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Heart Spotted Woodpeckers: A 19th C. Gould Hand-colored Lithograph

Creator: John Gould
Offered by: Timeless Intaglio – Rare Prints, Maps & Books

Description
This is a hand-colored folio sized lithograph entitled "Hemicircus Cordatus" (Heart Spotted Woodpecker) by John Gould from his monograph "The Birds of Asia", published in London in 1850-1883. The print, which was drawn by Gould and J. W. Hart and lithographed by Hullmandel and Walton, depicts two black and pale yellow-colored woodpeckers, one with brown on its breast, perched on a tree limb with sage colored bark and pea green moss. As their name suggests, there are heart-shaped spots on their back feathers.

This beautiful Gould hand-colored woodpecker lithograph measures 21" x 14.13". There are punctate spots in the lower margin on the left. It is otherwise in excellent condition. The original text page is included with a round blindstamp in the right lower corner.

There are several other unframed Gould woodpecker and other bird lithographs available via our 1stdibs storefront. Two or more of these would make an attractive display grouping. A discount is available for purchase of a set depending on the number. These additional Gould hummingbirds may be viewed by typing Timeless Intaglio in the search field and tapping on the drop down name to be taken to our 1stdibs storefront.

Artist: John Gould (1804-1881]) was an English ornithologist and artist. He, like his American contemporary John James Audubon, published a number of books on birds in the mid 19th century, illustrated by hand-colored lithographs. His wife and fellow artist, Elizabeth Gould, and several other artists including Edward Lear and Henry Constantine Richter produced lithographs for his various publications. He has been considered the father of bird study in Australia and the Gould League in Australia is named after him. Charles Darwin referenced Gould’s work in his book, "On the Origin of Species" and Gould named a bird after Darwin; "Darwin's finches".

Gould began his career in London as a taxidermist, but in 1827 became the first curator and conservator at the museum of the Zoological Society of London. In this position naturalists brought him collections of birds from all over the world. He began creating drawings and eventually hand-colored lithographs with his wife and Edward Lear, which were the basis for his first publications. Darwin brought him specimens from the Galapagos Islands, including 12 species of finches which had never been described. In 1838, Gould and his wife travelled to Australia and their work led to the seven volume publication of “The Birds of Australia”. Gould had a fascination for hummingbirds and collected specimens of 320 varieties before ever seeing a live hummingbird on a trip to the United States in 1857. He eventually published “A Monograph of the Trochilidae, or Family of Humming-birds". Other large publications include: "The Birds of Europe"," A Monograph of the Ramphastidae, or Family of Toucans”, “A Synopsis of the Birds of Australia, and the Adjacent Islands”, “A Monograph of the Odontophorinae, or Partridges of America”, “The Birds of Asia”, “The Birds of Great Britain” and "The Birds of New Guinea and the Adjacent Papuan Islands, including many new species recently discovered in Australia".

More Information

Documentation:	Signed
Period:	19th Century
Condition:	Good.
Creation Date:	1850
Styles / Movements:	Traditional
Incollect Reference #:	582326

Dimensions

W.	14.13 in;	H.	21 in;
W.	35.89 cm;	H.	53.34 cm;

Message from Seller:

Timeless Intaglio is an online gallery of rare and collectable antiquarian prints, maps and books. Although we specialize in all forms of vintage printed works on paper, the majority were created with the intaglio method of transferring ink from a plate, usually copper, to paper with a technique utilizing pressure generated by a press. Email us directly: rbreiman@timelessintaglio.com