Lithography and the art of polite criticism

Another old zoological lithographic illustration. This one, an illustration of Flustra foliacea  comes from the 1869 book The World of the Sea, a translation by the Rev. H. Martyn Hart of Le Monde de la Mer by Mons. Moquin Tandon.

Hart's preface ends with a delightfully polite, yet barbed criticism of another author, M. Figuier: it reads -

" Another book on the same subject was published a few months ago, The Ocean World, by M, Figuier, who has not scrupled to copy verbatim frequently three or four consecutive pages at a time from Le Monde de la Mer.  I mention this to secure for M. Moquin Tandon a proper portion of the credit M. Figuier may perchance acquire." 

Should you wish to know more about about Flustra foliacea then please take a look at a previous blip of mine.