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613 results found
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(total 13 pages)
 GOULD, John (1804-1881)
Pteroglossus Humboldti [Pl. 22]
[Pl. 22]. [London: by the Author, 1854]. Hand-coloured lithograph by John Gould and H. C. Richter, printed by Hullmandel & Walton. Sheet size: 21 1/2 x 14 1/2 inches.
A fine image from the expanded second edition of John Gould's "A Monograph of the Ramphastidae, or Family of Toucans."
The toucan family is limited to Mexico, Central and South America, and some West Indian islands. The first time that any member of the family was described was by Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdes in his "de la natural hystoria de las Indias." (Toledo, 1526, chapter 42) In 1555 Pierre Belon included an illustration of its beak in his "L'Histoire de la nature des oyseaux." (Paris, 1555, p. 184) Andre Thevet first used the name 'Toucan' with a long description, and a woodcut of a whole bird, in his "Singularitez de la France" (Paris, 1555, pp.88-90). The Latin name "Burhynchus" or "Ramphestes" (in reference to the size of the beak) was suggested by Conrad Gesner ("Icones Avium", 1560, p.130), and Linnaeus later adopted Aldrovandus' corrupted form of the latter ("Ramphastos"), which is how the family was still recognized at the time of the publication of the present image.
The first edition of Gould's work, published in 1833-1835, represented the first concerted attempt to produce a monograph on the family. The present image is from the second expanded edition, which Gould considered to be a completely separate work: the plates were all re-drawn and the text re-written.
Cf. Anker 170; cf. Fine Bird Books (1990), p. 101; cf. Nissen IVB 378; cf. Sauer 3; cf. Wood, p. 364; cf. Zimmer, p. 252.
#14877 $1,250.00  
 GOULD, John (1804-1881)
Pteroglossus Humboldtii / Humboldt's Aracari
[London: by the Author, 1835]. Hand-coloured lithograph by John and Elizabeth Gould, printed by C. Hullmandel. Wove paper. Very good condition. Sheet size: 21 1/4 x 14 1/2 inches.
A fine image from the first edition of John Gould's "A Monograph of the Ramphastidae, or Family of Toucans."
The toucan family is limited to Mexico, Central and South America and some West Indian islands. The first time that any member of the family was described was by Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdes in his "de la natural hystoria de las Indias." (Toledo, 1526, chapter 42) In 1555 Pierre Belon included an illustration of its beak in his "L'Histoire de la nature des oyseaux." (Paris, 1555, p.184) Andre Thevet first used the name "Toucan" with a long description, and a woodcut of a whole bird, in his "Singularitez de la France" (Paris, 1555, pp.88-90). The Latin name "Burhynchus" or "Ramphestes" (in reference to the size of the beak) was suggested by Conrad Gesner ("Icones Avium", 1560, p.130), and Linnaeus later adopted Aldrovandus's corrupted form of the latter ("Ramphastos"), which is how the family was still recognized at the time of the publication of the present image.
The present image is from the first edition of Gould's work, published in 1833-1835, which represented the first concerted attempt to produce a monograph on the family. A second expanded edition was published between 1852 and 1854. Gould considered this to be a completely separate work as the plates were all re-drawn and the text re-written.
Cf. Anker 170; cf. Fine Bird Books (1990), p. 101; cf. Nissen IVB 378; cf. Sauer 3; cf. Wood, p. 364; cf. Zimmer, p. 252.
#10001$1,500.00
 GOULD, John (1804-1881)
Pteroglossus Hypoglaucus / Grey-breasted Aracari
[London: by the Author, 1835]. Hand-coloured lithograph by John and Elizabeth Gould, printed by C. Hullmandel. Wove paper. Very good condition. Sheet size: 21 1/4 x 14 3/8 inches.
A fine image from the first edition of John Gould's "A Monograph of the Ramphastidae, or Family of Toucans."
The toucan family is limited to Mexico, Central and South America and some West Indian islands. The first time that any member of the family was described was by Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdes in his "de la natural hystoria de las Indias." (Toledo, 1526, chapter 42) In 1555 Pierre Belon included an illustration of its beak in his "L'Histoire de la nature des oyseaux." (Paris, 1555, p.184) Andre Thevet first used the name "Toucan" with a long description, and a woodcut of a whole bird, in his "Singularitez de la France" (Paris, 1555, pp.88-90). The Latin name "Burhynchus" or "Ramphestes" (in reference to the size of the beak) was suggested by Conrad Gesner ("Icones Avium", 1560, p.130), and Linnaeus later adopted Aldrovandus's corrupted form of the latter ("Ramphastos"), which is how the family was still recognized at the time of the publication of the present image.
The present image is from the first edition of Gould's work, published in 1833-1835, which represented the first concerted attempt to produce a monograph on the family. A second expanded edition was published between 1852 and 1854. Gould considered this to be a completely separate work as the plates were all re-drawn and the text re-written.
Cf. Anker 170; cf. Fine Bird Books (1990), p. 101; cf. Nissen IVB 378; cf. Sauer 3; cf. Wood, p. 364; cf. Zimmer, p. 252.
#9998$1,500.00
 GOULD, John (1804-1881)
Pteroglossus Inscriptus. [Pl. 23]
[Pl. 23]. [London: by the Author, 1854]. Hand-coloured lithograph by John Gould and H. C. Richter, printed by Hullmandel & Walton. Sheet size: 21 1/2 x 14 1/2 inches.
A fine image from the expanded second edition of John Gould's "A Monograph of the Ramphastidae, or Family of Toucans."
The toucan family is limited to Mexico, Central and South America, and some West Indian islands. The first time that any member of the family was described was by Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdes in his "de la natural hystoria de las Indias." (Toledo, 1526, chapter 42) In 1555 Pierre Belon included an illustration of its beak in his "L'Histoire de la nature des oyseaux." (Paris, 1555, p. 184) Andre Thevet first used the name 'Toucan' with a long description, and a woodcut of a whole bird, in his "Singularitez de la France" (Paris, 1555, pp.88-90). The Latin name "Burhynchus" or "Ramphestes" (in reference to the size of the beak) was suggested by Conrad Gesner ("Icones Avium", 1560, p.130), and Linnaeus later adopted Aldrovandus' corrupted form of the latter ("Ramphastos"), which is how the family was still recognized at the time of the publication of the present image.
The first edition of Gould's work, published in 1833-1835, represented the first concerted attempt to produce a monograph on the family. The present image is from the second expanded edition, which Gould considered to be a completely separate work: the plates were all re-drawn and the text re-written.
Cf. Anker 170; cf. Fine Bird Books (1990), p. 101; cf. Nissen IVB 378; cf. Sauer 3; cf. Wood, p. 364; cf. Zimmer, p. 252.
#14875$1,250.00
 GOULD, John (1804-1881)
Pteroglossus Langsdorfii; Langsdorf's Araçari [Pl. 28]
[Pl. 28]. [London: by the Author, 1835]. Hand-coloured lithograph by John and Elizabeth Gould, printed by C.Hullmandel. Very good condition. Sheet size: 21 1/2 x 14 1/2 inches.
A fine image from the first edition of John Gould's 'A Monograph of the Ramphastidae, or Family of Toucans'.
The toucan family is limited to Mexico, Central and South America and some West Indian islands. The first time that any member of the family was described was by Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdes in his "de la natural hystoria de las Indias" (Toledo, 1526, chapter 42), in 1555 Pierre Belon included an illustration of its beak in his "L'Histoire de la nature des oyseaux" (Paris, 1555, p.184). Andre Thevet first used the name 'Toucan' with a long description, and a woodcut of a whole bird, in his "Singularitez de la France" (Paris, 1555, pp.88-90). The Latin name "Burhynchus" or "Ramphestes" (in reference to the size of the beak) was suggested by Conrad Gesner ("Icones Avium", 1560, p.130), and Linnaeus later adopted Aldrovandus' corrupted form of the latter ("Ramphastos") which is how the family was still recognized at the time of the publication of the present image.
The present image is from the first edition of Gould's work, published in 1833-1835, which represented the first concerted attempt to produce a monograph on the family. A second expanded edition was published between 1852 and 1854. Gould considered this to be completely separate work as the plates were all re-drawn and the text re-written.
Cf. Anker 170; cf. Fine Bird Books (1990), p. 101; cf. Nissen IVB 378; cf. Sauer 3; cf. Wood p. 364; cf. Zimmer p. 252.
#14884$1,250.00
 GOULD, John (1804-1881)
Pteroglossus Pluricinctus / Many-banded Aracari
[London: by the Author, 1835]. Hand-coloured lithograph by John and Elizabeth Gould, printed by C. Hullmandel. Wove paper. Very good condition apart from some light foxing in the margins. Sheet size: 21 1/4 x 14 3/8 inches.
A fine image from the first edition of John Gould's "A Monograph of the Ramphastidae, or Family of Toucans."
The toucan family is limited to Mexico, Central and South America and some West Indian islands. The first time that any member of the family was described was by Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdes in his "de la natural hystoria de las Indias." (Toledo, 1526, chapter 42) In 1555 Pierre Belon included an illustration of its beak in his "L'Histoire de la nature des oyseaux." (Paris, 1555, p.184) Andre Thevet first used the name "Toucan" with a long description, and a woodcut of a whole bird, in his "Singularitez de la France" (Paris, 1555, pp.88-90). The Latin name "Burhynchus" or "Ramphestes" (in reference to the size of the beak) was suggested by Conrad Gesner ("Icones Avium", 1560, p.130), and Linnaeus later adopted Aldrovandus's corrupted form of the latter ("Ramphastos"), which is how the family was still recognized at the time of the publication of the present image.
The present image is from the first edition of Gould's work, published in 1833-1835, which represented the first concerted attempt to produce a monograph on the family. A second expanded edition was published between 1852 and 1854. Gould considered this to be a completely separate work as the plates were all re-drawn and the text re-written.
Cf. Anker 170; cf. Fine Bird Books (1990), p. 101; cf. Nissen IVB 378; cf. Sauer 3; cf. Wood, p. 364; cf. Zimmer, p. 252.
#9996$1,500.00
 GOULD, John (1804-1881)
Pteroglossus Prasinus; Golden-green Araçari [Pl. 29]
[Pl. 29]. [London: by the Author, 1835]. Hand-coloured lithograph by John and Elizabeth Gould, printed by C.Hullmandel. Very good condition. Sheet size: 21 1/2 x 14 1/2 inches.
A fine image from the first edition of John Gould's 'A Monograph of the Ramphastidae, or Family of Toucans'.
The toucan family is limited to Mexico, Central and South America and some West Indian islands. The first time that any member of the family was described was by Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdes in his "de la natural hystoria de las Indias" (Toledo, 1526, chapter 42), in 1555 Pierre Belon included an illustration of its beak in his "L'Histoire de la nature des oyseaux" (Paris, 1555, p.184). Andre Thevet first used the name 'Toucan' with a long description, and a woodcut of a whole bird, in his "Singularitez de la France" (Paris, 1555, pp.88-90). The Latin name "Burhynchus" or "Ramphestes" (in reference to the size of the beak) was suggested by Conrad Gesner ("Icones Avium", 1560, p.130), and Linnaeus later adopted Aldrovandus' corrupted form of the latter ("Ramphastos") which is how the family was still recognized at the time of the publication of the present image.
The present image is from the first edition of Gould's work, published in 1833-1835, which represented the first concerted attempt to produce a monograph on the family. A second expanded edition was published between 1852 and 1854. Gould considered this to be completely separate work as the plates were all re-drawn and the text re-written.
Cf. Anker 170; cf. Fine Bird Books (1990), p. 101; cf. Nissen IVB 378; cf. Sauer 3; cf. Wood p. 364; cf. Zimmer p. 252.
#14887$1,250.00
 GOULD, John (1804-1881)
Pteroglossus Sulcatus; Grooved-bill Araçari [Pl. 31]
[Pl. 31]. [London: by the Author, 1835]. Hand-coloured lithograph by John and Elizabeth Gould, printed by C.Hullmandel. Very good condition. Sheet size: 21 1/2 x 14 1/2 inches.
A fine image from the first edition of John Gould's 'A Monograph of the Ramphastidae, or Family of Toucans'.
The toucan family is limited to Mexico, Central and South America and some West Indian islands. The first time that any member of the family was described was by Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdes in his "de la natural hystoria de las Indias" (Toledo, 1526, chapter 42), in 1555 Pierre Belon included an illustration of its beak in his "L'Histoire de la nature des oyseaux" (Paris, 1555, p.184). Andre Thevet first used the name 'Toucan' with a long description, and a woodcut of a whole bird, in his "Singularitez de la France" (Paris, 1555, pp.88-90). The Latin name "Burhynchus" or "Ramphestes" (in reference to the size of the beak) was suggested by Conrad Gesner ("Icones Avium", 1560, p.130), and Linnaeus later adopted Aldrovandus' corrupted form of the latter ("Ramphastos") which is how the family was still recognized at the time of the publication of the present image.
