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 [MILLER, Philip (1691-1771)]
Catalogus Plantarum... A Catalogue of Trees, Shrubs, Plants, and Flowers, both Exotic and Domestic, Which are propagated for Sale in the Gardens near London.... By a Society of Gardeners
London: printed for the Society of Gardeners, to be sold by the said Society, C. Rivington, T. Cox, P. du Barrit, and also by the following Gardeners and Nursery-men. Robert Furber [etc.], 1730. Part I (all published), folio (17 5/8 x 11 1/8 inches). Two letterpress title-pages. Uncoloured engraved frontispiece of an idealised garden by Henry Fletcher, 21 coloured plates after Jacob Van Huysum (7 mezzotints printed in colours by Elisha Kirkall [5 with touches of hand-colouring], 14 hand-colored etched plates by Henry Fletcher), printed on two paper stocks, two uncoloured engraved headpieces by Fletcher. (Expert restoration to upper right corner of plate 21). Expertly bound to style in half 18th-century diced russia, comb-marbled paper on covers, spine in eight compartments with raised bands, red morocco lettering-piece in the second, the other compartments with elaborate overall repeat decoration in gilt.
First edition of a beautiful and scarce work, including a high proportion of American species and 'one of the earliest flower books to contain plates printed in colors.' (Hunt). The only substantial work to be illustrated entirely by the work of Jacob van Huysum.
The genesis of this work is interesting. Much trouble had been caused to the trade and to the public by the same plant being sold under different names. In an effort to standardise the naming of these commercial species the 'Society of gardeners' (referred to on the title of the present work) was formed 'consisting of a number of the most eminent gardeners and nurserymen situated near London [who] agreed to hold monthly meetings. At these meetings members were required to bring exhibits of their flowers and fruits for examination and comparison. A Register was kept recording names and descriptions. After a period of five or six years it was decided to have the various plants drawn and painted "by an able hand." A resolution was then passed to publish a catalogue of the plants... which was to be illustrated with coloured plates. This was to be issued in parts. Only the [present] first part, however, on trees and shrubs was published' (Henrey).
'The Catalogus plantarum is notable as one of the earliest flower books to contain plates printed in colors. It is perhaps unique in that one third of its plates are so printed, in mezzotint from a single plate, while two thirds are engraved and handcolored in the usual way. The book is also unusual in that it is ostensibly the work of twenty authors, listed as the Society of Gardeners at the end of the Preface, though it is usually assumed that one of their number, Philip Miller, was responsible for the text' (Hunt).
The original plan had been to issue the work in three or four volumes with coloured plates, and to this end watercolour drawings were prepared by the Dutch flower painter Jacob van Huysum (?1687-1746), brother of Jan van Huysum. The British Museum possesses two albums (from the library of Sir Hans Sloane) that contain what appear to be the originals for the unfinished work. The plates that were published include a number of images intended for the later volumes - as a consequence these have no corresponding text. Of particular interest is the image of the double Nasturtium, which as Blunt notes 'was subsequently lost to cultivation and only reintroduced quite recently'.
"An important work as it is one of the first attempts to establish a nomenclature ... Eighty-eight American trees and shrubs are listed among those which the London nurserymen could supply in 1730 …. Three volumes were planned for this work but only the first of Trees and Shrubs was completed; it includes plates which would have illustrated the volumes on Greenhouse Plants and Flowers had they been issued …. The frontispiece … is one of the few medium-sized engravings shewing the details of an English formal garden of the period" (Dunthorne).
Dunthorne 119; Great Flower Books (1990) p.95; Henrey 1360; Hunt 485; Nissen BBI 2230; Stafleu & Cowan TL2 6036
#15141 $35,000.00  
 POPE, Alexander, Jr. (1849-1924) [and Ernest INGERSOLL (1852-1946)]
Upland Game Birds and Water Fowl of the United States
New York: Scribners, [1877-] 1878. 10 original parts in one volume, large folio (22 3/16 x 28 1/4 inches). 20 chromolithographic plates, some finished by hand and heightened with gum arabic, after Pope by Armstrong & Co., all mounted on card (expert repairs to plates and text). Unbound as issued within ten original pictorial cloth-backed paper wrappers (the wrappers with expert repairs), all contained within a single original half morocco portfolio which converts into a display easel, the upper cover blocked in gilt, light brown velvet pastedowns (ties lacking, skillful repairs to corners), contained within a modern blue morocco-backed box, spine gilt, by K. Gaebel & Sons, Holland, Pa.
First edition in the original parts of this scarce series of large-format plates, of equal interest to ornithologists and sportsmen - here housed within a very rare portfolio/easel, as issued by the publishers. Although only Pope's name appears on the title-page, the text is by Ingersoll.
Alexander Pope Jr. was a renowned American sporting artist who specialized in animal and still life paintings. Born in Dorchester, Massachusetts in 1849, he studied sculpture with the prominent artist William Copley and was self-taught as a painter. Although primarily lauded as a painter, he continued producing sculptures well into the 1880s and later became a member of the famed art association, the Copley Society of Boston.
Ernest Ingersoll was ideally qualified to write the text for the present work: he grew up 'ranging the fields and marshes in search of natural-history objects', he was educated at Oberlin college and the Harvard museum of comparative zoology, and studied under Louis Agassiz. After the death of Agassiz, Ingersoll served as naturalist and collector on Ferdinand V. Hayden's famous geological survey expedition of 1874, and he made a second trip to the west in 1877. His publications included a number of other ornithological works including A Natural History of the Nests and Eggs of American Birds (Salem, 1879) and Birds' Nesting (1881).
