Bernard d'Abrera

............The Australian entomologist and Natural History photographer (born 1940), is arguably the best-known 'Butterfly Man' in the world.

............Like John Gould, he is regarded by many as the most prolific publisher and original author in the world, of works devoted to his particular field of Natural History. But where John Gould employed the services of many artists and colourists, Bernard d'Abrera is responsible for almost 100% of the illustrations as well as the text in his volumes on butterflies and moths.

...........A graduate of the University of New South Wales, he first began his series on the butterflies of the world in 1970, with Butterflies of the Australian Region, now in its 3rd Edition. Since that time he has completed The Butterflies of the World in 18 volumes, and has now commenced the revision of his classic 1983 work on the Butterflies of the Afrotropical Region. He has also completed a monograph (1 volume) on the Hawkmoths of the World entitled Sphingidae Mundi, and 2 volumes of a projected 3-volume set on the Saturniid Moths of the World (Saturniidae Mundi). He is also revising his famous 1975 book devoted to The Birdwing Butterflies of the World (Ornithoptera Mundi). All his books are based on the peerless collections held in the British Museum (Natural History) in London.

In 1982 Bernard d'Abrera and his wife Lucilla, founded Hill House Publishers, as a means of taking under their control all stages of production of his books, in order to develop and improve the finished quality of the final work. As the work progresses, the quality of production reflects the lessons learned in the science and art of colour printing. These are now being applied by Hill House Publishers to all their publications including the John Gould Facsimile Series, as well as their facsimile reproductions of antiquarian maps, an atlas and other documents.