The present image is from the first edition of Gould's work, published in 1833-1835, which represented the first concerted attempt to produce a monograph on the family. A second expanded edition was published between 1852 and 1854. Gould considered this to be completely separate work as the plates were all re-drawn and the text re-written.
Cf. Anker 170; cf. Fine Bird Books (1990), p. 101; cf. Nissen IVB 378; cf. Sauer 3; cf. Wood p. 364; cf. Zimmer p. 252.
#14886$1,250.00
 GOULD, John (1804-1881)
Pteroglossus Viridis [Pl. 24]
[Pl. 24]. [London: by the Author, 1854]. Hand-coloured lithograph by John Gould and H. C. Richter, printed by Hullmandel & Walton. Sheet size: 21 1/2 x 14 1/2 inches.
A fine image from the expanded second edition of John Gould's "A Monograph of the Ramphastidae, or Family of Toucans."
The toucan family is limited to Mexico, Central and South America, and some West Indian islands. The first time that any member of the family was described was by Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdes in his "de la natural hystoria de las Indias." (Toledo, 1526, chapter 42) In 1555 Pierre Belon included an illustration of its beak in his "L'Histoire de la nature des oyseaux." (Paris, 1555, p. 184) Andre Thevet first used the name 'Toucan' with a long description, and a woodcut of a whole bird, in his "Singularitez de la France" (Paris, 1555, pp.88-90). The Latin name "Burhynchus" or "Ramphestes" (in reference to the size of the beak) was suggested by Conrad Gesner ("Icones Avium", 1560, p.130), and Linnaeus later adopted Aldrovandus' corrupted form of the latter ("Ramphastos"), which is how the family was still recognized at the time of the publication of the present image.
The first edition of Gould's work, published in 1833-1835, represented the first concerted attempt to produce a monograph on the family. The present image is from the second expanded edition, which Gould considered to be a completely separate work: the plates were all re-drawn and the text re-written.
Cf. Anker 170; cf. Fine Bird Books (1990), p. 101; cf. Nissen IVB 378; cf. Sauer 3; cf. Wood, p. 364; cf. Zimmer, p. 252.
#14876$1,250.00
 GOULD, John (1804-1881)
Pucrasia castanea [Kafiristan Pucras Pheasant]
[London: by the Author, 1850-1883]. Hand-coloured lithograph by John Gould and H.C.Richter, printed by Hullmandel & Walton. Wove paper. Sheet size: 14 5/8 x 21 1/4 inches.
A fine image from John Gould's magnificent folio work 'The Birds of Asia'.
Now known as the Western Kolass Pheasant. John Gould notes that 'Two adult examples of this Pheasant grace the collection of the Hon. East India Company, and I am indebted to the Directors and to Dr. Horsfield for permission to figure so fine a bird for the first time in "The Birds of Asia".'
'The Koklass Pheasants have a very discontinuous area of distribution; some subspecies are found in the Himalayas from Afghanistan to Nepal, others in the east of Tibet and north-east China... Koklass are mountain birds living in forests mostly at altitudes of 4000 feet up to about 15,000 feet. They are rather solitary and are never seen feeding in flocks... The cock has an unusual crow and both birds make croaking noises reminiscent of a raven.' (A.Rutgers Birds of Asia 1969, p.38).
The intended geographical range of "The Birds of Asia" was enormous, and very much in keeping with the seemingly limitless self-belief of the 19th-century's best known ornithologist. In his all-encompassing work John Gould includes species from all corners of the eastern world, as Richard Bowdler Sharpe noted the work covers "Species from Palestine to the eastward, and from the Moluccas to the west". Gould chose to record the bird life from an area which, with the exception of the tropical areas of the American continent, includes the widest, and pheasants of the region, one of the most beautiful and varied of all bird families.
Cf. Anker 178; cf. Fine Bird Books (1990), p.102; cf. Nissen IVB 368; cf. Sauer 17; cf. Wood p. 365; cf. Zimmer p.258.
#5567$2,000.00
 GOULD, John (1804-1881)
Pucrasia macrolopha [Himalayan Pucras Pheasant]
[London: by the Author, 1850-1883]. Hand-coloured lithograph by John Gould and H.C.Richter, printed by Hullmandel & Walton. Wove paper. Sheet size: 14 1/2 x 21 1/4 inches.
A fine image from John Gould's magnificent folio work 'The Birds of Asia'.
Now known as a Koklass Pheasant. John Gould notes that this beautiful bird is native to 'the central portion of the great Himalayan range... I learn from the notes of the late Hon. F.J.Shore that it is found all over Gurhwall, on ridges from 5500 to 8000 feet high, and that its native name is Koklas or Fuklas. Major-Gen. Hardwicke procured it on the Almorah Hills, and Dr. William Jameson states that it inhabits the Himalayas at an elevation of from 1800 to 5000 feet'.
'The Koklass Pheasants have a very discontinuous area of distribution; some subspecies are found in the Himalayas from Afghanistan to Nepal, others in the east of Tibet and north-east China... Koklass are mountain birds living in forests mostly at altitudes of 4000 feet up to about 15,000 feet. They are rather solitary and are never seen feeding in flocks... The cock has an unusual crow and both birds make croaking noises reminiscent of a raven.' (A.Rutgers Birds of Asia 1969, p.38).
The intended geographical range of "The Birds of Asia" was enormous, and very much in keeping with the seemingly limitless self-belief of the 19th-century's best known ornithologist. In his all-encompassing work John Gould includes species from all corners of the eastern world, as Richard Bowdler Sharpe noted the work covers "Species from Palestine to the eastward, and from the Moluccas to the west". Gould chose to record the bird life from an area which, with the exception of the tropical areas of the American continent, includes the widest, and most colourful variety of bird life to be found anywhere in the world.
The present plate is from a large number of images documenting the pheasants of the region, one of the most beautiful and varied of all bird families.
Cf. Anker 178; cf. Fine Bird Books (1990), p.102; cf. Nissen IVB 368; cf. Sauer 17; cf. Wood p. 365; cf. Zimmer p.258.
#5574$2,000.00
 GOULD, John (1804-1881)
Pucrasia nipalensis. [Nepal Koklass (Pucrasia macrolopha nipalensis)]
[London: by the Author, 1850-1883]. Hand-coloured lithograph by John Gould and H.C.Richter, printed by Hullmandel & Walton. Wove paper. (Paper somewhat browned) . Sheet size: 14 7/16 x 21 1/4 inches.
A fine image from John Gould's magnificent folio work 'The Birds of Asia'.
'The Koklass Pheasants have a very discontinuous area of distribution; some subspecies are found in the Himalayas from Afghanistan to Nepal, others in the east of Tibet and north-east China... Koklass are mountain birds living in forests mostly at altitudes of 4000 feet up to about 15,000 feet. They are rather solitary and are never seen feeding in flocks... The cock has an unusual crow and both birds make croaking noises reminiscent of a raven.' (A.Rutgers Birds of Asia 1969, p.38).
The intended geographical range of "The Birds of Asia" was enormous, and very much in keeping with the seemingly limitless self-belief of the 19th-century's best known ornithologist. In his all-encompassing work John Gould includes species from all corners of the eastern world, as Richard Bowdler Sharpe noted the work covers "Species from Palestine to the eastward, and from the Moluccas to the west". Gould chose to record the bird life from an area which, with the exception of the tropical areas of the American continent, includes the widest, and most colourful variety of bird life to be found anywhere in the world.
The present plate is from a large number of images documenting the Pheasants of the region, one of the most beautiful and varied of all bird families.
Cf. Anker 178; cf. Fine Bird Books (1990), p.102; cf. Nissen IVB 368; cf. Sauer 17; cf. Wood p. 365; cf. Zimmer p.258.
#5565$2,000.00
 GOULD, John (1804-1881)
Ramphastos citreopygus [Lemon-rumped Toucan]
[London: by the Author, 1835]. Hand-coloured lithograph by John and Elizabeth Gould, printed by C. Hullmandel. Wove paper. Sheet size: 22 x 15 inches.
A fine image from the first edition of John Gould's "A Monograph of the Ramphastidae, or Family of Toucans."
The toucan family is limited to Mexico, Central and South America and some West Indian islands. The first time that any member of the family was described was by Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdes in his "de la natural hystoria de las Indias." (Toledo, 1526, chapter 42) In 1555 Pierre Belon included an illustration of its beak in his "L'Histoire de la nature des oyseaux." (Paris, 1555, p.184) Andre Thevet first used the name "Toucan" with a long description, and a woodcut of a whole bird, in his "Singularitez de la France" (Paris, 1555, pp.88-90). The Latin name "Burhynchus" or "Ramphestes" (in reference to the size of the beak) was suggested by Conrad Gesner ("Icones Avium", 1560, p.130), and Linnaeus later adopted Aldrovandus's corrupted form of the latter ("Ramphastos"), which is how the family was still recognized at the time of the publication of the present image.
The present image is from the first edition of Gould's work, published in 1833-1835, which represented the first concerted attempt to produce a monograph on the family. A second expanded edition was published between 1852 and 1854. Gould considered this to be a completely separate work as the plates were all re-drawn and the text re-written.
Cf. Anker 170; cf. Fine Bird Books (1990), p. 101; cf. Nissen IVB 378; cf. Sauer 3; cf. Wood, p. 364; cf. Zimmer, p. 252.
#5554$3,500.00
 GOULD, John (1804-1881)
Ramphastos cuvieri. Cuvier's Toucan [Ramphastos c. cuvieri]
[London: by the Author, 1835]. Hand-coloured lithograph by John and Elizabeth Gould, printed by C.Hullmandel. Wove paper. Sheet size: 21 3/4 x 14 3/4 inches.
A fine image from the first edition of John Gould's 'A Monograph of the Ramphastidae, or Family of Toucans'.
'There has been some controversy about the classification of this toucan. Some writers classify several species together, others treat them separately... The range includes the whole of the Amazon basin as far as east Colombia, east Ecuador, east Peru, north Bolivia and south Venezuela.' (A.Rutgers Birds of South America 1972, p.154).
The toucan family is limited to Mexico, Central and South America and some West Indian islands. The first time that any member of the family was described was by Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdes in his "de la natural hystoria de las Indias" (Toledo, 1526, chapter 42), in 1555 Pierre Belon included an illustration of its beak in his "L'Histoire de la nature des oyseaux" (Paris, 1555, p.184). Andre Thevet first used the name 'Toucan' with a long description, and a woodcut of a whole bird, in his "Singularitez de la France" (Paris, 1555, pp.88-90). The Latin name "Burhynchus" or "Ramphestes" (in reference to the size of the beak) was suggested by Conrad Gesner ("Icones Avium", 1560, p.130), and Linnaeus later adopted Aldrovandus' corrupted form of the latter ("Ramphastos") which is how the family was still recognized at the time of the publication of the present image.
The present image is from the first edition of Gould's work, published in 1833-1835, which represented the first concerted attempt to produce a monograph on the family. A second expanded edition was published between 1852 and 1854. Gould considered this to be completely separate work as the plates were all re-drawn and the text re-written.
Cf. Anker 170; cf. Fine Bird Books (1990), p. 101; cf. Nissen IVB 378; cf. Sauer 3; cf. Wood p. 364; cf. Zimmer p. 252.
#5552$3,500.00
 GOULD, John (1804-1881)
Ramphastos osculans. Osculant Toucan [Ramphastos osculans]
[London: by the Author, 1835]. Hand-coloured lithograph by John and Elizabeth Gould, printed by C.Hullmandel. Wove paper. Sheet size: 21 11/16 x 14 5/16 inches.
A fine image from the first edition of John Gould's 'A Monograph of the Ramphastidae, or Family of Toucans'.
The toucan family is limited to Mexico, Central and South America and some West Indian islands. The first time that any member of the family was described was by Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdes in his "de la natural hystoria de las Indias" (Toledo, 1526, chapter 42), in 1555 Pierre Belon included an illustration of its beak in his "L'Histoire de la nature des oyseaux" (Paris, 1555, p.184). Andre Thevet first used the name 'Toucan' with a long description, and a woodcut of a whole bird, in his "Singularitez de la France" (Paris, 1555, pp.88-90). The Latin name "Burhynchus" or "Ramphestes" (in reference to the size of the beak) was suggested by Conrad Gesner ("Icones Avium", 1560, p.130), and Linnaeus later adopted Aldrovandus' corrupted form of the latter ("Ramphastos") which is how the family was still recognized at the time of the publication of the present image.