Fine Bird Books 101; Gee 80; Nissen, IVB 737; Phillips p. 298; Wood 522; Zimmer 494
#17300$22,500.00
 RABEL, Daniel (?1578-1637)
Histoire générale des insectes de Surinam et de toute l'Europe... Troisième édition revue, corrigée et considérablement augmentée par M. Buch'oz... à laquelle on a joint une troisième partie qui traite des plus belles fleurs
Paris: Chez L.C. Desnos, 1771. 1 volume ('...Tome Troisième, Des Plantes bulbeuse, Liliacées, Caryophyllées.'), folio (19 9/16 x 13 inches). 69 hand-coloured engraved plates of flowers after Rabel. 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 hand-coloured copy of the complete series of Rabel's plates to his 'Theatrum florae' : a fourth edition of one of the finest of the early 17th-century botanical works.
The rarest of Desnos's extraordinary publications, the present work is an unacknowledged fourth edition of Daniel Rabel's Theatrum florae. It includes all 69 of the plates that are present in the first three editions (published without text in Paris in 1622, 1627 and 1633 respectively). The plate captions found in the earlier editions have been burnished out, but reappear almost word for word in the text. The additional text is, in part if not all, by Bu'choz. The plants depicted include all the most decorative flowers available to 17th-century gardeners and is truly '...une tres-jolie collection... qui ont ete dessinees & gravees d'apres nature' (see preface to vol.I). The fact that Rabel's name is omitted is not surprising since it is not included in any of the earlier editions, and is only in the last 60 years that the work has been re-attributed to him. Rabel enjoyed a considerable reputation during his lifetime. Rightfully, he has now been rescued from obscurity, indeed, Blunt considered Rabel to be one of the two greatest French botanical artists of the 17th century, noting that his work, along with that of his successor Nicolas Robert, was 'consummate in its perfection' (The Art of Botanical Illustration p.114).
There is no mention of this later edition, but for references to the 17th-century editions, see: Blunt (1994) p.115; BM(NH) V,p.2088; Cleveland Collections 176 and 187; Hunt Printmaking in the Service of Botany 14; Nissen BBI 1575; L. Tongiorgi Tomasi An Oak Spring Flora 15; Pritzel 10855.
#17344$70,000.00
 REICHENOW, Anton (1847-1941) - After Gustav MÜTZEL (1839-1893)
Parrots of the world [Pl. 13]
[Pl. 13]. Kassel: Theodor Fischer, [1878-1883]. Lithograph, printed in colours, finished by hand, printed by Thomas Fischer. Very good condition apart from some overall light soiling. Sheet size: 15 3/8 x 10 3/4 inches.
A very fine image from Reichenow's 'Vogelbilder aus fernen Zonen': an excellent survey of the Parrots of the world.
A small masterpiece of composition, with multiple images beautifully balanced. The grouping is made logically by family, and Gustav Mützel (1839-1893) has with great skill depicted each subject in a characteristic pose, whilst still managing to both convey as much information about the bird as possible, and achieve the difficult task of making the whole composition as naturalistic and harmonious as possible.
Cf.BM (NH) IV, p.1670; cf.Nissen IVB 767; cf.Ripley/Yale p.238; cf.Wood p.532; cf.Zimmer p.514
#9170$270.00
 REICHENOW, Anton (1847-1941) - After Gustav MÜTZEL (1839-1893)
Parrots of the world [Pl. 31]
[Pl. 31]. Kassel: Theodor Fischer, [1878-1883]. Lithograph, printed in colours, finished by hand, printed by Thomas Fischer. Very good condition apart from some overall light soiling. Sheet size: 15 3/8 x 10 7/8 inches.
A very fine image from Reichenow's 'Vogelbilder aus fernen Zonen': an excellent survey of the Parrots of the world.
A small masterpiece of composition, with multiple images beautifully balanced. The grouping is made logically by family and the region in which the birds are found, and Gustav Mützel (1839-1893) has with great skill depicted each subject in a characteristic pose, whilst still managing to both convey as much information about the bird as possible, and achieve the difficult task of making the whole composition as naturalistic and harmonious as possible.
Cf.BM (NH) IV, p.1670; cf.Nissen IVB 767; cf.Ripley/Yale p.238; cf.Wood p.532; cf.Zimmer p.514
#9613$270.00
 REICHENOW, Anton (1847-1941) - After Gustav MÜTZEL (1839-1893)
Parrots of the world [Pl. 21]
[Pl. 21]. Kassel: Theodor Fischer, [1878-1883]. Lithograph, printed in colours, finished by hand, printed by Thomas Fischer. Very good condition apart from some overall light soiling. Sheet size: 15 3/8 x 10 3/4 inches.
A very fine image from Reichenow's 'Vogelbilder aus fernen Zonen': an excellent survey of the Parrots of the world.
A small masterpiece of composition, with multiple images beautifully balanced. The grouping is made logically by the region in which the birds are found, and Gustav Mützel (1839-1893) has with great skill depicted each subject in a characteristic pose, whilst still managing to both convey as much information about the bird as possible, and achieve the difficult task of making the whole composition as naturalistic and harmonious as possible.
Cf.BM (NH) IV, p.1670; cf.Nissen IVB 767; cf.Ripley/Yale p.238; cf.Wood p.532; cf.Zimmer p.514
#9618$270.00
 REICHENOW, Anton (1847-1941) - After Gustav MÜTZEL (1839-1893)
Parrots of the world [Pl. 20]
[Pl. 20]. Kassel: Theodor Fischer, [1878-1883]. Lithograph, printed in colours, finished by hand, printed by Thomas Fischer. Very good condition apart from some overall light soiling. Sheet size: 15 3/8 x 10 3/4 inches.
