Specimen drawer of Scarabaeidae (scarab and dung beetles), Castlenau Collection, Museums Victoria. Photograph by Rodney Start © Museums Victoria

In 1863 the French diplomat and 'gentleman amateur' natural historian the Comte de Castelnau and his collections arrived in Melbourne, where he was French Consul (aside from a short stint in Sydney) until his death in 1880. In 1866, with his eyesight failing, he donated his specimen collection to the museum, which at that time occupied the same building as this library. Look closely at this image and you'll see some paper beetles – see the next image in this gallery, 'part 2', to find out why!

Guillaume-Antoine Olivier, Entomologie, ou, Histoire naturelle des insectes (Paris, 1789), Rare Books Collection, State Library Victoria

Zoologist Guillaume-Antoine Olivier (1756–1814) travelled extensively through Egypt, the Middle East, Asia Minor and the Mediterranean, before returning to his home in France with a huge insect collection. His multi-volume work on entomology quickly became a standard taxonomic text in that field. These volumes were integral to the Comte de Castelnau's scientific practice; he ticked off specimens collected and, as can be seen in this image, cut out from the tomes those he could not find for inclusion in his specimen drawers.

Louis Renard, Poissons, ecrevisses et crabes de diverses couleurs et figures extraordinaires (Fish, lobsters and crabs of diverse colours and extraordinary shapes), Amsterdam, Chez Reiner & Josué Ottens, 1754

A product of Dutch colonisation in the East Indies, the plates in this book were based on drawings commissioned by colonial governors of the Moluccas (Maluku Islands) and the provinces of Ambon and Banda. The colours are spectacularly gaudy, but many of the fish are identifiable species. Others seem to be fanciful inventions, such as this illustration of a mermaid, although it is certified as authentic by the editor.

Octavian Dalvimart, The costume of Turkey, London, printed for W Miller by W Bulmer, 1804, Rare Books Collection, State Library Victoria

The French artist Octavian Dalvimart travelled extensively throughout Turkey in 1798, observing people and requesting them to pose in often elaborate and beautiful traditional costumes. Each of the 60 plates in this book has a description of the person in English, with a French translation printed overleaf. Ottoman costumes depicted include those of palace high officials, elite women, manual labourers, Tartars, and inhabitants of Albania, Bosnia and the Greek islands.

John Gould, A monograph of the Trochilidæ, or, A family of humming-birds, London, published by the author, 1849–61, Rare Books Collection, State Library Victoria

Native to the Americas, the tiny hummingbird fascinated and beguiled Victorian England. Ornithologist and zoological illustrator John Gould capitalised on this interest with a display of his own stuffed hummingbird collection at the 1851 Great Exhibition in London; it attracted more than 75,000 visitors, including Queen Victoria herself. For the 360 plates in his five-volume publication on hummingbirds, Gould patented a process of applying silver or gold leaf, oils and washes of colour to mimic the shimmering quality of hummingbird feathers.

Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Vedute di Roma (Views of Rome), Paris, Francesco Piranesi, 1800, Rare Books Collection, State Library Victoria

Combining the eye of an artist, the structural knowledge of an architect and the painstaking fieldwork of an archaeologist, Venetian-born engraver Giovanni Battista Piranesi documented the ruins of classical architecture at a time when many of these remnants lay half-buried in otherwise deserted pasture lands. His spectacular prints became an indispensable souvenir for the educated European travellers who flocked to Rome in the 18th century, and served as patterns for Enlightenment architecture and design.

John James Audubon, The birds of America, London, published by the author, 1827–38, Rare Books Collection, State Library Victoria

Born in Haiti and raised in France, John James Audubon migrated to America in 1803 at the age of 18. After a failed business venture, he devoted himself to his passion: an ornithological survey of North American birds, funded by subscribers and published in London. His life-size paintings, based on his observations and specimens, were transferred to copperplates, printed and then hand-coloured by a team of artists. A complete edition comprises 435 double-elephant folio plates, issued in 87 parts over 11 years.