The present image is from the first edition of Gould's work, published in 1833-1835, which represented the first concerted attempt to produce a monograph on the family. A second expanded edition was published between 1852 and 1854. Gould considered this to be completely separate work as the plates were all re-drawn and the text re-written.
Cf. Anker 170; cf. Fine Bird Books (1990), p. 101; cf. Nissen IVB 378; cf. Sauer 3; cf. Wood p. 364; cf. Zimmer p. 252.
#5555$3,500.00
 GOULD, John (1804-1881)
Rufous Backed Egret. Ardea rufsata
London: [by the Author, 1832-1837]. Lithograph, coloured by hand, by J & E. Gould, printed by C. Hullmandel. Very good condition apart from some overall light soiling. Sheet size: 14 3/8 x 21 1/8 inches.
A beautiful image from John Gould's 'The Birds of Europe': a work which, according to Hyman, 'included some of the most remarkable bird drawings ever made'.
This plate is from the second of John Gould's great ornithological portfolios. Gould undertook this work not only hoping to build on the success of his first work (on the birds of the Himalaya mountains), but also in an effort to redress the imbalance between the study of local and foreign ornithology. It was his opinion that too much attention had focused on the exotic, whilst the beauty of the more local species was ignored. He wrote in the preface to the work from which this image comes: 'It has been frequently remarked that the productions of distant countries have received a much larger share of attention than those objects by which we are more immediately surrounded; and it is certainly true, that while numerous and costly illustrations have made us acquainted with the Ornithology of most other parts of the world, the Birds of Europe, in which we are, or ought to be, more interested, have not received that degree of attention which they naturally demand. The present work has been undertaken to supply that deficiency.'
The images in this work are the first to be published by Gould that show the liveliness of treatment that was to become such a feature of later works. This break from the traditional methods of bird depiction can be largely attributed to the influence of and contributions from Edward Lear: 'They are certainly among the most remarkable bird drawings ever made, [for] it is evident that Lear endowed them with some measure of his own whimsy and intelligence, his energetic curiosity, his self-conscious clumsiness and his unselfconscious charm'. (Hyman)
Cf. Anker 169; cf.Balis 101; cf.Fine Bird Books (1990), p. 102; cf.Nissen IVB 371; cf.Sauer 2; cf.Zimmer p. 251.
#9270$800.00
 GOULD, John (1804-1881)
Selasphorus? Heloisa [Heloisa's Flame-bearer]
[London: by the Author, 1849-1887]. Hand-coloured lithograph by H.C. Richter, printed by Hullmandel & Walton. Beautifully heightened with gold iridescence. Wove paper. Very good condition. Sheet size: 22 x 15 inches.
A beautiful image, heightened with gold iridescence, from 'A Monograph of the Trochilidae or Family of Humming-Birds', John Gould's 'masterpiece, [which]... must ever remain a feast of beauty and a source of wonder... an incomparable catalogue and compendium of beauty' ('Fine Bird Books').
'There is no one appreciative of the beauties of nature who will not recall... with delight the time when a live humming-bird first met his gaze. The suddenness of the apparition, even when expected, and its brief duration, are alone enough to fix the fluttering vision on the mind's eye.... The beautiful nests of humming-birds... will be found on examination to be very solidly and tenaciously built, though the materials are generally of the slightest - cotton-wool or some vegetable down and spider's webs' (Alfred Newton in 'The Encyclopedia Britannica 1911, vol. 13, p.887). The Hummingbird family includes members that are the smallest birds in the world. The largest measures no more than 8 1/2 inches and the smallest 2 3/8 inches in length. They are confined to the American continent and its islands, but are wide ranging within this limitation, with over 400 different species covering an area from the fuchias of Tierra del Fuego in the south to the althaea bushes of Toronto gardens in the north.
The present image is from the work of which Gould himself was most proud. Hummingbirds remained a fascination for him throughout his professional life, as evidenced by his collection of 1500 mounted specimens, which were exhibited in the Royal Zoological Gardens in Regent's Park, London, in 1851 as part of the festivities surrounding the Great Exhibition. The exhibit proved a great success, with Queen Victoria and Prince Albert numbering among the 75,000 visitors.
Cf. Anker 177; cf. Fine Bird Books (1990), p.101; cf. Nissen IVB 380; cf. Sauer 16 & 29; cf. Wood p. 365; cf. Zimmer p. 258.
#18700$850.00
 GOULD, John (1804-1881)
Selenidera Langsdorffi [Green-billed Toucanet]
[London: by the Author, 1854]. Hand-coloured lithograph by John Gould and H. C. Richter, printed by Hullmandel & Walton. Wove paper. Very good condition apart from some overall light soiling. Sheet size: 21 1/4 x 14 1/2 inches.
A fine image from the expanded second edition of John Gould's "A Monograph of the Ramphastidae, or Family of Toucans."
"The range of this subspecies extends from the Panama Canal southwards to north Colombia and Venezuela. It differs from R. s. sulfuratus in only one or two details: the bill is about a third shorter, squat and in some birds the red on the tip is less conspicuous; the red band below the yellow breast is broader...They roost with their bills hidden under their feathers and their tails flat over their backs. They utter strange shrill cries like a piglet screaming, but only when they feel threatened." (A. Rutgers, Birds of South America, 1972, p.149)
The toucan family is limited to Mexico, Central and South America, and some West Indian islands. The first time that any member of the family was described was by Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdes in his "de la natural hystoria de las Indias." (Toledo, 1526, chapter 42) In 1555 Pierre Belon included an illustration of its beak in his "L'Histoire de la nature des oyseaux." (Paris, 1555, p. 184) Andre Thevet first used the name 'Toucan' with a long description, and a woodcut of a whole bird, in his "Singularitez de la France" (Paris, 1555, pp.88-90). The Latin name "Burhynchus" or "Ramphestes" (in reference to the size of the beak) was suggested by Conrad Gesner ("Icones Avium", 1560, p.130), and Linnaeus later adopted Aldrovandus' corrupted form of the latter ("Ramphastos"), which is how the family was still recognized at the time of the publication of the present image.
The first edition of Gould's work, published in 1833-1835, represented the first concerted attempt to produce a monograph on the family. The present image is from the second expanded edition, which Gould considered to be a completely separate work: the plates were all re-drawn and the text re-written.
Cf. Anker 170; cf. Fine Bird Books (1990), p. 101; cf. Nissen IVB 378; cf. Sauer 3; cf. Wood, p. 364; cf. Zimmer, p. 252.
#10003$1,500.00
 GOULD, John (1804-1881)
Squacco Heron. Ardea comata
London: [by the Author, 1832-1837]. Lithograph, coloured by hand, by J & E. Gould, printed by C. Hullmandel. Very good condition apart from some overall light soiling. Sheet size: 21 1/8 x 14 1/4 inches.
A beautiful image from John Gould's 'The Birds of Europe': a work which, according to Hyman, 'included some of the most remarkable bird drawings ever made'.
This plate is from the second of John Gould's great ornithological portfolios. Gould undertook this work not only hoping to build on the success of his first work (on the birds of the Himalaya mountains), but also in an effort to redress the imbalance between the study of local and foreign ornithology. It was his opinion that too much attention had focused on the exotic, whilst the beauty of the more local species was ignored. He wrote in the preface to the work from which this image comes: 'It has been frequently remarked that the productions of distant countries have received a much larger share of attention than those objects by which we are more immediately surrounded; and it is certainly true, that while numerous and costly illustrations have made us acquainted with the Ornithology of most other parts of the world, the Birds of Europe, in which we are, or ought to be, more interested, have not received that degree of attention which they naturally demand. The present work has been undertaken to supply that deficiency.'
The images in this work are the first to be published by Gould that show the liveliness of treatment that was to become such a feature of later works. This break from the traditional methods of bird depiction can be largely attributed to the influence of and contributions from Edward Lear: 'They are certainly among the most remarkable bird drawings ever made, [for] it is evident that Lear endowed them with some measure of his own whimsy and intelligence, his energetic curiosity, his self-conscious clumsiness and his unselfconscious charm'. (Hyman)
Cf. Anker 169; cf.Balis 101; cf.Fine Bird Books (1990), p. 102; cf.Nissen IVB 371; cf.Sauer 2; cf.Zimmer p. 251.
#9279$1,500.00
 GOULD, John (1804-1881)
Sula Australis [Australian Gannet]
[London: by the Author, 1840-1869]. Hand-coloured lithograph by J. Gould and H.C.Richter, printed by Hullmandel & Walton. Very good condition apart from some overall light soiling, minor foxing, and two skillfully repaired small tears in the top margin. Sheet size: 14 1/8 x 20 3/8 inches.
A fine image from John Gould's major ornithological achievement 'The Birds of Australia'.
John Gould, accompanied by his wife Elizabeth, left Britain for Australia in May 1838 for what was to be a two year exploration of the birds and animals of the region. The natural history of the continent had not been studied in any detail before Gould's arrival and the abundant and highly varied bird life was to prove an inspiration to him, and between 1840 and 1869 he published what is his undoubted masterpiece: "The Birds of Australia".
Gould wrote of his time in Australia 'The interval spent from my native shores were some of the happiest days of my life... The results of my journey cannot, I think, but be attended with great advantage to science... Independently of a great new number of Birds I succeeded in procuring the nests and eggs of at least two thirds of the species inhabiting that interesting region'.
Contemporary praise for the work was fulsome: 'Great as is the excellence of Mr. Gould's former publications, there can be no doubt that the present work exceeds them all, both from an artistic and a scientific point of view'. One hundred and fifty years later there is no need to alter this sentiment.
Cf. Fine Bird Books (1990), p.102; cf. Nissen IVB 370; cf. Sauer 9 & 18; cf. Zimmer p.255 & 259.
#9363$1,500.00
 GOULD, John (1804-1881)
Surf Scoter. Anas perspicillata; Oidemia perspicillata
London: [by the Author, 1832-1837]. Lithograph, coloured by hand, by J & E. Gould, printed by C. Hullmandel. Very good condition apart from some overall light soiling. Sheet size: 14 1/2 x 21 3/8 inches.
A beautiful image from John Gould's 'The Birds of Europe': a work which, according to Hyman, 'included some of the most remarkable bird drawings ever made'.
This plate is from the second of John Gould's great ornithological portfolios. Gould undertook this work not only hoping to build on the success of his first work (on the birds of the Himalaya mountains), but also in an effort to redress the imbalance between the study of local and foreign ornithology. It was his opinion that too much attention had focused on the exotic, whilst the beauty of the more local species was ignored. He wrote in the preface to the work from which this image comes: 'It has been frequently remarked that the productions of distant countries have received a much larger share of attention than those objects by which we are more immediately surrounded; and it is certainly true, that while numerous and costly illustrations have made us acquainted with the Ornithology of most other parts of the world, the Birds of Europe, in which we are, or ought to be, more interested, have not received that degree of attention which they naturally demand. The present work has been undertaken to supply that deficiency.'
The images in this work are the first to be published by Gould that show the liveliness of treatment that was to become such a feature of later works. This break from the traditional methods of bird depiction can be largely attributed to the influence of and contributions from Edward Lear: 'They are certainly among the most remarkable bird drawings ever made, [for] it is evident that Lear endowed them with some measure of his own whimsy and intelligence, his energetic curiosity, his self-conscious clumsiness and his unselfconscious charm'. (Hyman)
Cf. Anker 169; cf.Balis 101; cf.Fine Bird Books (1990), p. 102; cf.Nissen IVB 371; cf.Sauer 2; cf.Zimmer p. 251.
#9269$900.00
 GOULD, John (1804-1881)
Willow Ptarmigan. Lagopus Saliceti
London: [by the Author, 1832-1837]. Lithograph, coloured by hand, by J & E. Gould, printed by C. Hullmandel. Very good condition apart from some overall light soiling and minor foxing. Sheet size: 14 1/4 x 21 1/8 inches.
A beautiful image from John Gould's 'The Birds of Europe': a work which, according to Hyman, 'included some of the most remarkable bird drawings ever made'.
This plate is from the second of John Gould's great ornithological portfolios. Gould undertook this work not only hoping to build on the success of his first work (on the birds of the Himalaya mountains), but also in an effort to redress the imbalance between the study of local and foreign ornithology. It was his opinion that too much attention had focused on the exotic, whilst the beauty of the more local species was ignored. He wrote in the preface to the work from which this image comes: 'It has been frequently remarked that the productions of distant countries have received a much larger share of attention than those objects by which we are more immediately surrounded; and it is certainly true, that while numerous and costly illustrations have made us acquainted with the Ornithology of most other parts of the world, the Birds of Europe, in which we are, or ought to be, more interested, have not received that degree of attention which they naturally demand. The present work has been undertaken to supply that deficiency.'