A very fine image from Reichenow's 'Vogelbilder aus fernen Zonen': an excellent survey of the Parrots of the world.
A small masterpiece of composition, with multiple images beautifully balanced. The grouping is made logically by family and the region in which the birds are found, and Gustav Mützel (1839-1893) has with great skill depicted each subject in a characteristic pose, whilst still managing to both convey as much information about the bird as possible, and achieve the difficult task of making the whole composition as naturalistic and harmonious as possible.
Cf.BM (NH) IV, p.1670; cf.Nissen IVB 767; cf.Ripley/Yale p.238; cf.Wood p.532; cf.Zimmer p.514
#9620$270.00
 REICHENOW, Anton (1847-1941) - After Gustav MÜTZEL (1839-1893)
Parrots of the world [Pl. 10]
[Pl. 10]. Kassel: Theodor Fischer, [1878-1883]. Lithograph, printed in colours, finished by hand, printed by Thomas Fischer. Very good condition apart from some overall light soiling. Sheet size: 15 3/8 x 10 3/4 inches.
A very fine image from Reichenow's 'Vogelbilder aus fernen Zonen': an excellent survey of the Parrots of the world.
A small masterpiece of composition, with multiple images beautifully balanced. The grouping is made logically by the region in which the birds are found, and Gustav Mützel (1839-1893) has with great skill depicted each subject in a characteristic pose, whilst still managing to both convey as much information about the bird as possible, and achieve the difficult task of making the whole composition as naturalistic and harmonious as possible.
Cf.BM (NH) IV, p.1670; cf.Nissen IVB 767; cf.Ripley/Yale p.238; cf.Wood p.532; cf.Zimmer p.514
#9621$270.00
 REICHENOW, Anton (1847-1941) - After Gustav MÜTZEL (1839-1893)
Parrots of the world [Pl. 16]
[Pl. 16]. Kassel: Theodor Fischer, [1878-1883]. Lithograph, printed in colours, finished by hand, printed by Thomas Fischer. Very good condition apart from some overall light soiling. Sheet size: 15 3/8 x 10 7/8 inches.
A very fine image from Reichenow's 'Vogelbilder aus fernen Zonen': an excellent survey of the Parrots of the world.
A small masterpiece of composition, with multiple images beautifully balanced. The grouping is made logically by the region in which the birds are found, and Gustav Mützel (1839-1893) has with great skill depicted each subject in a characteristic pose, whilst still managing to both convey as much information about the bird as possible, and achieve the difficult task of making the whole composition as naturalistic and harmonious as possible.
Cf.BM (NH) IV, p.1670; cf.Nissen IVB 767; cf.Ripley/Yale p.238; cf.Wood p.532; cf.Zimmer p.514
#9628$270.00
 REPTON, Humphry (1752-1818)
Sketches and Hints on Landscape Gardening. Collected from designs and observations now in the posession of the different noblemen and gentlemen, for whose use they were originally made. The whole tending to establish fixed principles in the art of laying out ground
London: printed by W. Bulmer & Co., sold by J. & J. Boydell and G. Nicol, [1794]. Oblong folio (10 1/4 x 14 inches). 10 hand-coloured aquatints engravings (1 folding, 3 double-page), each with one or more overslips, and 6 aquatint plates printed in black with a single tint added (4 with one or more overslips), 2 wood-engraved illustrations, 1 wood-engraved tailpiece. Expertly bound to style in 18th-century half russia with early marbled paper-covered boards, the flat spine divided into six compartments by fillets and a greek-key roll, red morocco lettering-piece in the second compartment, the others alternately decorated with a large centrally-placed vase and flower spray tool, with foliate cornerpieces and a large centrally-placed goblet and birds tool with foliate cornerpieces, gilt edges. Provenance: early crowned 'C' monogram at foot of title.
First edition of the first of Repton's three great works on landscape gardening.
Humphry Repton was the main successor to Lancelot 'Capability' Brown as an improver of grounds for the English gentry in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. He was particularly noted for his 'Red Books'. These were produced for each individual client and were made up from a manuscript description of his proposed improvements bound with Repton's own watercolour drawings of the grounds, with his proposed alterations displayed on an overlay. The present work is made up to a large degree of extracts from the 'Red Books' of 57 houses which Repton had been called upon to 'improve'. A list of these houses, their location and their owners is given in a valuable two-page list towards the front of this volume. The work is broken down into various chapters: 'Concerning Buildings', 'Concerning Water', 'Concerning Approaches', etc. In each chapter Repton selects the relevant section from each 'Red Book' that is helpful to the point he is trying to make.
In addition to the specific ideas that he is trying to convey, Repton also enters the fray on behalf of 'Capability' Brown. The theoreticians, Payne Knight and Uvedale Price, had both written disparagingly of Brown's work and Repton here answers their arguments, a lengthy letter that Repton wrote to Price in July 1794 is quoted in full. The work ends with an intriguing list of sixteen 'Sources of pleasure in Landscape Gardening' and William Wyndham's letter to Repton in support of his theories: 'Places are not to be laid out with a view to their appearance in a picture, but to their uses, and the enjoyment of them in real life, and their conformity to those purposes is that which constitutes their true beauty: with this view gravel walks, and neat mown lawns... are in perfect good taste, and infinitely more conformable to the principles which form the basis of our pleasure in these instances, than the docks and thistles, and litter and disorder, that may make a much better figure in a picture'.
