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Pairs of John Gould Hummingbird Prints, Circa 1858
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$5,500. for Pair
item #378767
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Pair of 19th Century Gould Hummingbird Prints. Circa 1858. “MONOGRAPH OF THE TROCHILD AE”. “Dedicated w. Permission to HER ROYAL HIGHNESS, THE PRINCESS ROYAL OF ENGLAND”. With 24 carat gold leafed frame and non-glare glass. 25”H, 19”W. Both are in excellent condition, item 378775 is part of the pair. This is considered to be Gould's masterpiece in both breadth and beauty. Four hundred eighteen species are depicted by the artists John Gould, H.C. Richter and William Hart. Each plate exquisitely portrays these delicate, evocatively colored birds with the flowers indigenous to their area. Strong botanical elements add a dimension not found in other bird folios. A Family of Humming-birds also displays a tour de force of the hand-colored lithograph as a medium. Gold leaf, transparent oil colors, water colors, lacquers and gum arabic are combined to capture the iridescent quality of these most colorful of birds.
John Gould was born Sept. 14, 1804 in Lyme Regis, Dorsetshire, England. Died Feb. 3, 1881, London. He was an English ornithologist whose large, lavishly illustrated volumes on birds commanded ever-mounting prices among bibliophiles.
Gould learned taxidermy at Windsor Castle, where his father was foreman of gardeners. In 1827 he became taxidermist to the Zoological Society of London. The arrival in 1830 of a collection of exotic bird skins from the Himalayas enabled him to produce the first of many folio volumes, A Century of Birds from the Himalaya Mountains (1831–32). Gould's sketches were transferred to the lithographer's stone by his wife, the former Elizabeth Coxon, whose artistic talents were to enhance many of his works until her death in 1841. The five-volume Birds of Europe (1832–37) and Monograph of the Ramphastidae (Toucans) (1834) were so successful that the Goulds were able to spend two years (1838–40) in Australia, where they made a large collection of birds and mammals. The collection resulted in Gould's most famous work, The Birds of Australia, 7 vol. (1840–48; supplements 1851–69), and in Mammals of Australia, 3 vol. (1845–63). He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1843.
Gould's lifetime work comprised more than 40 volumes, with more than 3,000 coloured plates. His many scientific papers, mostly devoted to descriptions of new species, established his professional reputation, but he is best known today for his folios.
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