The images in this work are the first to be published by Gould that show the liveliness of treatment that was to become such a feature of later works. This break from the traditional methods of bird depiction can be largely attributed to the influence of and contributions from Edward Lear: 'They are certainly among the most remarkable bird drawings ever made, [for] it is evident that Lear endowed them with some measure of his own whimsy and intelligence, his energetic curiosity, his self-conscious clumsiness and his unselfconscious charm'. (Hyman)
Cf. Anker 169; cf.Balis 101; cf.Fine Bird Books (1990), p. 102; cf.Nissen IVB 371; cf.Sauer 2; cf.Zimmer p. 251.
#9276$900.00
 GOULD, John (1804-81)
Purple Swamphen. Hyacinthe Porphyrio
London: [by the Author, 1832-37]. Hand-coloured lithograph by John and Elizabeth Gould. Printed by C. Hullmandel.
A beautiful image from John Gould's 'The Birds of Europe': a work which, according to Hyman, 'included some of the most remarkable bird drawings ever made'.
This plate is from the second of John Gould's great ornithological portfolios. Gould undertook this work not only hoping to build on the success of his first work (on the birds of the Himalaya mountains), but also in an effort to redress the imbalance between the study of local and foreign ornithology. It was his opinion that too much attention had focused on the exotic, whilst the beauty of the more local species was ignored. He wrote in the preface to the work from which this image comes: 'It has been frequently remarked that the productions of distant countries have received a much larger share of attention than those objects by which we are more immediately surrounded; and it is certainly true, that while numerous and costly illustrations have made us acquainted with the Ornithology of most other parts of the world, the Birds of Europe, in which we are, or ought to be, more interested, have not received that degree of attention which they naturally demand. The present work has been undertaken to supply that deficiency.'
The images in this work are the first to be published by Gould that show the liveliness of treatment that was to become such a feature of later works. This break from the traditional methods of bird depiction can be largely attributed to the influence of and contributions from Edward Lear: 'They are certainly among the most remarkable bird drawings ever made, [for] it is evident that Lear endowed them with some measure of his own whimsy and intelligence, his energetic curiosity, his self-conscious clumsiness and his unselfconscious charm'. (Hyman)
Cf. Anker 169; cf.Balis 101; cf.Fine Bird Books (1990), p. 102; cf.Nissen IVB 371; cf.Sauer 2; cf.Zimmer p. 251.
#14687$800.00
 HILL, Sir John (1716?-1775)
Eden: or, a Compleat body of Gardening, Both in Knowledge and Practice; Directing the Gardener in his Work, for every distinct Week in the Year... Illustrated with figures of about Four Hundred of the finest Shrubs, Flowers and Plants... Enlarged With the Addition of Twenty Folio Plates of new Plants, now first raised in the Royal Garden at Kew
London: printed for the Author, sold by all booksellers, 1773. Folio. Mezzotint portrait of the author by Richard Houstan after Francis Cotes, engraved frontispiece, 80 engraved plates, (12 by and after J. Hill, 1 by Hill after Jan van Huysum, 8 by C.A. Edwards, Boyce, B. Cole or others, 59 unsigned). 55 plates with fine partial or full hand-colouring by a later early-19th-century hand, 63 of the plates with some or all of the plant names neatly altered in ink to their Linnaean equivalents in a single early-19th-century hand. Expertly bound to style in half 18th-century russia gilt over marbled paper-covered boards, spine in seven compartments with raised bands, red morocco lettering-piece in the second, the others with repeat overall decorative tooling. Provenance: Hon. Booth Grey (Caverswall Castle, Staffordshire, England, armorial bookplate).
Rare second expanded edition. With twenty more botanical plates and a very fine mezzotint portrait showing 'the intelligent and determined head' (Oak Spring Flora) of Sir John Hill, 'who undeniably played a conspicuous role in the intellectual history of eighteenth-century England' (op. cit.)
This work was originally issued in 60 weekly parts between August 1756 and October 1757. The present second expanded edition is made up from the text sheets and plates of the first edition, with the addition of a mezzotint portrait of the author and an 'Appendix to Eden' consisting of 20 additional botanical plates, each figuring a single species and 4pp. of explanatory text. These additional plates originally appeared in vols. XII, XIII and XVII of Hill's The Vegetable System (1759-1786), and although unsigned are by Hill himself. The partial hand-colouring is carefully executed with great attention paid to the correct colouration of the flowers - it appears to have been carried out at the same time as the Linnaean names were added to many of the plates: the Hon. Booth Grey or his family must be considered as likely authors/artists.
The work, originally intended as a companion to the Compleat Body of Husbandry (London, 1756), was designed along very unusual lines for the period: each weekly part includes information on what should be done in the garden during the following week together with descriptions of the plants that should be at their peak at that time. In the introduction the author's intentions are made plain: "We shall treat Gardens from their Origin, Design, and first Construction, to the raising them to Perfection, and keeping them in that condition; and we shall consider, in our Course, their Products, whether of Use, Curiosity, or Beauty. These we shall describe in their several Seasons, suiting our Publications to the Time of their Appearance."
Henrey writes of Sir John Hill that "Not only was...[he] industrious and energetic, but his writings show him to have been a man of real ability and genius" (vol. II, p. 91). Unfortunately, he was also conceited, eccentric and fond of self-advertisement: traits not conducive to winning friends, and various false starts in his search for wealth and recognition led him to pursue a number of careers: apothecary, practical botanist, actor, gardener (he apparently assisted in the laying out of a botanic garden in Kew, and was gardener at Kensington Palace) and, most productively of all, miscellaneous writer (the list of his works in the D.N.B. runs to five and a half columns).
Cf. Dunthorne 129; Great Flower Books (1990) p.100; Henrey III. 805; cf. Hunt II, 559; cf. Johnston Cleveland Collections 442; cf. Nissen BBI 880; Oak Spring Flora 53; cf. Stafleu & Cowan TL2 2770
#15087$12,500.00
 HOFFY, Alfred (editor, fl. 1837-1864)
The Orchardist's Companion a quarterly journal, devoted to the history, character, properties, modes of cultivation, and all other matters appertaining to the fruits of the United States, embellished with richly colored designs of the natural size, painted from the actual fruits when in their finest condition
Philadelphia: A. Hoffy, 1841. 2 volumes in one, quarto (11 5/16 x 8 5/8 inches). Title with wood-engraved vignette. 47 (of 48) hand-coloured lithographs. (Lacking plate 35 the 'Red Cheek Melacotan', title to 'vol.I' and pp.xi-xii from the 'Introduction'). Contemporary purple/red half roan, over marbled paper-covered boards, the flat spine divided into six compartments by double gilt fillets, lettered in the second compartment, numbered in the fourth. Provenance: George W.B. Felten (early book label).
'The first American journal completely devoted to fruit' ("Oak Spring Pomona") and one of the rarest of American works illustrated with hand-coloured lithographs.
Alfred Hoffy was a skilled lithographer who worked for several firms in Philadelphia, but fruit and fruit trees were his major enthusiasm. His Orchardist's Companion was the first published result of that passion. It is notable for a superb series of colour plates devoted to various fruits, the first such published in the United States (and not to be confused with Robert Hovey's Fruits of America, published in Boston from 1846 to 1852).
"The book was dedicated to the President and Members of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society...One of these members was a local nurseryman, Robert Buist (1805-80), who had been trained in the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, before coming to Philadelphia in the 1820s. There his garden became a centre for the introduction of new plants and seeds, and he wrote several books as well. In a 'Notice' dated March 1842 'A. Hoffy is doing himself the honor of announcing to his friends, subscribers, patrons and the public, that Mr. Robert Buist has kindly accepted at his hands the future Editorial department of The Orchardist's Companion, at the same time cannot omit expressing his feelings of satisfaction and pride in the opportunity of presenting to them so valuable an acquisition to the views of this work......The fruit illustrated in the ... plates was usually supplied from gardens near Philadelphia. The total number is made up of fourteen pears, eleven apples, eight peaches, seven plums, three grapes, two cherries, two strawberries, and a single apricot ... [The present copy is shy one peach].
All 48 [plates] were printed by P.S. Duval's Lithographic Press in Philadelphia and coloured by hand, probably by Hoffy's pupils. Hoffy himself drew and engraved [sic.] all the first 12; thereafter two of his students, D.S. Quinton and Edward Quayle, helped him...The titlepage vignettes were drawn by Hoffy and engraved by J.H. Brightly" (Oak Spring Pomona).
Copies of Hoffy's work vary in collation. It was issued in parts, but Hoffy recommended that subscribers eventually bind the parts into two separate volumes: one of preliminary text, and a second containing the plates and their 'descriptive pages'. Wainwright notes that Hoffy issued parts of the Orchardist's Companion on a quarterly schedule beginning in 1841, with each part containing twelve illustrations of fruit. The final installment of the work, which raised the total to sixty plates and which is dated 1842-43, is not usually found and is lacking here. In the present copy all the text and the plates are in a single volume. The title ('Vol.I April. 1841') intended for the front of volume containing just text has been abandoned and the title which Hoffy meant to be bound in at the start of the plates ('Vol. 2 April. 1841') is bound in at the front of the text.
Despite Hoffy's attempts at similar efforts, enthusiasm for his pomological productions waned. "Patronized by an impressive list of subscribers headed by the President of the United States, endorsed by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, and the recipient of a silver medal awarded by the American Institute of New York, The Orchardist's Companion nevertheless withered on the vine for lack of adequate support" (Wainwright). Cost was certainly a factor; though great plans were laid, no further additions to The Orchardist's Companion were forthcoming. Still, Hoffy was successful in creating an American fruit book of considerable beauty that became an early benchmark for the genre.
Bennett, p.86; Oak Spring Pomona 59; Wainwright Philadelphia in the Romantic Age of Lithography, p.42.
#17751$9,750.00
 HOOLA VAN NOOTEN, Berthe (1840-1885)
Fleurs, fruits et feuillages choisis de la flore et de la pomone de l' Ile de Java peints d'après nature par Madame Berthe Hoola van Nooten. Troisieme edition
Brussels and Leipzig: Librairie Européenne C. Muquardt, [No date on title, but with a foreword dated 1880]. Folio (21 7/8 x 15 3/4 inches). Half-title, title, dedication to the Queen of the Netherlands and foreword in French, parallel text in French and English. 40 chromolithographed plates by P. Depannemaeker after Hoola van Nooten. Original printed paper boards, rebacked and recornered to style.
Third, and improved edition of this magnificent display of spectacular Javanese fruits and flowers, their bright colours ideally suited to the then new technique of chromolithography. 'Europeans who beheld these plants for the first time... could not but have been moved to wonder and amazement' ('Oak Spring Flora')
Berthe Hoola van Nooten (1840-1885), a latter-day Maria Sibylla Merian, produced the present work as a heroic response to circumstances which left her on Java, a widow in her early twenties with a family to support and little money, certainly not enough to pay for her family's passage home to Belgium. 'Aware of the vogue in Europe for exotic flora, she decided to take advantage of her enforced exile and put to use the skill at flower painting that she had no doubt acquired as a girl. Thus she prepared forty magnificent plates for Fleurs, fruits et feuillages choisis de l'Ile de Java... [van Nooten] was clearly a more than competent artist, for the splendid tropical plants, with their lush foliage, vividly coloured flowers and exotic fruit, have been depicted with great skill. She managed to accentuate the splendour of each species by adopting a style that combined great precision and clarity with a touch of neo-Baroque exuberance, revelling in the rich forms and colours of the tropics. The reader's eye is immediately captured by the dark leaves, shown furled or crumpled or partly nibbled away by insects, the delicately rendered details of the follicles and seeds, and the heavy clusters of flowers that cascade down the page. The excellent reproduction of the artist's drawings in the form of chromolithographs lends an added tactility to these striking images' (Oak Spring Flora)
The work consists of a lithographed dedication (in rhyme) to the Queen of the Netherlands. This is followed by a preface in which the author hints at the tragic personal circumstances which led her to seek a publisher for the work, and the forty plates, each of which is accompanied by detailed text in French and English giving a description as well as occasional information on the plants' culinary, medical, religious and other uses. The plates depict a mixture of indigenous, naturalised and introduced plants and include shrubs, flowering trees and, perhaps the most striking of all, 16 portraits of plants with edible fruits: pomelo, rambutan, mangosteen, custard-apple, bread-fruit, mango, bananas, star-fruit and papaya amongst others.
