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Pair of 19th C. Hand-colored Lithographs of Ducks by John Gould

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

Description
A pair of hand-colored lithographs of ducks entitled "Tadorna Vulpanser" (Sheldrake Ducks) and "Mergus Umbellus' (Smew or Nun Ducks) from John Gould's publication "Birds of Great Britain", published in London by Taylor and Francis from 1862-1873 . The art was created by John Gould (1804-1881) and Henry Constantine Richter (1821-1902).

These beautiful duck prints are presented in identical black wood frames with gold inner borders with blue fabric mats and a maple colored inner mat. Each frame measures 22.25" x 29.75" x 1". There is scattered mild spotting.

Although these two prints in identical frames and mats would make an attractive display grouping, they may be purchased separately, if preferred, for $925/each. Message us if you would like to purchase one of these prints and we will re-list it as a single item to allow order placement.

John Gould was a contemporary of John James Audubon and every bit his equal in ambition and quality. Collectors in the 19th Century were fascinated with discoveries in natural history, especially the plants and wildlife of exotic lands. Gould published his first treatise in 1831; "A Century of Birds from the Himalaya Mountains". He soon followed with "Ramphastidae" and "Birds of Europe", which were very successful, providing funds for his travel with his wife to exotic locations, including Australia, New Zealand and New Guinea to study and draw birds in their natural habitat. From his sketches, artists, such as his wife Elizabeth Gould, Henry Richter and Edward Lear, transferred them to stone, hand printed and hand colored with exquisite detail.

As well as an accomplished artist, Gould was an outstanding scientific naturalist and entrepreneur. He created approximately three thousand plates of birds in over forty monumental volumes over five decades, including "The Birds of Great Britain", "The Birds of Europe", "The Birds of Australia", "The Birds of Asia", "The Birds of New Guinea", "A Monograph of the Paradiseidae" (Birds of Paradise), "A Monograph of the Ramphastidae" (Family of Toucans), "A Monograph of the Trogonidae" (Family of Trogons), and "A Monograph of the Trochilidae" (Family of Hummingbirds).

Gould was very proud of the illustrations, particularly the hand coloring. Realizing that most people would not appreciate the effort made to produce these beautiful illustrations, he stated: "Many of the public are quite unaware how the colouring of these large plates is accomplished; and not a few believe that they are produced by some mechanical process or by chromo-lithography. This, however, is not the case; every sky with it's varied tints and every feather of each bird were coloured by hand. It will most likely cause some astonishment to those who give the subject a thought".

More Information

Documentation:	Signed
Period:	18th Century
Styles / Movements:	Other
Incollect Reference #:	574386

Dimensions

W.	29.75 in;	H.	22.25 in;	D.	1 in;
W.	75.57 cm;	H.	56.52 cm;	D.	2.54 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