Christian Schussele - Ocean Life - Vintage Coral Reef Print, Watercolor Lithograph, Archival Museum Quality

This is a museum-quality archival giclée print, carefully produced on 310gsm Canson BFK Rives 100% cotton rag paper, using archival pigment inks. The image has been digitally restored from high-resolution museum and gallery scans to correct tonal range, damage, and age-related artifacts, then printed individually as a fine art print, not a mass-produced poster.

All prints are shipped flat, including large sizes, in heavy-duty, multi-layer protective packaging. This prevents curling and ensures your print arrives flat and ready to frame.

🖼️ THE ARTWORK

"Ocean Life", by Christian Schussele, is one of the earliest American submarine illustrations and was created expressly for lithographic reproduction in a pamphlet of the same title published in Philadelphia in 1859. James M. Sommerville (1825 - 1899), a physician, amateur naturalist, member of the Academy of Natural Sciences, as well as an artist and a trustee of the Pennsylvania Academy, was probably the designer of the watercolor. He collected the specimens, wrote the text of the pamphlet and lithographed the image.

🎨 THE ARTIST

Christian Schussele (born 16 April 1824 in Guebwiller, Alsace – 20 August 1879 in Merchantville, New Jersey) was an American artist and teacher, and is credited with designing the American Medal of Honor. He studied under Adolphe Yvon and Paul Delaroche 1842–1848 and then came to the United States. There, for some time, he worked at chromolithography which he had also pursued in France. Later he devoted himself almost entirely to painting. Schussele served as a professor at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts from 1868 until his death in 1879.

💎 THE PRINT

• A2 Size = 59.4cm x 42cm = 23.4" x 16.5"
• A3 Size = 42cm x 29.7cm = 16.5" x 11.7"
• A4 Size = 29.7cm x 21cm = 11.7" x 8.25"
• High resolution archival giclée print - A3/A4 = 600dpi, A2 = 425dpi
• Printed to order
• Unframed & unmounted
• Professionally printed using Canon imagePROGRAF printers
• Digitally restored by OharaPrints from high resolution scans of the original artwork
• Made in and shipped from Casterton, Victoria, Australia

📜 FINE ART PAPER

• Canson Infinity - Arches BFK Rives
• Paper weight = 310gsm
• 100% cotton rag
• Archival, museum grade
• Acid free
• No OBAs (optical brightening agents)

Arches BFK Rives is a high-quality, archival-grade paper manufactured at the Arches paper mill in France - one of the oldest papermakers in Europe. It is made from 100% cotton rag using a time-honoured manufacturing process, giving the paper exceptional durability, longevity, and resistance to yellowing or deterioration over time. Despite its substantial weight and thickness it maintains a very soft and supple feel. The paper has a natural white tone and is completely free of any optical brighteners (OBAs), allowing for superb colour rendition and deep blacks.

✨ PIGMENT INKS

• Canon Lucia Pro Inks
• Pigment based
• Archival, museum-grade
• Brilliant colours, even gradient and razor-sharp lines
• Highly stable and fade resistant, excellent humidity-fastness

📦 SHIPPING & HANDLING

• All orders are dispatched on the NEXT BUSINESS DAY after receiving the order
• All prints are shipped via AUSTRALIA POST with TRACKING
• All prints are shipped flat, not rolled
• Each print is individually placed into a resealable, archival grade plastic protective sleeve
• Prints are carefully packaged to prevent bending or folding during transit
• All postal packaging is plant-based, recyclable & compostable