Great Flower Books (1990) p. 103; Landwehr 80; Nissen BBI 93; Oak Spring Flora 87; Stafleu & Cowan TL2 3025
#18373$17,500.00
 HOUGH, Romeyn Beck (1857-1924)
The American Woods. Exhibited By Actual Specimens....
Lowville, N.Y.: 1888 (Volume I) and 1898 (Volume II, Second edition). Volumes I-II only (of 14), 8vo portfolios. Plates and illustrations. 159 samples of wood in 53 card mounts, each wafer thin transverse, radial and tangential sections illustrating 53 species. Text in original wrappers, samples on card mounts unbound as issued, each text volume and accompanying samples loose within original green cloth covers, the covers in matching original cloth slipcases, with metal catches and bosses to covers, contained in a single modern green cloth box. Provenance: Medford, Mass. Public Library (stamps, labels, perforation mark).
One of the greatest American works on trees and woods, a labor of love, and of the greatest rarity in complete sets
This remarkable work was the lifetime achievement of Romeyn B. Hough, who devoted himself to the study of American trees, and who is best known for his Handbook of Trees of the Northern States and Canada, long a standard reference work in American dendrology. In this work, Hough sought to describe the woods found in America, with a detailed description in an accompanying pamphlet, and with thin cross-sections of actual woods mounted and labeled in accompanying stiff cardboard mounts. These provide a unique record of American wood types, arranged geographically. Generally each species is shown with wood cut on traverse section, radial section, and tangential section. The samples are so thin as to be easily translucent. The age of these specimens gives them tremendous importance from an ecological standpoint, as well as their great interest to students of American furniture and woodcrafts. The trees available to Hough at the time make such an endeavor impossible to contemplate today. Parts I-IV cover New York and adjacent states, part V covers Florida, parts VI-X describe the Pacific Slope, parts XI-XII cover the Atlantic states, and part XIII southern Florida. Part XIV contained a continuation of the work on the trees of Florida with text by Marjorie Hough, using specimens and notes prepared by her father before his death in 1924.
Hough explained the unique nature of the work thus: it is `illustrated by actual specimens, and being in this way an exhibition of nature itself it possesses a peculiar and great interest never found in a press-printed book. The specimens are....about 2 x 5 in. in size, and sufficiently thin to admit of examination in transmitted light...Looked at in reflected light they appear as in the board or log... These specimens are mounted in durable frame-like Bristol-board pages, with black waterproofed surfaces...and each bears printed in gilt-bronze the technical name of the species and its English, German, French and Spanish names. The pages are separable...and are accompanied with a full text...giving information as to the uses and physical properties of the woods, and distributions, habits of growth, botanical characters, habitats, medicinal properties, etc,., of the trees.. The woods used for the specimens are personally collected by the author… and are sectioned and prepared by a process of his own device'.
Complete sets of this work are very rare. The volumes were priced at five dollars each, a high price reflecting the work involved in assembling them. Since subscribers came and went over the 25-year period of publication and many only bought the volume or volumes on the areas that interested them. The rarity of complete sets can be judged from the fact that Stafleu and Cowan record the work as being complete in 6 volumes.
Stafleu & Cowan TL2 341.
#2959$3,250.00
 HOUGH, Romeyn Beck (1857-1924)
The American Woods. Exhibited By Actual Specimens....
Lowville, N.Y.: by the author, 1888-1913. Volumes I-XIII only (of 14), octavo (9 x 6 inches). Illustrations. 973 samples of wood, each wafer-thin transverse, radial and tangential sections illustrating 324 species, window-mounted in 324 card mounts only, temporary card insert in part VII. (Lacking card mount number 288, occasional natural cracking and warping to a few samples). Text in original wrappers, samples in card mounts unbound as issued, each text volume and accompanying samples within original green cloth cover in matching original cloth slipcase, with metal catch and bosses to covers (Some damage to slip-case of parts IX and X, clasp of slip-case of part XII detached).
One of the greatest American works on trees and woods, a labor of love. Complete sets are of the greatest rarity: the present set is without just a single plate from part XII and the miscellaneous supplemental part XIV published by Hough's daughter after his death in 1924.
This remarkable work was the lifetime achievement of Romeyn B. Hough, who devoted himself to the study of American trees, and who is best known for his Handbook of Trees of the Northern States and Canada, long a standard reference work in American dendrology. In this work, Hough sought to describe the woods found in America, with a detailed description in an accompanying pamphlet, and with thin cross-sections of actual woods mounted and labeled in accompanying stiff cardboard mounts. These provide a unique record of American wood types, arranged geographically. Generally each species is shown with wood cut on traverse section, radial section, and tangential section. The samples are so thin as to be easily translucent. The age of these specimens gives them tremendous importance from an ecological standpoint, as well as their great interest to students of American furniture and woodcrafts. The trees available to Hough at the time make such an endeavor impossible to contemplate today. Parts I-IV cover New York and adjacent states, part V covers Florida, parts VI-X describe the Pacific Slope, parts XI-XII cover the Atlantic states, and part XIII southern Florida. Part XIV contained a continuation of the work on the trees of Florida with text by Marjorie Hough, using specimens and notes prepared by her father before his death in 1924.
Hough explained the unique nature of the work thus: it is `illustrated by actual specimens, and being in this way an exhibition of nature itself it possesses a peculiar and great interest never found in a press-printed book. The specimens are....about 2 x 5 in. in size, and sufficiently thin to admit of examination in transmitted light...Looked at in reflected light they appear as in the board or log... These specimens are mounted in durable frame-like Bristol-board pages, with black waterproofed surfaces...and each bears printed in gilt-bronze the technical name of the species and its English, German, French and Spanish names. The pages are separable...and are accompanied with a full text...giving information as to the uses and physical properties of the woods, and distributions, habits of growth, botanical characters, habitats, medicinal properties, etc..., of the trees...The woods used for the specimens are personally collected by the author and are sectioned and prepared by a process of his own device'.
Complete sets of this work are very rare. The volumes were priced at five dollars each, a high price reflecting the work involved in assembling them. Since subscribers came and went over the 25-year period of publication and many only bought the volume or volumes on the areas that interested them. The rarity of complete sets can be judged from the fact that Stafleu and Cowan record the work as being complete in 6 volumes.
Stafleu & Cowan TL2 341.
#3833$27,500.00
 HOVEY, Charles Mason (1810-1887)
The Fruits of America, containing richly colored figures and full descriptions of all the choicest varieties cultivated in The United States
Boston & New York: [vol.I] C.C.Little & Jas. Brown and Hovey & Co. and D.Appleton & Co. in New York, [vol.II] Hovey & Co., [1847-]1856. 2 volumes, octavo (10 5/8 x 7 1/4 inches). Half-title to vol.I, 2pp. subscribers' list. Titles with wood-engraved vignettes. Lithographic portrait frontispieces of Hovey and William Sharp, 96 chromolithographic plates by William Sharp & Son, numerous woodcut illustrations of trees, flowers and fruit. (A few plates shaved as usual, slight surface damage to plate facing page 47 of text in vol.II). Contemporary black half morocco gilt by Waters of Baltimore, over cloth-covered boards, spines in six compartments with raised bands, lettered in the second, the others with elaborate repeat decoration in gilt, vol.I gilt edges, vol.II with top edge gilt and outer edge uncut, expertly rebacked preserving the original spine.
The most lavish ante-bellum work on the fruit trees of America, "the first major work executed entirely in chromolithography" (Reese), and here with an apparently unrecorded first issue title to the first volume.
The 96 varieties featured include 93 fruit trees (53 pear, 20 apple, 7 cherry, 7 peach and 6 plum) and 3 strawberry varieties. The plates were all executed by the Boston firm headed by William Sharp and are accompanied by text which gives the history of each variety, a full description, its growing habit, flower and fruit, and advice on its cultivation. Each entry is headed by cross-references to the other standard European and American books and periodicals. The illustrations generally comprise a thumb-nail sketch of the growing habit of each tree, an outline of the fruit and occasionally an image of the flower.
Charles Hovey was born in Cambridge, Mass. in 1810 and with his brother Phineas established a nursery there in 1832. By 1845 his huge collection of fruit trees included a thousand pear trees and four hundred apple trees. A keen plant breeder, he also produced a number of new varieties of Camellia. His literary output brought him to the forefront of horticultural writers with the American Gardeners' Magazine (renamed the Magazine of Horticulture) which enjoyed great popularity between 1834 and 1868. The present work was intended by Hovey as an international showcase for what American pomologists had achieved, as well as an essential reference guide. Originally appeared in parts between 1847 and 1856, Hovey's masterpiece is complete in two volumes with 96 plates.
Arnold Arboretum/ Harvard p.354; Bennett p.59; BM (NH) II,p.881; Bunyard p.437 & 444; Mass. Horticultural Society p.148; McGrath p.112; Nissen BBI 941; Oak Spring Pomona 61; Reese 20.
#17437$12,000.00
 JONSTON, John (1603-1675) and Nicolas ROBERT (1614-1685)
Collection d'oiseaux les plus rares gravés et dessinés d'après nature, pour servir d'intelligence à l'histoire naturelle et raisonnée des différens oiseaux qui habitent le globe... Traduite du Latin de Jonston, considerablement augmentee... De laquelle on afait preceder l'Histoire particuliere des Oiseaux de la Menagerie du Roi... par... Robert... Pour servir de suite à l'histoire des insectes & plantes de Mademoiselle de Merian
Paris: Chez L.C. Desnos, 1772-1774. (19 9/16 x 13 inches). 2 parts in one volume, folio ( x inches). Engraved additional title and 85 engraved plates (the 23 in the second part by Nicolas Robert). Bound to style in 18th-century diced russia gilt, covers with triple fillet border with floral spray cornerpiece, spine in seven compartments with raised bands, red morocco lettering-piece in the second, the others with repeat decoration in gilt made up from various small tools.
A fine copy of Desnos' edition of Jonston's work, bound with two selections of engravings by Robert: one of the greatest of all 17th century natural history artists.
The main part of the present work is a French edition of Jonston's work on birds. To this is added a reissue of most of the plates from two of Robert's works on the birds of the royal menagerie at Versailles: Receuil... and Suite des Oyseaux les plus rare, both originally published in Paris in 1676.
Jonston, the grandson of John Johnstone of Craigieburn, Nithsdale, Scotland, was born and raised in Poland. After studying botany and medicine at Cambridge, he travelled extensively before settling in Leiden, where he practiced medicine. Jonston is now seen chiefly as a "learned compilor" (Johnston) and published a very popular natural history (Historiae Naturalis), in 77 parts between 1650 and 1662. His sources were wide ranging, but probably the main influence was Aldrovandi (1522-1605). The first 62 plates in the present work are a reprint of the complete suite of plates from the De Avibus section of Aldrovandi's great work.
The remaining 23 plates are by Nicolas Robert. Robert is one of the two greatest French natural history artists of the 17th century. He made his name illustrating the Guirlande de Julie: a jewel of a manuscript, an album of flowers given as a gift from the baron de Saint-Maure to his fiancée. Robert subsequently worked most memorably on the vélins du Roi botanical drawings and the engravings for the Académie Royale des Sciences work Mémoires pour servir à l'Histoire des Plantes. Whilst working on these commissions for others he also produced his own plates, the present excellent engravings are fine examples of his work.
Anker 238; Fine Bird Books (1990) p.111; Nissen IVB 484; cf. Ronsil 1503; cf. Ronsil 2599 (1st edition of Robert plates); Wood p.410.
#17345$17,500.00
 LEAR, Edward (1812-1888)
Black Kite. Milvus ater
London: [by the Author, 1832-1837]. Lithograph, coloured by hand, by Edward Lear, printed by C. Hullmandel. Very good condition apart from some minor foxing. Sheet size: 21 5/8 x 14 3/8 inches. 1 7/8" Curly Maple frame, with dark amber finish. Frame size: 30 1/8 x 22 3/4 inches.
A beautiful image from John Gould's "The Birds of Europe": a work which, according to Hyman, "included some of the most remarkable bird drawings ever made."
This plate is from the second of John Gould's great ornithological portfolios. Gould undertook this work not only hoping to build on the success of his first work (on the birds of the Himalaya Mountains), but also in an effort to redress the imbalance between the study of local and foreign ornithology. It was his opinion that too much attention had focused on the exotic, while the beauty of the more local species was ignored. He wrote in the preface to the work from which this image comes: 'It has been frequently remarked that the productions of distant countries have received a much larger share of attention than those objects by which we are more immediately surrounded; and it is certainly true, that while numerous and costly illustrations have made us acquainted with the Ornithology of most other parts of the world, The Birds of Europe, in which we are, or ought to be, more interested, have not received that degree of attention which they naturally demand. The present work has been undertaken to supply that deficiency."