The plates echo the watercolours with which Repton invariably illustrated the 'Red Books'. He makes extensive use of movable flaps or 'slides' - generally to explain the effect he is trying to create by showing the property before his improvements (with the flap down) and after, with the flaps lifted. The quality of the aquatints is exceptional, and the folding view of the Duke of Portland's house Welbeck Abbey in Nottinghamshire is particularly interesting as it apparently shows Repton and his assistants at work on a survey of the estate.
Abbey Scenery 388; Archer 280.1; ESTC t073696; Henrey III, 1269; RIBA III, 405; Tooley 400
#17339$27,500.00
 RIGAL, Jacques Joachim Jean (1926-1997, illustrator) - Jean GROSJEAN
Herbier. Poèmes de Jean Grosjean. Aquatintes de J.J.J. Rigal
[Paris]: aux depens d'un amateur, [12 October 1967]. Folio (17 3/4 x 11 inches). Title printed in colours. 17 plates by Rigal (16 coloured aquatint plates of individual species, 1 aquatint 'key' plate printed in bistre). Unbound as issued within original wrappers in publisher's cloth chemise, all contained within original cloth slipcase.
A fine copy of this modern herbal
Limited edition of 126 copies, this number 64 of 65 copies on 'velin des papeteries de Rives' signed by the author and artist. An approximate translation of the description of the work is as follows: 'this herbal includes 50 prose poems by Jean Grosjean, and is augmented by one additional poem inspired by the purple goat's-beard ... [Among the subjects of the poems and illustrations are the wood-anemone, the periwinkle, Solomon's seal, the iris germanica, poppies, purple goat's-beard, St. John's wort, tansy ragwort, knapweed, clematis, honesty, chinese lantern plant, thistle, ivy, lichen and mistletoe.] The text was composed by hand and printed by Roger Théodet. Gaston Gerbault was responsible for printing J.J.J. Rigal's 16 original aquatints'.
#19289$1,750.00
 RODRIGUES, João Barbosa (1842-1909)
Sertum palmarum Brasiliensium ou relation des palmiers nouveaux du Brésil découverts, décrits et dessinés d'après nature
Brussels: imprimerie typographique veuve Monnom, 1903. 2 volumes, broadsheet (24 x 16 3/4 inches). Half-titles. Photogravure portrait of the author, on india paper, mounted, 174 fine chromolithographed plates (26 views of whole trees, 148 botanical drawings of leaves and other details), all by J. Goffin fils after Rodrigues, 1p. printed facsimile of a document signed by 24 members of 2nd 'Congres Cientifico Latino Americano', occasional half-tone illustrations. Unbound as issued in original green cloth portfolios by Carabin-Schildknecht of Brussels, the cloth grained in imitation of cayman, aligator or snake skin, the upper covers with large onset red cloth panels elaborately blocked in gilt with an overall art nouveau design by Francois Wissaert of Brussels, incorporating the title, author's name and an emblematic scene featuring Amazonian Indians, cloth ties.
A fine copy of one of the two greatest works on the palm trees of Brazil, illustrated with spectacular semi-abstract images of almost 150 species
The plates divide naturally into two groups: the first smaller group is of views of entire trees, often in their natural setting. These have a naive immediacy and vitality that is charming. The second much larger group of detailed drawings follow the correct guidelines for technical botanical drawings, but, mainly as a result of the need to fold the large leaves to be depicted, they achieve a wonderful semi-abstract status that recalls the photographic work of Man Ray, or painterly images from artists ranging from Georgia O'Keefe to Victor Vasarely and the 'op art' of the sixties.
The book was the result of almost thirty years of field work by Barbosa Rodrigues, where, working under extreme conditions, he always tried to produce a record of the plants close to where he had found them. Following in the footsteps of Carl von Martius's Historia naturalis palmarum (Munich, 1823-50), Barbosa Rodrigues notes that he studied and described more than 100 species that were new and unknown to science. Barbosa Rodrigues, Brazilian born botanist and traveller, collected widely in Brazil between 1868 and 1897. Much of his early work was on orchids, and by 1869 he had completed over 800 plates and designs: this work was never published (the albums of drawings are now in the library of the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden), and he turned to the study of palms. As he notes in the introduction to the present work: 'Aux Orchidées j'ai sacrifié les joies de ma jeunesse, aux Palmiers les loisirs l'âge mûr' ['To Orchids I sacrificed the joys of my youth, to Palms the leisure of middle age']. He served as director of the Manaos botanical museum from 1883-1889, and was the first director of the botanical garden of Rio de Janeiro from 1889 until his death in 1909. Despite his almost ceaseless travelling within his own country, the only trip he ever made to Europe was to oversee the publication of the present work. That Barbosa Rodrigues should choose Belgium to publish his work is perhaps at first sight surprising, but Belgium in general, and Ghent and Brussels in particular were, at the time, world-renowned centres of excellence in the fields of botanical research and publishing. As the present work so ably demonstrates, a number of the best botanical chromolithographers in the world were then working in Brussels.
BM(NH) VI, p.57; Bosch Bibliotheca Brasiliana 579; Nissen BBI 1660; Stafleu & Cowan TL2 9358
#18535$60,000.00
 [SCHLEGEL, Hermann (1804-84), and Abraham Hendrik VERSTER van Wulverhorst] - Josef Mathias WOLF (1820-1899, artist)
[Traité de Fauconnerie]
[Leiden & Dusseldorf: chez Arnz & Comp., 1844-1853]. 12 very fine hand-coloured lithographic plates (each circa 26 1/2 x 20 inches, 10 after J. Wolf [with backgrounds after C.Scheuren or G. Saal] by Wendel, 2 after and by Portman and von Wouw), each contained in an individual mat. (Expert repairs to margins of five plates).
