Life underwater and the changing aquatic environment is shown in splendor in LOST FISH, a beautiful collection of detailed antique illustrations focusing on endangered marine life, from luxury book publisher ASSOULINE.

LOST FISH offers a chance to mediate on the dazzling beauty of marine life through more than 200 colorful illustrations that invite readers to see a world as it was, and as it might become if we don’t protect the environment. The art has been culled from scientific illustrations from the nineteenth century anthology of the work of The Count de Lapecede, the foremost authority, of his time, on aquatic species. The intricate prints remind readers of the fragile environment in which we live, and provide a visual history.

The embellished details and lavish color renderings are a romantic appreciation for the fleeting species of the briny deep blue. These ornate prints are a celebratory embodiment to have all your own before it’s too late. Reminiscent of an enlightened era, where the fascination of nature is observed through hand drawn scientific illustrations, these prints display the beautiful vulnerability of the creatures in a simple isolated backdrop.

Elizabeth Kolbert, an acclaimed environmental reporter, draws our awareness on the impending jeopardy of our marine life in their deteriorating habitat. She is a staff reporter at The New Yorker and author of Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature and Climate Change (Bloomsbury, 2006).