Emile-Allain Séguy (1877-1951) 'Papillons' Plate No. 6, featuring exotic butterflies from India. Pochoir pattern lithograph, c1925. Published in Paris by Tolmer Editeur. Stamped lower left 'EA SEGUY', plate number upper left. Elaborately archived and matted with hand applied gilt and yellow boundary designs flanking a half inch wide peacock feather design; in a beaded gilt frame by Dorger Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio in the 1980's, where they were last sold, and kept in excellent condition since. 17" x 12", framed to 30" x 23". According to the Metropolitan Museum, "The depictions of butterflies in the illustration are remarkably detailed, revealing Séguy's unique interest in the scientific study of insects as a source of inspiration for artistic creation. This illustration was likely meant to inspire designs for textiles and wallpapers". The print was hand colored using the pochoir stencil technique, which allows for rich detailed colors in patterns. According to Ashley Jones, Preservation Librarian at the University of Miami Ohio, "While simple in concept, pochoir could become quite complex in practice, with some images requiring the use of 100 or so stencils to produce a single print. The technique was regularly used to produce plates in French fashion journals as well as being used to illustrate industrial design, textile, interiors, and architecture folios. Pochoir is thought to be a reaction to what was seen as a general debasement of machine printing technology during the time period. Jean Saudé, the individual who most influenced the pochoir technique, believed that pochoir was the only process which translated the artist’s original intent because it was entirely done by hand.