John Gould

Hummingbird Lithograph

1849-61

Original engraving, hand-colored at the time of publication, after the work of George Edwards from "Sammlung verschneider auslandischer und seltener Vogel" by Johann Michael Seligmann. Tab IX. Le Perroquet...

Original engraving, hand-colored at the time of publication, after the work of George Edwards from "Sammlung verschneider auslandischer und seltener Vogel" by Johann Michael Seligma...

Original engraving, hand-colored at publication, after the work of Mark Catesby by Johann Michael Seligmann from "Sammlung verschneider auslandischer und seltener Vogel." Nuremberg:...

Plate 7 from "Formes et couleurs; vingt planches en couleurs contenant soixante-sept motifs décoratifs" by Auguste H. Thomas. Paris: A. Levy, Librarie Centrale des Beaux-Arts, circa ...

This is an original John James Audubon hand-colored lithograph entitled "Mango Humming bird, 1. 2. Males. 3. Female. Bignonia grandifolia", No. 51, Plate 251 from Audubon's "Birds of America, lithographed, printed and colored by JT Bowen and published in Philadelphia between 1870-1871. The lithograph depicts an adult male hummingbird, labelled 1, in flight above a beautiful flowering plant, a Chinese Trumpet-vine. Another male, labeled 2, is perched on a flower on the left and a female, labelled 3, is perched on a flower on the right. This hand-colored Audubon bird octavo-size lithograph sheet measures 10.25" high by 6.75" wide. It is in excellent condition. The original text pages, 185-186, from Audubon's 19th century publication are included. John James Audubon (1785-1851) was a naturalist and artist. He was initially unsuccessful financially prior to the publication of his famous work “The Birds of America”, spending time in debtor’s prison, once stabbing a disgruntled investor in self-defense. However, his obsession with birds and art motivated him to persist in his goal of documenting every bird in America via his watercolor paintings and publishing his works for all to enjoy. Audubon's first illustrations were published in a large elephant folio size. Due to their expense they were purchased in rather small numbers by the wealthy. To reach a larger audience, Audubon, with the help of his sons and J. T. Bowen, published a smaller octavo sized lithograph version, which were much more affordable. With the success of his bird projects, Audubon then turned his attention to four-legged animals. He explored the Missouri River in 1843 sketching the four-legged animals he encountered in their natural setting. His expedition covered some of the same regions recently explored by Lewis and Clark, traveling from present day Alaska to Mexico. Audubon realized that this was an opportunity to document these animals in the still relatively pristine American wilderness, before man encroached on their environment. Between 1845 and 1848, Audubon and his sons John Woodhouse Audubon...

Hummingbirds is an Etching hand colored realized by Gotthilf Heinrich von Schubert - Johann Friedrich Naumann, Illustration from Natural history of birds in pictures, published by St...

This is a hand-colored folio sized lithograph entitled "Calothorax Yarrelli", Yarrell's Wood-star Hummingbirds by John Gould, published in his "A Monograph of the Trochilidae, or Family of Humming-birds", published in London in 1850. The print, which was drawn by Gould and Henry Richter and lithographed by Hullmandel and Walton, depicts three green, white, grey, and a little blue colored hummingbirds amid green cactus plants with white and pink colored flowers. The hummingbirds are augmented by gum-arabic paint, which gives them an iridescent appearance in areas in which it is used. This beautiful Gould hand-colored hummingbird lithograph is in excellent condition. The original descriptive text page from Gould's 19th century publication is included. There are several other unframed Gould hummingbird...

This is an original 19th century hand-colored folio-sized lithograph entitled "Campylopterus Cuvieri" (Cuvier's Sabre-wing Hummingbird) by John Gould, as plate 52 published in his "A Monograph of the Trochilidae, or Family of Humming-birds", published in London between 1849 and 1861. The print, which was drawn by Gould and Henry Richter and lithographed by Hullmandel and Walton, depicts two mostly green-colored hummingbirds with brown wings perched on a branch of a tropical long leafed plant, possibly bamboo with ferns in the background. This beautiful Gould hand-colored hummingbird lithograph is augmented with gum-arabic paint. It is in very good condition, other than some discoloration at the edges of the upper and lower right corners and residual binding material where the print was bound in the 19th century publication. The original descriptive text page from Gould's 19th century publication is included. There are several other unframed Gould hummingbird lithographs available on our 1stdibs and InCollect storefronts. Two or more of these striking lithographs 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...