The images in this work are the first to be published by Gould that show the liveliness of treatment that was to become such a feature of later works. This break from the traditional methods of bird depiction can be largely attributed to the influence of and contributions from Edward Lear: "They are certainly among the most remarkable bird drawings ever made, [for] it is evident that Lear endowed them with some measure of his own whimsy and intelligence, his energetic curiosity, his self-consious clumsiness and his unselfconscious charm." (Hyman)
Cf. Anker, 169; cf.Balis, 101; cf.Fine Bird Books (1990), p. 102; cf. Nissen, IVB, 371; cf. Sauer, 2; cf. Zimmer, p. 251.
#13558$1,750.00
 LEAR, Edward (1812-1888)
Booted Eagle. Aquila pennata
London: [by the Author, 1832-1837]. Lithograph, coloured by hand, by Edward Lear, printed by C. Hullmandel. Very good condition. Sheet size: 21 5/8 x 14 3/8 inches. 1 7/8" Curly Maple frame, with dark amber finish. Frame size: 30 1/8 x 22 3/4 inches.
A beautiful image from John Gould's "The Birds of Europe": a work which, according to Hyman, "included some of the most remarkable bird drawings ever made."
This plate is from the second of John Gould's great ornithological portfolios. Gould undertook this work not only hoping to build on the success of his first work (on the birds of the Himalaya mountains), but also in an effort to redress the imbalance between the study of local and foreign ornithology. It was his opinion that too much attention had focused on the exotic, while the beauty of the more local species was ignored. He wrote in the preface to the work from which this image comes: "It has been frequently remarked that the productions of distant countries have received a much larger share of attention than those objects by which we are more immediately surrounded; and it is certainly true, that while numerous and costly illustrations have made us acquainted with the Ornithology of most other parts of the world, the Birds of Europe, in which we are, or ought to be, more interested, have not received that degree of attention which they naturally demand. The present work has been undertaken to supply that deficiency."
The images in this work are the first to be published by Gould that show the liveliness of treatment that was to become such a feature of later works. This break from the traditional methods of bird depiction can be largely attributed to the influence of and contributions from Edward Lear: "They are certainly among the most remarkable bird drawings ever made, [for] it is evident that Lear endowed them with some measure of his own whimsy and intelligence, his energetic curiosity, his self-consious clumsiness and his unselfconscious charm." (Hyman)
Cf. Anker, 169; cf. Balis, 101; cf. Fine Bird Books (1990), p. 102; cf. Nissen, IVB, 371; cf. Sauer, 2; cf. Zimmer, p. 251.
#13560$1,750.00
 LEAR, Edward (1812-1888)
Capercailzie or Cock of the Wood. Tetrao Urogallus
London: [by the Author, 1832-1837]. Lithograph, coloured by hand, by Edward Lear, printed by C. Hullmandel. Very good condition apart from some overall light soiling. Sheet size: 14 1/4 x 21 1/8 inches.
A beautiful image from John Gould's 'The Birds of Europe': a work which, according to Hyman, 'included some of the most remarkable bird drawings ever made'.
This plate is from the second of John Gould's great ornithological portfolios. Gould undertook this work not only hoping to build on the success of his first work (on the birds of the Himalaya mountains), but also in an effort to redress the imbalance between the study of local and foreign ornithology. It was his opinion that too much attention had focused on the exotic, whilst the beauty of the more local species was ignored. He wrote in the preface to the work from which this image comes: 'It has been frequently remarked that the productions of distant countries have received a much larger share of attention than those objects by which we are more immediately surrounded; and it is certainly true, that while numerous and costly illustrations have made us acquainted with the Ornithology of most other parts of the world, the Birds of Europe, in which we are, or ought to be, more interested, have not received that degree of attention which they naturally demand. The present work has been undertaken to supply that deficiency.'
The images in this work are the first to be published by Gould that show the liveliness of treatment that was to become such a feature of later works. This break from the traditional methods of bird depiction can be largely attributed to the influence of and contributions from Edward Lear: 'They are certainly among the most remarkable bird drawings ever made, [for] it is evident that Lear endowed them with some measure of his own whimsy and intelligence, his energetic curiosity, his self-conscious clumsiness and his unselfconscious charm'. (Hyman)
Cf. Anker 169; cf.Balis 101; cf.Fine Bird Books (1990), p. 102; cf.Nissen IVB 371; cf.Sauer 2; cf.Zimmer p. 251.
#9287$1,250.00
 LEAR, Edward (1812-1888)
Flamingo. Phoenicopterus ruber (Linn.)
[London: by the Author, 1832-1837]. Lithograph, coloured by hand, by Edward Lear, printed by C. Hullmandel. Very good condition with a small, expertly repaired marginal tear on the right edge, not affecting the image. Sheet size: 21 1/4 x 14 3/4 inches.
An ornithological masterpiece by Edward Lear for John Gould's "The Birds of Europe": a work which, according to Hyman, "included some of the most remarkable bird drawings ever made."
This plate is from the second of John Gould's great ornithological portfolios. Gould undertook this work not only hoping to build on the success of his first work (on the birds of the Himalaya mountains), but also in an effort to redress the imbalance between the study of local and foreign ornithology. It was his opinion that too much attention had focused on the exotic, while the beauty of the more local species was ignored. He wrote in the preface to the work from which this image comes: "It has been frequently remarked that the productions of distant countries have received a much larger share of attention than those objects by which we are more immediately surrounded; and it is certainly true, that while numerous and costly illustrations have made us acquainted with the Ornithology of most other parts of the world, the Birds of Europe, in which we are, or ought to be, more interested, have not received that degree of attention which they naturally demand. The present work has been undertaken to supply that deficiency."
Edward Lear, the great wit and ornithological artist of the Victorian age, was employed by John Gould when both men were getting their careers under way early in the 1830s. It was a relationship destined to be short: Gould was a demanding, quite literal employer and Lear was a sparkling wit and, in any event, was losing his eyesight. Here he reveals his almost unique ability to portray birds as individuals rather than specimens, who radiate vitality and evoke admiration.
The images in this work are the first to be published by Gould that show the liveliness of treatment that was to become such a feature of later works. This break from the traditional methods of bird depiction can be largely attributed to the influence of and contributions from Edward Lear: "They are certainly among the most remarkable bird drawings ever made, [for] it is evident that Lear endowed them with some measure of his own whimsy and intelligence, his energetic curiosity, his self-consious clumsiness and his unselfconscious charm." (Hyman)
Cf. Anker, 169; cf. Balis, 101; cf. Fine Bird Books (1990), p. 102; cf. Nissen, IVB, 371; cf. Sauer, 2; cf. Zimmer, p. 251.
#24240$5,000.00
 LEAR, Edward (1812-1888)
Freckled Bittern. Botaurus lentiginosus
London: [by the Author, 1832-1837]. Lithograph, coloured by hand, by E. Lear, printed by C. Hullmandel. Very good condition apart from some overall light soiling, minor foxing, a 1" tear in the top margin. Sheet size: 14 1/2 x 21 1/4 inches.
A beautiful image from John Gould's 'The Birds of Europe': a work which, according to Hyman, 'included some of the most remarkable bird drawings ever made'.
This plate is from the second of John Gould's great ornithological portfolios. Gould undertook this work not only hoping to build on the success of his first work (on the birds of the Himalaya mountains), but also in an effort to redress the imbalance between the study of local and foreign ornithology. It was his opinion that too much attention had focused on the exotic, whilst the beauty of the more local species was ignored. He wrote in the preface to the work from which this image comes: 'It has been frequently remarked that the productions of distant countries have received a much larger share of attention than those objects by which we are more immediately surrounded; and it is certainly true, that while numerous and costly illustrations have made us acquainted with the Ornithology of most other parts of the world, the Birds of Europe, in which we are, or ought to be, more interested, have not received that degree of attention which they naturally demand. The present work has been undertaken to supply that deficiency.'
The images in this work are the first to be published by Gould that show the liveliness of treatment that was to become such a feature of later works. This break from the traditional methods of bird depiction can be largely attributed to the influence of and contributions from Edward Lear: 'They are certainly among the most remarkable bird drawings ever made, [for] it is evident that Lear endowed them with some measure of his own whimsy and intelligence, his energetic curiosity, his self-conscious clumsiness and his unselfconscious charm'. (Hyman)
Cf. Anker 169; cf.Balis 101; cf.Fine Bird Books (1990), p. 102; cf.Nissen IVB 371; cf.Sauer 2; cf.Zimmer p. 251.
#9260$900.00
 LEAR, Edward (1812-1888)
Great Bustard. Otis tarda
London: [by the Author, 1832-1837]. Lithograph, coloured by hand, by Edward Lear, printed by C. Hullmandel. Very good condition apart from some overall light soiling, minor foxing. Sheet size: 14 3/8 x 21 3/8 inches.
A beautiful image from John Gould's 'The Birds of Europe': a work which, according to Hyman, 'included some of the most remarkable bird drawings ever made'.
This plate is from the second of John Gould's great ornithological portfolios. Gould undertook this work not only hoping to build on the success of his first work (on the birds of the Himalaya mountains), but also in an effort to redress the imbalance between the study of local and foreign ornithology. It was his opinion that too much attention had focused on the exotic, whilst the beauty of the more local species was ignored. He wrote in the preface to the work from which this image comes: 'It has been frequently remarked that the productions of distant countries have received a much larger share of attention than those objects by which we are more immediately surrounded; and it is certainly true, that while numerous and costly illustrations have made us acquainted with the Ornithology of most other parts of the world, the Birds of Europe, in which we are, or ought to be, more interested, have not received that degree of attention which they naturally demand. The present work has been undertaken to supply that deficiency.'
The images in this work are the first to be published by Gould that show the liveliness of treatment that was to become such a feature of later works. This break from the traditional methods of bird depiction can be largely attributed to the influence of and contributions from Edward Lear: 'They are certainly among the most remarkable bird drawings ever made, [for] it is evident that Lear endowed them with some measure of his own whimsy and intelligence, his energetic curiosity, his self-conscious clumsiness and his unselfconscious charm'. (Hyman)
Cf. Anker 169; cf.Balis 101; cf.Fine Bird Books (1990), p. 102; cf.Nissen IVB 371; cf.Sauer 2; cf.Zimmer p. 251.
#9284$900.00
 LEAR, Edward (1812-1888)
Honey Buzzard. Pernis apivorus
London: [by the Author, 1832-1837]. Lithograph, coloured by hand, by E. Lear, printed by C. Hullmandel. Very good condition apart from some light foxing. Sheet size: 21 5/8 x 14 3/8 inches. 1 7/8" Curly Maple frame, with dark amber finish. Frame size: 30 1/8 x 22 3/4 inches.
A beautiful image from John Gould's "The Birds of Europe": a work which, according to Hyman, "included some of the most remarkable bird drawings ever made."
This plate is from the second of John Gould's great ornithological portfolios. Gould undertook this work not only hoping to build on the success of his first work (on the birds of the Himalaya Mountains), but also in an effort to redress the imbalance between the study of local and foreign ornithology. It was his opinion that too much attention had focused on the exotic, while the beauty of the more local species was ignored. He wrote in the preface to the work from which this image comes: "It has been frequently remarked that the productions of distant countries have received a much larger share of attention than those objects by which we are more immediately surrounded; and it is certainly true, that while numerous and costly illustrations have made us acquainted with the Ornithology of most other parts of the world, the Birds of Europe, in which we are, or ought to be, more interested, have not received that degree of attention which they naturally demand. The present work has been undertaken to supply that deficiency."
The images in this work are the first to be published by Gould that show the liveliness of treatment that was to become such a feature of later works. This break from the traditional methods of bird depiction can be largely attributed to the influence of and contributions from Edward Lear: "They are certainly among the most remarkable bird drawings ever made, [for] it is evident that Lear endowed them with some measure of his own whimsy and intelligence, his energetic curiosity, his self-consious clumsiness and his unselfconscious charm." (Hyman)
Cf. Anker 169; cf. Balis, 101; cf. Fine Bird Books (1990), p. 102; cf. Nissen, IVB, 371; cf. Sauer, 2; cf. Zimmer, p. 251.