All the greatest plates from 'the finest work on falconry which has ever been produced; not only on account of the beauty of the plates, wherein the hawks are depicted life-size and of natural colours, but also for the general accuracy of the text' (Harting)
These very fine plates are from the first edition of 'a superb work. The life size illustrations are by far the finest ever produced in any book on falconry. It is impossible to describe the mellowness and beauty of the colourings' (Schwerdt). The ten plates of individual birds are from originals by Josef Wolf the 'German artist who ranks among the world's finest animal painters' (Jackson), and the present images were largely responsible for launching his international career as an animal painter. 'Wolf's success lay in his sketching from life after painstaking study of the anatomy of the animals, and his care to get the structure correct and then paint fur and feather with extraordinary fidelity. But all the marvelous technique and deep knowledge was subservient to his ability to capture a moment in the life of his subject and preserve it in paint. Archibald Thorburn said of Wolf's pictures, "There is an indescribable feeling of life and movement attained by no other wildlife artist"' (Jackson). Sir Edwin Landseer went further, describing Wolf as 'without exception, the best all-round animal painter that ever lived'.
The plates are titled as follows:
1. Le Groënlandais, faucon blanc mué
2. Le tiercelet hagard de faucon d'Islande
3. Le tiercelet hagard gerfaut
4. Le gerfaut sors
5. Le sacre hagard
6. Le lanier hagard
7. Le faucon hagard
8. Le tiercelet sors de faucon, au plumage de cresserelle
9. L'autour hagard
10. Le tiercelet sors de l'autour
11. [hawking accessories]
12. [hawking accessories]
Cottrell 24; Fine Bird Books (1990) p.138; Harting 194; Christine Jackson Dictionary of Bird Artists of the World p.496; Nissen IVB 832; Schwerdt II, p.150
#13532$24,000.00
 SHARPE, Richard Bowdler (1847-1909)
Astrapia Nigra [Gorgeted Bird of Paradise]
London: Taylor & Francis for Henry Sotheran & Co., 1891-98. Hand-coloured lithograph by William Hart, printed by Mintern Brothers. Very good condition apart from some overall light soiling. Sheet size: 21 1/2 x 14 1/2 inches.
A beautiful print from Sharpe's 'Monograph of the Paradiseidae, or Birds of Paradise, and Ptilonorhynchidae, or Bower Birds'.
Sharpe's work on the most spectacular of all bird families depicts the birds of paradise in all their glowing splendor, whilst the bower birds are pictured with their elaborately constructed "bowers", surrounded by the shells, bones and other small found objects with which they decorate the bower thresholds in an instinctive attempt to provide the finest backdrop to their highly elaborate courtship displays.
R. Bowdler Sharpe was John Gould's assistant for many years and was the only man knowledgeable enough and sufficiently attuned to the famous ornithologist's vision to complete several of his works.
Sharpe's comments in his monograph strike a chord with contemporary feelings on the preservation of endangered species. Writing of the then current fashion for decorating women's hats with the feathers of rare Birds of Paradise, he concludes 'What will be said in the future by the civilized world and its scientific investigators when they find that we had the chance of learning the habits of these extraordinary birds, and allowed them to pass out of existence for the adornment of our women-folk, with scarcely a word of protest'.
Fine Bird Books (1990) p.142; Nissen IVB 865; Whittel p.663; Wood p.565; Zimmer p.581.
#4730$2,400.00
 SHARPE, Richard Bowdler (1847-1909)
Astrarchia Stephane [Princess Stephanie Bird of Paradise]
London: Taylor & Francis for Henry Sotheran & Co., 1891-98. Hand-coloured lithograph by William Hart, printed by Mintern Brothers. Very good condition. Sheet size: 21 1/2 x 14 1/2 inches.
A beautiful print from Sharpe's 'Monograph of the Paradiseidae, or Birds of Paradise, and Ptilonorhynchidae, or Bower Birds'.
Sharpe's work on the most spectacular of all bird families depicts the birds of paradise in all their glowing splendor, whilst the bower birds are pictured with their elaborately constructed "bowers", surrounded by the shells, bones and other small found objects with which they decorate the bower thresholds in an instinctive attempt to provide the finest backdrop to their highly elaborate courtship displays.
R. Bowdler Sharpe was John Gould's assistant for many years and was the only man knowledgeable enough and sufficiently attuned to the famous ornithologist's vision to complete several of his works.
Sharpe's comments in his monograph strike a chord with contemporary feelings on the preservation of endangered species. Writing of the then current fashion for decorating women's hats with the feathers of rare Birds of Paradise, he concludes 'What will be said in the future by the civilized world and its scientific investigators when they find that we had the chance of learning the habits of these extraordinary birds, and allowed them to pass out of existence for the adornment of our women-folk, with scarcely a word of protest'.
Fine Bird Books (1990) p.142; Nissen IVB 865; Whittel p.663; Wood p.565; Zimmer p.581.
#4728$2,400.00
 SHARPE, Richard Bowdler (1847-1909)
Epimachus Meyeri [Meyer's Sicklebilled]
London: Taylor & Francis for Henry Sotheran & Co., 1891-98. Hand-coloured lithograph by William Hart, printed by Mintern Brothers. Very good condition. Sheet size: 21 1/2 x 14 1/2 inches.
A beautiful print from Sharpe's 'Monograph of the Paradiseidae, or Birds of Paradise, and Ptilonorhynchidae, or Bower Birds'.
