Faunae insectorum Germanicae initia oder Deutschlands Insecten gesammelt und herausgegeben von D. Georg Wolffgang Franz Panzer... Iahrgang erste [-neunte], Norimberga, 1796-180
Georg Wolfgang Franz Panzer (1755-1829) was a German botanist and entomologist. His large personal collection of insects was the base for his work Faunae Insectorum germanicae initia published in Nuremberg between 1796 and 1813.
It was put out as a series of booklets during 17 years (a was common practice for illustrated works on natural history in the 18th and 19th centuries) and illustrated by Jacob Sturm (1771-1848), with more than 2,600 hand-painted images of individual insects, reproduced in full scale. In its final state it consists of 109 units (pamphlets or hefte), collected in nine bound volumes, complemented by accurate and extremely detailed and realistic drawings.
The reproduction of the images in small format of 10 x 14 cm was strongly desired by Panzer himself, who, by selecting a less expensive format for publication compared to in folio, wished to make his work more accessible.