#13559$1,650.00
 LEAR, Edward (1812-1888)
Kite. Milvus vulagaris
London: [by the Author, 1832-1837]. Lithograph, coloured by hand, by E. Lear, printed by C. Hullmandel. Very good condition apart from some very minor foxing. Sheet size: 21 5/8 x 14 3/8 inches. 1 7/8" Curly Maple frame, with dark amber finish. Frame size: 30 1/8 x 22 3/4 inches.
A beautiful image from John Gould's "The Birds of Europe": a work which, according to Hyman, "included some of the most remarkable bird drawings ever made."
This plate is from the second of John Gould's great ornithological portfolios. Gould undertook this work not only hoping to build on the success of his first work (on the birds of the Himalaya Mountains), but also in an effort to redress the imbalance between the study of local and foreign ornithology. It was his opinion that too much attention had focused on the exotic, while the beauty of the more local species was ignored. He wrote in the preface to the work from which this image comes: "It has been frequently remarked that the productions of distant countries have received a much larger share of attention than those objects by which we are more immediately surrounded; and it is certainly true, that while numerous and costly illustrations have made us acquainted with the Ornithology of most other parts of the world, the Birds of Europe, in which we are, or ought to be, more interested, have not received that degree of attention which they naturally demand. The present work has been undertaken to supply that deficiency."
The images in this work are the first to be published by Gould that show the liveliness of treatment that was to become such a feature of later works. This break from the traditional methods of bird depiction can be largely attributed to the influence of and contributions from Edward Lear: "They are certainly among the most remarkable bird drawings ever made, [for] it is evident that Lear endowed them with some measure of his own whimsy and intelligence, his energetic curiosity, his self-conscious clumsiness and his unselfconscious charm." (Hyman)
Cf. Anker 169; cf. Balis, 101; cf. Fine Bird Books (1990), p. 102; cf. Nissen, IVB, 371; cf. Sauer, 2; cf. Zimmer, p. 251.
#13557$1,750.00
 LEAR, Edward (1812-1888)
Marsh Harrier. Circus rufus
London: [by the Author, 1832-1837]. Lithograph, coloured by hand, by E. Lear, printed by C. Hullmandel. Very good condition. Sheet size: 14 1/4 x 21 1/8 inches.
A beautiful image from John Gould's 'The Birds of Europe': a work which, according to Hyman, 'included some of the most remarkable bird drawings ever made'.
This plate is from the second of John Gould's great ornithological portfolios. Gould undertook this work not only hoping to build on the success of his first work (on the birds of the Himalaya mountains), but also in an effort to redress the imbalance between the study of local and foreign ornithology. It was his opinion that too much attention had focused on the exotic, whilst the beauty of the more local species was ignored. He wrote in the preface to the work from which this image comes: 'It has been frequently remarked that the productions of distant countries have received a much larger share of attention than those objects by which we are more immediately surrounded; and it is certainly true, that while numerous and costly illustrations have made us acquainted with the Ornithology of most other parts of the world, the Birds of Europe, in which we are, or ought to be, more interested, have not received that degree of attention which they naturally demand. The present work has been undertaken to supply that deficiency.'
The images in this work are the first to be published by Gould that show the liveliness of treatment that was to become such a feature of later works. This break from the traditional methods of bird depiction can be largely attributed to the influence of and contributions from Edward Lear: 'They are certainly among the most remarkable bird drawings ever made, [for] it is evident that Lear endowed them with some measure of his own whimsy and intelligence, his energetic curiosity, his self-conscious clumsiness and his unselfconscious charm'. (Hyman)
Cf. Anker 169; cf.Balis 101; cf.Fine Bird Books (1990), p. 102; cf.Nissen IVB 371; cf.Sauer 2; cf.Zimmer p. 251.
#9257$900.00
 LEAR, Edward (1812-1888)
Rough-legged Buzzard. Buteo Lagopus
London: [by the Author, 1832-1837]. Lithograph, coloured by hand, by Edward Lear, printed by C. Hullmandel. Very good condition apart from some overall light soiling. Sheet size: 21 3/8 x 14 3/8 inches.
A beautiful image from John Gould's 'The Birds of Europe': a work which, according to Hyman, 'included some of the most remarkable bird drawings ever made'.
This plate is from the second of John Gould's great ornithological portfolios. Gould undertook this work not only hoping to build on the success of his first work (on the birds of the Himalaya mountains), but also in an effort to redress the imbalance between the study of local and foreign ornithology. It was his opinion that too much attention had focused on the exotic, whilst the beauty of the more local species was ignored. He wrote in the preface to the work from which this image comes: 'It has been frequently remarked that the productions of distant countries have received a much larger share of attention than those objects by which we are more immediately surrounded; and it is certainly true, that while numerous and costly illustrations have made us acquainted with the Ornithology of most other parts of the world, the Birds of Europe, in which we are, or ought to be, more interested, have not received that degree of attention which they naturally demand. The present work has been undertaken to supply that deficiency.'
The images in this work are the first to be published by Gould that show the liveliness of treatment that was to become such a feature of later works. This break from the traditional methods of bird depiction can be largely attributed to the influence of and contributions from Edward Lear: 'They are certainly among the most remarkable bird drawings ever made, [for] it is evident that Lear endowed them with some measure of his own whimsy and intelligence, his energetic curiosity, his self-conscious clumsiness and his unselfconscious charm'. (Hyman)
Cf. Anker 169; cf.Balis 101; cf.Fine Bird Books (1990), p. 102; cf.Nissen IVB 371; cf.Sauer 2; cf.Zimmer p. 251.
#9255$1,250.00
 LEAR, Edward (1812-1888)
Short-Toed Eagle. Circaeëtus brachydactylus
London: [by the Author, 1832-1837]. Lithograph, coloured by hand, by Edward Lear, printed by C. Hullmandel. Very good condition apart from some overall light soiling. Sheet size: 21 5/8 x 14 3/8 inches.
A beautiful image from John Gould's 'The Birds of Europe': a work which, according to Hyman, 'included some of the most remarkable bird drawings ever made'.
This plate is from the second of John Gould's great ornithological portfolios. Gould undertook this work not only hoping to build on the success of his first work (on the birds of the Himalaya mountains), but also in an effort to redress the imbalance between the study of local and foreign ornithology. It was his opinion that too much attention had focused on the exotic, whilst the beauty of the more local species was ignored. He wrote in the preface to the work from which this image comes: 'It has been frequently remarked that the productions of distant countries have received a much larger share of attention than those objects by which we are more immediately surrounded; and it is certainly true, that while numerous and costly illustrations have made us acquainted with the Ornithology of most other parts of the world, the Birds of Europe, in which we are, or ought to be, more interested, have not received that degree of attention which they naturally demand. The present work has been undertaken to supply that deficiency.'
The images in this work are the first to be published by Gould that show the liveliness of treatment that was to become such a feature of later works. This break from the traditional methods of bird depiction can be largely attributed to the influence of and contributions from Edward Lear: 'They are certainly among the most remarkable bird drawings ever made, [for] it is evident that Lear endowed them with some measure of his own whimsy and intelligence, his energetic curiosity, his self-conscious clumsiness and his unselfconscious charm'. (Hyman)
Cf. Anker 169; cf.Balis 101; cf.Fine Bird Books (1990), p. 102; cf.Nissen IVB 371; cf.Sauer 2; cf.Zimmer p. 251.
#9258$1,750.00
 LINDEN, Jean-Jules (1817-1898)
Pescatorea. Iconographie des Orchidées
Brussels: M.Hayez for Librairie de Charles Muqardt, [1854-]1855-1860. Folio (17 7/8 x 12 1/2 inches). Volume I (all published). Half-title. 48 hand-coloured lithographed plates by F.Detollenaere after Detollenaere and Maubert. Expertly rebound to style in blue half morocco over 19th-century paper-covered boards, spines gilt in six compartments with raised bands, lettered in the second, the others with elaborate overall repeat decoration built up from various stylized flower and foliage tools.
First edition of this important large format work on a wide-ranging selection of the most beautiful orchids then in cultivation, originating from all the tropical regions of the world.
Although the work was a collaborative effort between Linden, G. Lüddemann, J.E. Planchon and M.G. Reichenbach, the editorial control remained with Linden. A native of Luxembourg, Linden moved to Belgium in his youth and during his working life was responsible for the importation of over 1100 different orchid species. He was 'An orchid hunter par excellence.. [and] was the first to search the mountain regions diligently for his orchids. In so doing, he was able to obtain many cool-temperature plants for his sponsors in Belgium. After ten years in the western hemisphere, Linden returned to work in Brussels in 1845, where with his son, Lucien, he founded Horticulture Internationale, the first major commercial competitor of the British orchid house Messrs. Sander' (The Orchid observed no.16 ).
The work is named in honor of J.P. Pescatore of St.Cloud, one of the earliest amateur orchid growers, a client of Linden's, who maintained `la plus riche collection d'Orchidées du continent' at his home the Chateau de la Celle-St.-Cloud. According to Linden's preface, Pescatore's death and subsequent withdrawal of financial support by his executors meant that the publication was unable to continue beyond the present 12 livraisons: this was apparently very much against Pescatore's wishes, but the unexpectedness of his death had not allowed him time to make his views clear to his heirs. This version of events is generally accepted, but it is interesting to note that the `Conditions de la souscription' printed on the lower cover of the wrappers announce that the book will be published in 12 monthly parts, each containing 4 plates, beginning on 1 June 1854, and forming a single `magnifique volume in-folio': no mention is made of any further volumes. The wrappers also demonstrate a shift in emphasis towards Linden. The title on the upper wrappers reads Pescatorea. Iconographie des Orchidées de la collection de M.Pescatore, au Chateau de la Celle-St.-Cloud. Rédigées par Messieurs.. Linden.. Lüddemann.. Planchon.. Reichenbach, with all of the editors being given equal billing. By January 1860, when the title and preface were printed, Linden had claimed a more important position and Pescatore no longer appears on the title at all.
Great Flower Books (1990) p.113; Nissen BBI 1196; Stafleu & Cowan TL2 4622.
#10755$16,000.00
 LINDEN, Jean-Jules (1817-1898)
Pescatorea. Iconographie des Orchidées
Brussels: M.Hayez for Librairie de Charles Muqardt, [1854-]1855-1860. Folio (17 3/4 x 12 3/8 inches). Volume I (all published). Half-title. 48 hand-coloured lithographed plates by F.Detollenaere after Detollenaere and Maubert. Expertly rebound to style in green half morocco over 19th-century marbled paper-covered boards, spines gilt in six compartments with raised bands, lettered in the second, the others with elaborate overall repeat decoration built up from various stylized flower and foliage tools.
First edition this important large format work on a wide-ranging selection of the most beautiful orchids then in cultivation, originating from all the tropical regions of the world.
Although the work was a collaborative effort between Linden, G. Lüddemann, J.E. Planchon and M.G. Reichenbach, the editorial control remained with Linden. A native of Luxembourg, Linden moved to Belgium in his youth and during his working life was responsible for the importation of over 1100 different orchid species. He was 'An orchid hunter par excellence.. [and] was the first to search the mountain regions diligently for his orchids. In so doing, he was able to obtain many cool-temperature plants for his sponsors in Belgium. After ten years in the western hemisphere, Linden returned to work in Brussels in 1845, where with his son, Lucien, he founded Horticulture Internationale, the first major commercial competitor of the British orchid house Messrs. Sander' (The Orchid observed no.16 ).
The work is named in honor of J.P.Pescatore of St.Cloud, one of the earliest amateur orchid growers, a client of Linden's, who maintained `la plus riche collection d'Orchidées du continent' at his home the Chateau de la Celle-St.-Cloud. According to Linden's preface, Pescatore's death and subsequent withdrawal of financial support support by his executors meant that the publication was unable to continue beyond the present 12 livraisons: this was apparently very much against Pescatore's wishes, but the unexpectedness of his death had not allowed him time to make his views clear to his heirs. This version of events is generally accepted, but it is interesting to note that the `Conditions de la souscription' printed on the lower cover of the wrappers announce that the book will be published in 12 monthly parts, each containing 4 plates, beginning on 1 June 1854, and forming a single `magnifique volume in-folio': no mention is made of any further volumes. The wrappers also demonstrate a shift in emphasis towards Linden. The title on the upper wrappers reads Pescatorea. Iconographie des Orchidées de la collection de M.Pescatore, au Chateau de la Celle-St.-Cloud. Rédigées par Messieurs.. Linden.. Lüddemann.. Planchon.. Reichenbach, with all of the editors being given equal billing. By January 1860, when the title and preface were printed, Linden had claimed a more important position and Pescatore no longer appears on the title at all.
Great Flower Books (1990) p.113; Nissen BBI 1196; Stafleu & Cowan TL2 4622.