Sharpe's work on the most spectacular of all bird families depicts the birds of paradise in all their glowing splendor, whilst the bower birds are pictured with their elaborately constructed "bowers", surrounded by the shells, bones and other small found objects with which they decorate the bower thresholds in an instinctive attempt to provide the finest backdrop to their highly elaborate courtship displays.
R. Bowdler Sharpe was John Gould's assistant for many years and was the only man knowledgeable enough and sufficiently attuned to the famous ornithologist's vision to complete several of his works.
Sharpe's comments in his monograph strike a chord with contemporary feelings on the preservation of endangered species. Writing of the then current fashion for decorating women's hats with the feathers of rare Birds of Paradise, he concludes 'What will be said in the future by the civilized world and its scientific investigators when they find that we had the chance of learning the habits of these extraordinary birds, and allowed them to pass out of existence for the adornment of our women-folk, with scarcely a word of protest'.
Fine Bird Books (1990) p.142; Nissen IVB 865; Whittel p.663; Wood p.565; Zimmer p.581.
#4732$2,400.00
 SHARPE, Richard Bowdler (1847-1909)
Monograph of the Paradiseidae, or Birds of Paradise and Ptilonorhynchidae, and Bower-Birds
London: Taylor & Francis for Henry Sotheran & Co, 1891-98. 2 volumes in 8 original parts, large folio (22 3/16 x 15 1/16 inches). Smaller format letterpress 'notice to subscribers' dated 'Dec. 30 1896' tipped in at front of part VI, smaller format 'completion of the work... binding notice' from the publishers tipped in at front of part VIII. 79 fine hand-coloured lithographic plates by William Mathew Hart, after his own drawings (52) and John Gould's (20) or John Gerrard Keulemans (7), 13 uncoloured illustrations. Original pictorial grey paper-covered boards, dark blue cloth spines, the upper cover of each part with the letterpress title beneath a large wood-engraved title vignette, the eight parts contained in two dark green morocco-backed cloth boxes, the 'spines' in six compartments with raised bands, lettered in the second and third compartments, the others with repeat decoration in gilt made up from various small tools.
A very fine copy of this 'excellent monograph' (Zimmer), the 'last of the fine bird books' (Fine Bird Books p.107). This copy, in original parts, with the best colouring of any copy that we have handled in past thirty five years.
Gould had intended to publish a complete monograph of the Birds of Paradise following completion of his Birds of New Guinea, but he did not live to do so. When Sharpe took over the task of completing the work he appealed for subscribers for the proposed monograph in his preface. The response was clearly enthusiastic as within three years the first part of the present work was published. Some of the plates had previously appeared in Gould's Birds of New Guinea as "Messrs. Sotheran purchased the stock of Gould's works after his death [and] acquired the stones with which he had intended to illustrate his Monograph... Many of them were broken or otherwise damaged, and of these some have been redrawn or replaced by new plates by Mr. Hart. Since Gould's time, however, many marvelous new species have been discovered, and these have been described and figured in the present work" (Appendix). As the small format slip in part six makes clear, the timing of the publication of the work could not have been better, as so many beautiful new species were discovered whilst the work was in preparation that Sharpe felt justified in extending the size of the work from six to eight parts.
A great many copies of this work were issued at a later date with inferior hand-colouring. The quality of the colouring of the plates in the present copy is outstanding, and it is only with examples of this work in the original parts that the colouring can be guaranteed to be contemporary with the original publication dates. Copies such as the present example are very rare: only three are listed as having sold at auction in the past thirty years
Fine Bird Books (1990) p.107; Nissen IVB 581; Ripley 263; Wood, p.565; Zimmer, p.581
#15874$95,000.00
 SHARPE, Richard Bowdler (1847-1909)
Paradisea Decora [Greycrested Bird of Paradise]
London: Taylor & Francis for Henry Sotheran & Co., 1891-98. Hand-coloured lithograph by William Hart, printed by Mintern Brothers. Very good condition. Sheet size: 21 1/2 x 14 1/2 inches.
A beautiful print from Sharpe's 'Monograph of the Paradiseidae, or Birds of Paradise, and Ptilonorhynchidae, or Bower Birds'.
Sharpe's work on the most spectacular of all bird families depicts the birds of paradise in all their glowing splendor, whilst the bower birds are pictured with their elaborately constructed "bowers", surrounded by the shells, bones and other small found objects with which they decorate the bower thresholds in an instinctive attempt to provide the finest backdrop to their highly elaborate courtship displays.
R. Bowdler Sharpe was John Gould's assistant for many years and was the only man knowledgeable enough and sufficiently attuned to the famous ornithologist's vision to complete several of his works.
Sharpe's comments in his monograph strike a chord with contemporary feelings on the preservation of the writing of the then current fashion for decorating women's hats with the feathers of rare Birds of Paradise, he concludes 'What will be said in the future by the civilized world and its scientific investigators when they find that we had the chance of learning the habits of these extraordinary birds, and allowed them to pass out of existence for the adornment of our women-folk, with scarcely a word of protest'.
Fine Bird Books (1990) p.142; Nissen IVB 865; Whittel p.663; Wood p.565; Zimmer p.581.
#4724$2,750.00
 SHARPE, Richard Bowdler (1847-1909)
Paradisea Ellioti [Elliot's Bird of Paradise?]
London: Taylor & Francis for Henry Sotheran & Co., 1891-98. Hand-coloured lithograph by William Hart, printed by Mintern Brothers. Very good condition apart from some overall light soiling. Sheet size: 22 1/8 x 15 1/8 inches.
