John Gould

Three Gould Hand-colored Lithographs from Birds of Australia and New Zealand

1840-1848

This is an original John James Audubon hand-colored royal first octavo edition lithograph entitled "King Duck, 1. Male, 2. Female", No. 81, Plate 404, from A...

This is an original John James Audubon hand-colored lithograph entitled "Canvass Back Duck, 1. Male 2. Female, View of Baltimore, Maryland", No. 79, Plate 395 from Audubon's "Birds o...

This is a framed original 19th century hand-colored folio-sized lithograph entitled “Pernis Apivorus (The Honey Buzzard) by John Gould, plate 6 in volume 1 of his "Birds of Great Britain", published in London between 1862 and 1873. The print depicts an adult Honey Buzzard perched on a branch of a leafy tree in the foreground and three others in the background. The bird in the foreground has an insect in its beak and others are in flight on the right This striking framed Gould...

An original rare and extremely collectible first edition John James Audubon hand colored royal octavo lithograph entitled "Golden Eye Duck", No. 82, Plate 406, from Audubon's "Birds of America". It was lithographed, printed and colored by J. T. Bowen and published in Philadelphia between 1840-1844. It depicts male and female Golden Eye ducks in flight. This original rare first edition hand colored Audubon bird lithograph is in excellent condition. The sheet measures 6.25" x 10". The original text pages, pages 362-366, from Audubon's 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 and Victor Gifford Audubon produced a set of elephant folio sized lithographs that were primarily engraved and hand colored by J. T. Bowen in Philadelphia. The publication, which included text descriptions of the animals was published 3 years before Audubon died. As with the birds, this was followed by a three-volume set of 155 octavo-sized plates entitled “The Quadrupeds of North America” completed and published by Audubon’s sons, John, Jr. and Victor. Audubon prints continue to be popular and a wise investment. The double elephant folio set...

John Gould September 1804 – February 1881 Published by Thomas Rymer Jones / Dr Brehm, Cassells Book of Birds, volume III London C.1875. A set of four lithograph prints of parrots...

Offered as a set of three, these exquisite English 19th-century hand-colored ornithological lithographs feature vibrant bird studies by John and Elizabeth Gould, among the most promi...

Artist: George Edwards (English, 1694-1773) Title: "Set of Two Hand-Colored Ornithological Engravings by George Edwards" Portfolio: A Natural History of Uncommon Birds, and of Some Other Rare and Undescribed Animals / Gleanings Of Natural History Year: 1743-1764 Medium: Set of Two Original Hand-Colored Engravings on watermarked laid and wove papers Limited edition: Unknown Printer: C. Rickaby, London, UK Publisher: William Gardiner and Messrs. Robinson, London, UK Reference: Mullens and Swann page 194-195; Anker No. 124-126; Fine Bird Books page 93; Lisney page 128-144; Nissen IVB No. 286-288; Zimmer page 192-198 Sheet size (each): approx. 11.25" x 9" Image size (each): approx. 8.63" x 7.38" Condition: "90" has faint offsetting to sheet. "308" has one foxmark center right. They are both otherwise in excellent condition with strong colors Notes: Comes from Edwards seven volume portfolio "A Natural History of Uncommon Birds, and of Some Other Rare and Undescribed Animals" / "Gleanings Of Natural History" (1743-1764), which consists of 362 hand-colored engravings. "90" is on laid paper with a "fleur-de-lis" watermark at center left edge. "308" is on wove paper with no watermark. The last image of the cover title sheets is for reference/provenance; it is not included. Biography: George Edwards FRS (3 April 1694 – 23 July 1773) was an English naturalist and ornithologist, known as the "father of British ornithology". Edwards was born at West Ham...

Artist: George Edwards (English, 1694-1773) Title: "Set of Two Hand-Colored Ornithological Engravings by George Edwards" Portfolio: A Natural History of Uncommon Birds, and of Some O...