#13269$16,000.00
 LOUDON, John Claudius (1783-1843)
Arboretum Et Fruticetum Britannicum; or, the trees and shrubs of Britain, native and foreign, hardy and half-hardy, pictorially and botanically delineated, and scientifically and popularly described; with their propagation, culture, management and uses in the arts, in useful and ornamental plantations, and in landscape-gardening; preceded by a historical and geographical outline of the trees and shrubs of temperate climates throughout the world
London: printed for the Author, sold by Longman, Orme, Brown, Green & Longmans, the partially coloured and coloured copies by James Ridgway & Sons, [1835-]1838. 8 volumes, octavo (8 3/4 x 5 5/8 inches). 412 hand-coloured zinc engravings (20 double-page), 2546 uncoloured illustrations, extra-illustrated with four duplicate plates in vol.VII. Contemporary half morocco, spines gilt in six compartments with raised bands, the bands highlighted in gilt, lettered in the second and fourth compartments, top edge gilt. Provenance: Alexander Lawson Duncan (circular armorial book-labels).
A fine set of the rare fully hand-coloured issue of this encyclopaedic work on all the trees and shrubs growing in Great Britain: a work which W.T. Thistleton-Dyer, the director of Kew, noted as being 'indespensable to any student of the subject'
This work by J.C. Loudon, `the most distinguished gardening author of the age' (Andrew Jackson Downing), was published in three forms: with the plates uncoloured, with only the botanical details on the plates coloured, and the present most expensive issue with all the plates completely hand-coloured. It was issued in sixty-three monthly parts from January 1835 to July 1838, although the preparations for the work had been started as early as 1830. "The book begins with a `general outline of history and geography' before starting on an exhaustive account of each group of trees and shrubs, complete with a full description of each species and variety, its history in Britain, and even notes on remarkable examples growing in individual gardens. `Portraits of trees in their young and mature state', showing leaves, twigs, fruits, and the outline of leafless ... trees are a special feature of the book." (Oak Spring Sylva). All the images were drawn from life, many from examples in the garden at Syon House, one of the homes of the Duke of Northumberland (to whom the work is dedicated).
"In spite of its quality the book was a financial disaster for Loudon, as his wife explained in the account of his life she published in 1845: `Having resolved that all the drawings for the Arboretum should be made from nature, he had seven artists constantly employed, and he was frequently in the open air with them from his breakfast at seven in the morning till he came home to dinner at eight in the evening ... After dinner he resumed the literary part of the work, and continued writing ... till two or three in the morning. His constitution was naturally very strong, but it was impossible for any human to bear for any lengthened period the fatigue he underwent ... In addition to the large sums in ready money he paid to the artists and other persons employed during the progress of the Arboretum, he found at its conclusion that he owed ten thousand pounds to the printer, the stationer, and the wood-engraver ... His creditors, however, did not press him for their money ... consenting to wait until they were paid by sale'" (op.cit.)
Bradley Bibliography I, p.293; cf. Bridson Printmaking in the Service of Botany p.113; Oak Spring Sylva 11
#16344$12,000.00
 LOW, Susanne M.
A Guide to Audubon's Birds of America: A Concordance Containing Current Names of the Birds, Plate Names With Descriptions of Plate Variants, a Description of the Bien Edition, and Corresponding Indexes
New York and New Haven: Donald Heald and William Reese Company, 2002. (11 1/2 x 8 3/4 inches). 384pp., 436 black & white illustrations in the text (illustrating each of the plates in the double elephant folio), 10 colour illustrations. Gilt stamped blue cloth, illustrated dust jacket.
A comprehensive reference work for collectors, dealers, art historians, students of natural history, and bird enthusiasts. With new up-to-date information, revisions, and extensive additions (including a section on the Bien edition), superseding and surpassing her earlier work.
This beautifully produced book provides easily accessible information about each one of the 435 plates in the double elephant folio, including variant plate names, names of the birds in the octavo and Bien editions, and the current names of the birds according to the American Ornithologists Union's most recent Checklist, as well as pertinent historical details about the creation of each plate and discussion of taxonomic changes. A special feature of the book is the section devoted to the description of each of the plates in the comparatively little-known Bien edition.
The informative introduction details the history of the creation of the double elephant folio. This includes a description of the collaboration between Audubon and the men who transformed his originals into prints, W. H. Lizars, Robert Havell Sr., and, most importantly, Robert Havell Jr., with discussion of the artistic techniques involved in the process. Ornithological taxonomy is also succinctly explained, and will help the reader to understand some of Audubon's difficulties as well as the evolution of bird names.
The descriptions of the double elephant folio plates are followed by three indexes: one of current names of the birds depicted, one of double elephant folio plate names, and one of the names on the original paintings, thus offering the reader several ways to locate a particular bird or plate. Similarly, the Bien section is also followed by indexes of current names and plate names. In addition, there are three appendices. The first identifies the persons whose names appear in the nomenclature of The Birds of America. The second appendix describes the unusual composite plates that appear in some editions, and the third contains charts of the most complicated situations that arose from the transfer of Audubon's originals to the finished plates. Finally, a beautiful colour insert illustrates a few of the more interesting situations that are described in the book, such as colour differences between prints of the same bird, comparison of an Audubon original and corresponding print, and comparison of variant plate legends, among others.
#8762$45.00
 MANETTI, Saverio (1723-1784), Lorenzo LORENZI & Violante VANNI
Anatra domestia di becco incurvato altra varieta
[Florence: Giuseppe Vanni, 1776]. Etching, with engraving, coloured by hand, after Vanni, Lorenzi or Manetti. Very good condition. Plate mark: 13 1/2 x 10 1/2 inches. Sheet size: 18 x 14 inches.
A fine image from "one of the half-dozen or so great bird books" (Fine Bird Books).
This beautiful plate comes from 'Storia naturale degli uccelli', of which Peter Dance writes "The production of its five massive folio volumes must have been one of the most remarkable publishing ventures ever undertaken in Florence. Begun in 1767, and [based on birds taken from the collection of Giovanni Gerini], it was completed ten years later. It was larger, better engraved and more vividly coloured than any previous work on birds, but these are not its only claim to fame. The attitudes of the birds themselves give this book its unique character. Strutting, parading, posturing, and occasionally flying....are birds whose real-life counterparts would surely disown them, and not without reason, for Manetti seems in these pictures to be depicting the human comedy, the habits and mannerisms of contemporary Italian society. His book may still be rated among the very greatest bird books, if only for its magnificent comicality" (S. Peter Dance, The Art of Natural History: Animal Illustrators and their Work. London: 1978)
Cf. Dance 70; cf. Fine Bird Books (1990) p.92; cf. Nissen IVB 588; cf. Wood p.450; cf. Zimmer p.241
#17819$700.00
 MANETTI, Saverio (1723-1784), Lorenzo LORENZI & Violante VANNI
Aquila Reale di color Leonato [II]
[II]. [Florence: Giuseppe Vanni, 1776]. Etching, with engraving, coloured by hand, after Lor. Lorenzi. Very good condition. Plate mark: 13 3/4 x 10 5/8 inches. Sheet size: 14 1/2 x 11 1/2 inches.
A fine image from "one of the half-dozen or so great bird books" (Fine Bird Books).
This beautiful plate comes from 'Storia naturale degli uccelli', of which Peter Dance writes "The production of its five massive folio volumes must have been one of the most remarkable publishing ventures ever undertaken in Florence. Begun in 1767, and [based on birds taken from the collection of Giovanni Gerini], it was completed ten years later. It was larger, better engraved and more vividly coloured than any previous work on birds, but these are not its only claim to fame. The attitudes of the birds themselves give this book its unique character. Strutting, parading, posturing, and occasionally flying....are birds whose real-life counterparts would surely disown them, and not without reason, for Manetti seems in these pictures to be depicting the human comedy, the habits and mannerisms of contemporary Italian society. His book may still be rated among the very greatest bird books, if only for its magnificent comicality" (S. Peter Dance, The Art of Natural History: Animal Illustrators and their Work. London: 1978)
Cf. Dance 70; cf. Fine Bird Books (1990) p.92; cf. Nissen IVB 588; cf. Wood p.450; cf. Zimmer p.241
#17807$550.00
 MANETTI, Saverio (1723-1784), Lorenzo LORENZI & Violante VANNI
Avoltoio del Brasile, e da altri detto del Messico [XIII]
[XIII]. [Florence: Giuseppe Vanni, 1776]. Etching, with engraving, coloured by hand, after Vanni, Lorenzi or Manetti. Very good condition apart from some foxing. Plate mark: 13 1/2 x 10 5/8 inches. Sheet size: 18 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches.
A fine image from "one of the half-dozen or so great bird books" (Fine Bird Books).
This beautiful plate comes from 'Storia naturale degli uccelli', of which Peter Dance writes "The production of its five massive folio volumes must have been one of the most remarkable publishing ventures ever undertaken in Florence. Begun in 1767, and [based on birds taken from the collection of Giovanni Gerini], it was completed ten years later. It was larger, better engraved and more vividly coloured than any previous work on birds, but these are not its only claim to fame. The attitudes of the birds themselves give this book its unique character. Strutting, parading, posturing, and occasionally flying....are birds whose real-life counterparts would surely disown them, and not without reason, for Manetti seems in these pictures to be depicting the human comedy, the habits and mannerisms of contemporary Italian society. His book may still be rated among the very greatest bird books, if only for its magnificent comicality" (S. Peter Dance, The Art of Natural History: Animal Illustrators and their Work. London: 1978)
Cf. Dance 70; cf. Fine Bird Books (1990) p.92; cf. Nissen IVB 588; cf. Wood p.450; cf. Zimmer p.241
#17823$450.00
 MANETTI, Saverio (1723-1784), Lorenzo LORENZI & Violante VANNI
Avoltoio Indiano, ò Re degli Avoltoi [XII]
[XII]. [Florence: Giuseppe Vanni, 1776]. Etching, with engraving, coloured by hand, after Lorenzi. Very good condition apart from some marginal soiling and scatttered foxing. Plate mark: 13 1/2 x 10 3/4 inches. Sheet size: 18 1/4 x 13 7/8 inches.
A fine image from "one of the half-dozen or so great bird books" (Fine Bird Books).
This beautiful plate comes from 'Storia naturale degli uccelli', of which Peter Dance writes "The production of its five massive folio volumes must have been one of the most remarkable publishing ventures ever undertaken in Florence. Begun in 1767, and [based on birds taken from the collection of Giovanni Gerini], it was completed ten years later. It was larger, better engraved and more vividly coloured than any previous work on birds, but these are not its only claim to fame. The attitudes of the birds themselves give this book its unique character. Strutting, parading, posturing, and occasionally flying....are birds whose real-life counterparts would surely disown them, and not without reason, for Manetti seems in these pictures to be depicting the human comedy, the habits and mannerisms of contemporary Italian society. His book may still be rated among the very greatest bird books, if only for its magnificent comicality" (S. Peter Dance, The Art of Natural History: Animal Illustrators and their Work. London: 1978)
Cf. Dance 70; cf. Fine Bird Books (1990) p.92; cf. Nissen IVB 588; cf. Wood p.450; cf. Zimmer p.241
#17821$450.00
 MANETTI, Saverio (1723-1784), Lorenzo LORENZI & Violante VANNI
Colombo col ciusso minore do. Colombo Monaco
[Florence: Giuseppe Vanni, 1776]. Etching, with engraving, coloured by hand, after Vanni, Lorenzi or Manetti. Very good condition. Plate mark: 13 1/2 x 10 1/2 inches. Sheet size: 18 1/4 x 14 inches.
A fine image from "one of the half-dozen or so great bird books" (Fine Bird Books).
This beautiful plate comes from 'Storia naturale degli uccelli', of which Peter Dance writes "The production of its five massive folio volumes must have been one of the most remarkable publishing ventures ever undertaken in Florence. Begun in 1767, and [based on birds taken from the collection of Giovanni Gerini], it was completed ten years later. It was larger, better engraved and more vividly coloured than any previous work on birds, but these are not its only claim to fame. The attitudes of the birds themselves give this book its unique character. Strutting, parading, posturing, and occasionally flying....are birds whose real-life counterparts would surely disown them, and not without reason, for Manetti seems in these pictures to be depicting the human comedy, the habits and mannerisms of contemporary Italian society. His book may still be rated among the very greatest bird books, if only for its magnificent comicality" (S. Peter Dance, The Art of Natural History: Animal Illustrators and their Work. London: 1978)
Cf. Dance 70; cf. Fine Bird Books (1990) p.92; cf. Nissen IVB 588; cf. Wood p.450; cf. Zimmer p.241
#17812$500.00
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