A beautiful print from Sharpe's 'Monograph of the Paradiseidae, or Birds of Paradise, and Ptilonorhynchidae, or Bower Birds'
Sharpe's work on the most spectacular of all bird families depicts the birds of paradise in all their glowing splendor, whilst the bower birds are pictured with their elaborately constructed "bowers", surrounded by the shells, bones and other small found objects with which they decorate the bower thresholds in an instinctive attempt to provide the finest backdrop to their highly elaborate courtship displays.
Sharpe's comments in his monograph strike a chord with contemporary feelings on the preservation of endangered species. Writing of the then current fashion for decorating women's hats with the feathers of rare Birds of Paradise, he concludes 'What will be said in the future by the civilized world and its scientific investigators when they find that we had the chance of learning the habits of these extraordinary birds, and allowed them to pass out of existence for the adornment of our women-folk, with scarcely a word of protest'.
Fine Bird Books (1990) p.142; Nissen IVB 865; Whittel p.663; Wood p.565; Zimmer p.581.
#9201$2,400.00
 SHARPE, Richard Bowdler (1847-1909)
Paradisea Intermedia [De Vis's Bird of Paradise]
London: Taylor & Francis for Henry Sotheran & Co., 1891-98. Hand-coloured lithograph by William Hart, printed by Mintern Brothers. Very good condition. Sheet size: 22 1/8 x 15 1/8 inches.
A beautiful print from Sharpe's 'Monograph of the Paradiseidae, or Birds of Paradise, and Ptilonorhynchidae, or Bower Birds'
Sharpe's work on the most spectacular of all bird families depicts the birds of paradise in all their glowing splendor, whilst the bower birds are pictured with their elaborately constructed "bowers", surrounded by the shells, bones and other small found objects with which they decorate the bower thresholds in an instinctive attempt to provide the finest backdrop to their highly elaborate courtship displays.
R. Bowdler Sharpe was John Gould's assistant for many years and was the only man knowledgeable enough and sufficiently attuned to the famous ornithologist's vision to complete several of his works.
Sharpe's comments in his monograph strike a chord with contemporary feelings on the preservation of endangered species. Writing of the then current fashion for decorating women's hats with the feathers of rare Birds of Paradise, he concludes 'What will be said in the future by the civilized world and its scientific investigators when they find that we had the chance of learning the habits of these extraordinary birds, and allowed them to pass out of existence for the adornment of our women-folk, with scarcely a word of protest'.
Fine Bird Books (1990) p.142; Nissen IVB 865; Whittel p.663; Wood p.565; Zimmer p.581.
#9199$2,750.00
 SHARPE, Richard Bowdler (1847-1909)
Paradisea Minor [Lesser Bird of Paradise]
London: Taylor & Francis for Henry Sotheran & Co., 1891-98. Hand-coloured lithograph by John Gould and William Hart, printed by Mintern Brothers. Very good condition. Sheet size: 21 1/2 x 14 1/2 inches.
A beautiful print from Sharpe's 'Monograph of the Paradiseidae, or Birds of Paradise, and Ptilonorhynchidae, or Bower Birds'.
Sharpe's work on the most spectacular of all bird families depicts the birds of paradise in all their glowing splendor, whilst the bower birds are pictured with their elaborately constructed "bowers", surrounded by the shells, bones and other small found objects with which they decorate the bower thresholds in an instinctive attempt to provide the finest backdrop to their highly elaborate courtship displays.
R. Bowdler Sharpe was John Gould's assistant for many years and was the only man knowledgeable enough and sufficiently attuned to the famous ornithologist's vision to complete several of his works.
Sharpe's comments in his monograph strike a chord with contemporary feelings on the preservation of endangered species. Writing of the then current fashion for decorating women's hats with the feathers of rare Birds of Paradise, he concludes 'What will be said in the future by the civilized world and its scientific investigators when they find that we had the chance of learning the habits of these extraordinary birds, and allowed them to pass out of existence for the adornment of our women-folk, with scarcely a word of protest'.
Fine Bird Books (1990) p.142; Nissen IVB 865; Whittel p.663; Wood p.565; Zimmer p.581.
#4723$2,750.00
 SHARPE, Richard Bowdler (1847-1909)
Parotia Lawesi [Southern sixplumed Bird of Paradise]
London: Taylor & Francis for Henry Sotheran & Co., 1891-98. Hand-coloured lithograph by William Hart, printed by Mintern Brothers. Very good condition apart from some overall light soiling and slight rippling. Sheet size: 21 1/2 x 14 3/4 inches.
A beautiful print from Sharpe's 'Monograph of the Paradiseidae, or Birds of Paradise, and Ptilonorhynchidae, or Bower Birds'
Sharpe's work on the most spectacular of all bird families depicts the birds of paradise in all their glowing splendor, whilst the bower birds are pictured with their elaborately constructed "bowers", surrounded by the shells, bones and other small found objects with which they decorate the bower thresholds in an instinctive attempt to provide the finest backdrop to their highly elaborate courtship displays.
R. Bowdler Sharpe was John Gould's assistant for many years and was the only man knowledgeable enough and sufficiently attuned to the famous ornithologist's vision to complete several of his works.
Sharpe's comments in his monograph strike a chord with contemporary feelings on the preservation of endangered species. Writing of the then current fashion for decorating women's hats with the feathers of rare Birds of Paradise, he concludes 'What will be said in the future by the civilized world and its scientific investigators when they find that we had the chance of learning the habits of these extraordinary birds, and allowed them to pass out of existence for the adornment of our women-folk, with scarcely a word of protest'.
