Oblong 8vo album containing 10 finely drawn ink and color drawings on pith paper, each measuring about 105 x 168 mm, and mounted onto larger sheets (238 x 150 mm) within blue printed borders. (Some overall browning from adhesive, some minor cracking with occasional small losses.) Bound in 19th-century cloth-covered boards (rebacked). Provenance: Mrs. M. N. Clarke (signature, with a note that the album was given to the owner in 1862).

The subjects include flowering pants, birds and butterflies. Pith comes from the central column of spongy cellular tissue in the stem of the small tree Tetrapanax papyrifera, native to southwest China.  because of the nature of pith and its cellular structure, the pigment used sits on the surface of the sheet, and fine detail could be achieved.  Albums of pith paintings retain their vibrant colors.