V&A Bookmark - Papillons

Butterflies arranged with the precision of a specimen case and the colour sense of a Paris fashion house. Papillons — French for butterflies — was published by E.A. Séguy in Paris in 1925: eighty-one butterflies across sixteen compositions, at the absolute height of Art Deco.

Séguy was that rare thing, a serious entomologist who was also a superb designer. He insisted in his introduction that these were accurate portraits of real tropical butterflies rather than inventions, naming each species and its country of origin, and he obtained the specimens with considerable difficulty. Each plate was then printed by pochoir, the painstaking French stencil technique where every colour requires its own separate stencil, applied by hand. The results were intended to inspire textile and wallpaper designers — and they duly did, for decades.

A beautiful small gift for a butterfly enthusiast, a lover of Art Deco, or anyone who appreciates the point where science and decoration meet.

Come and see the full V&A range in the shop in Canterbury — there's always more on the shelves than we can fit online.

Key features

• Papillons butterfly design by E.A. Séguy, from the V&A collection
• From the celebrated portfolio published in Paris in 1925 — 81 butterflies in 16 compositions
• Originally produced by pochoir, the hand-stencilled French printing technique
• Officially licensed V&A product
• Perfect for butterfly and nature lovers, Art Deco fans and pattern enthusiasts
  

FAQ

• Who was E.A. Séguy? A French designer and entomologist (1877–1951), known for a series of superb pochoir portfolios spanning Art Nouveau and Art Deco, of which Papillons is the most famous.
• What is Papillons? His 1925 Paris portfolio of butterfly plates — 81 butterflies arranged in 16 compositions, based on real specimens and named by species.
• What is pochoir? A labour-intensive French hand-stencilling technique popular in the 1920s, in which every colour in a design is applied through its own separate stencil.
• Is it an official V&A product? Yes, produced under licence from the Victoria and Albert Museum.
• Is it suitable as a gift? Yes — a lovely small gift on its own, and light enough to post inside a card.