, Presenting the Better Known Species of Food and Game Fishes of the Coastal and Inland Waters of the United States edited by John Oliver La Gorce, Litt.D., D.Sc. Vice President, National Geographic Society. The book was originally copyrighted in 1919. This edition published by the National Geographic Society of Washington, D.C. is from 1939. The colored plates were produced from original paintings by Hashime Murayama and Else Bostelmann.

This vintage print features the Portuguese Man-of-war which deals death to tiny tropic dwellers. It is actually a colony of cooperative polyps with each having their own function. Gas in the “sail” keeps the Man-of-war afloat and the long streamers have batteries of nettle cells so powerful that sailors stung by them have been known to die. The tentacles paralyze fish and convey them up to the mouth. Interestingly, the Portuguese Man-of-war Fish, seen in the image, lives unharmed in the tentacles and helps lure prey. The print is professionally matted in a large 11” x 14” reddish-orange colored matte to setoff the beauty of the fish. Our vintage prints are shipped in a plastic sleeve between cardboard stiffeners to arrive in perfect condition.

Keep in mind, an antique print will never be “perfect” like a new print and there are sometimes tiny occasional spots and/or discoloring or aging. However, we only sell mint or almost mint prints and will not sell anything that we would not be proud to hang on our own walls!!!