1880s Animal Prints

This is a hand-colored folio sized lithograph entitled "Saucerottia Cyanifrons", Blue-capped Saucerottia 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 two green, blue and a little brown colored hummingbirds about a plant with green leaves and pink flowers. This beautiful Gould hand-colored hummingbird lithograph has a few very small faint spots, but it is otherwise in excellent condition. The original text page is included. There are other unframed Gould hummingbird...

This is a hand-colored folio sized lithograph entitled "Grypus Naevius" (Saw-bill Hummingbird with Nest & Eggs) 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 black, brown and peach-colored hummingbirds about a nest, containing at least two eggs. The beautiful soft grey-green foliage includes a white, soft pink and cranberry-colored flower. This beautiful Gould hand-colored hummingbird lithograph is augmented with iridescent gum-arabic paint. It is in excellent condition. The original text page is included, which has extensive foxing, as lower quality paper was used for the text pages. There are several other unframed Gould hummingbird 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...

This is an original 19th century John James Audubon hand-colored 1st octavo edition lithograph entitled "Rocky Mountain Flycatcher, Male, Swamp Oak. Quecus Aquatica", No. 12, Plate 6...

This is an original John James Audubon hand-colored 1st octavo edition lithograph entitled "Whooping Crane, Male, adult", No. 63, Plate 313 from Audubon...

'Semnopitheque a croupion - Semnopithecus Leucoprymnus, Otto' (Langur) French engraving with original hand-colourimg, circa 1840.

This is an original 19th century John James Audubon hand-colored lithograph entitled "Virginian Rail, 1. Male, 2. Female, 3. Young", No. 63, Plate 311 from Audubon's "Birds of Americ...

This is an original 19th century John James Audubon hand-colored lithograph entitled "Smith's Lark Bunting, Adult Male", No. 98, Plate 487 from Audubon's "Birds of America, lithograp...

This is an original 19th century John James Audubon hand-colored lithograph entitled "American Avocet, Young in First Winter Plumage, Adult in the Distance", No. 71, Plate 353 from A...

This is an original 19th century John James Audubon hand-colored lithograph entitled "Texan Lynx", No. 19, Plate XCII, 92, from Audubon's "Quadrupeds of North America", printed and colored by J.T. Bowen and published in Philadelphia from 1849-1854. The lithograph depicts a Texan Lynx laying on the ground with hills in the background. This antique hand colored Audubon quadruped lithograph is presented with the original descriptive text pages 293-296 from Audubon's 19th century publication. The print is in excellent condition, including the striking hand coloring. 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...

This is an original John James Audubon hand-colored royal octavo lithograph entitled "Californian Hare", No. 23, Plate 112, CXII, from Audubon's "Quadrupeds of North America". It was...

This is an artist proof (one of a kind) aquatint of a parrot made up of fingers, and beautiful insects cascading to her right. She has a human ear on one side. The images is 6 x 6 ...

This is an original 19th century John James Audubon hand-colored lithograph entitled "Wilson's Plover, 1. Male, 2. Young First Year", No. 97, Plate 482 from Audubon's "Birds of Ameri...