Fine Bird Books (1990) p.142; Nissen IVB 865; Whittel p.663; Wood p.565; Zimmer p.581.
#9247$2,400.00
 SHARPE, Richard Bowdler (1847-1909)
Ptilorhis Victoriae [Queen Victoria's Riflebird]
London: Taylor & Francis for Henry Sotheran & Co., 1891-98. Hand-coloured lithograph by William Hart, printed by Mintern Brothers. Very good condition. Sheet size: 21 1/2 x 14 7/8 inches.
A beautiful print from Sharpe's 'Monograph of the Paradiseidae, or Birds of Paradise, and Ptilonorhynchidae, or Bower Birds'
Sharpe's work on the most spectacular of all bird families depicts the birds of paradise in all their glowing splendor, whilst the bower birds are pictured with their elaborately constructed "bowers", surrounded by the shells, bones and other small found objects with which they decorate the bower thresholds in an instinctive attempt to provide the finest backdrop to their highly elaborate courtship displays.
Sharpe's comments in his monograph strike a chord with contemporary feelings on the preservation of the endangered species. Writing of the then current fashion of decorating women's hats with the feathers of rare Birds of Paradise, he concludes 'What will be said in the future by the civilized world and its scientific investigators when they find that we had the chance of learning the habits of these extraordinary birds, and allowed them to pass out of existence for the adornment of our women-folk, with scarcely a word of protest'.
Fine Bird Books (1990) p.142; Nissen IVB 865; Whittel p.663; Wood p.565; Zimmer p.581.
#9195$1,500.00
 SHARPE, Richard Bowdler (1847-1909)
Seleucides Nigricans [Twelve-wired Bird of Paradise]
London: Taylor & Francis for Henry Sotheran & Co., 1891-98. Hand-coloured lithograph by William Hart, printed by Mintern Brothers. Very good condition. Sheet size: 21 1/2 x 14 1/2 inches.
A beautiful print from Sharpe's 'Monograph of the Paradiseidae, or Birds of Paradise, and Ptilonorhynchidae, or Bower Birds'
Sharpe's work on the most spectacular of all bird families depicts the birds of paradise in all their glowing splendor, whilst the bower birds are pictured with their elaborately constructed "bowers", surrounded by the shells, bones and other small found objects with which they decorate the bower thresholds in an instinctive attempt to provide the finest backdrop to their highly elaborate courtship displays.
R. Bowdler Sharpe was John Gould's assistant for many years and was the only man knowledgeable enough and sufficiently attuned to the famous ornithologist's vision to complete several of his works.
Sharpe's comments in his monograph strike a chord with contemporary feelings on the preservation of endangered species. Writing of the then current fashion of decorating women's hats with the feathers of rare Birds of Paradise, he concludes 'What will be said in the future by the civilized world and its scientific investigators when they find that we had the chance of learning the habits of these extraordinary birds, and allowed them to pass out of existence for the adornment of our women-folk, with scarcely a word of protest'.
Fine Bird Books (1990) p.142; Nissen IVB 865; Whittel p.663; Wood p.565; Zimmer p.581.
#4719$2,400.00
 SHARPE, Richard Bowdler (1847-1909)
Uranornis Rubra [Red Bird of Paradise]
London: Taylor & Francis for Henry Sotheran & Co., 1891-98. Hand-coloured lithograph by William Hart, printed by the Mintern Brothers. Very good condition apart from some very light soiling in the top margin. Sheet size: 21 5/8 x 14 7/8 inches.
A beautiful print from Sharpe's 'Monograph of the Paradiseidae, or Birds of Paradise, and Ptilonorhynchidae, or Bower Birds'.
Sharpe's work on the most spectacular of all bird families depicts the birds of paradise in all their glowing splendor, whilst the bower birds are pictured with their elaborately constructed "bowers", surrounded by the shells, bones and other small found objects with which they decorate the bower thresholds in an instinctive attempt to provide the finest backdrop to their highly elaborate courtship displays.
R. Bowdler Sharpe was John Gould's assistant for many years and was the only man knowledgeable enough and sufficiently attuned to the famous ornithologist's vision to complete several of his works.
Sharpe's comments in his monograph strike a chord with contemporary feelings on the preservation of endangered species: writing of the then current fashion for decorating women's hats with the feathers of rare Birds of Paradise, he concludes 'What will be said in the future by the civilized world and its scientific investigators when they find that we had the chance of learning the habits of these extraordinary birds, and allowed them to pass out of existence for the adornment of our women-folk, with scarcely a word of protest'.
Fine Bird Books (1990) p. 142; Nissen IVB 865; Whittel p. 663; Wood p. 565; Zimmer p. 581.
#9215$2,750.00
 STRONG, Asa B.
The American Flora, or History of Plants and Wild Flowers: containing a systematic and general description, natural history, chemical and medical properties of over six thousand plants, accompanied with a circumstantial detail of the medicinal effects, and of the diseases in which they have been most successfully employed
New York: Green & Spencer, 1848-1848-1849-1850. 4 volumes, quarto (9 5/16 x 7 1/8 inches). 4 lithographic frontispieces (1 hand-coloured portrait of Linnaeus, 3 hand-coloured plates), 4 hand-coloured lithographic additional titles, 188 lithographic plates, some printed in colours, all finished by hand, by Edwin Whitefield, David W. Moody and others. Expertly bound to style in green half morocco over contemporary marbled paper-covered boards, the flat spines divided into six compartments by single horizontal fillets, lettered in the second and third compartments, marbled endpapers, brown speckled edges.
A rare complete set of this important American flora with charming plates, including the very rare fourth volume
The collation for this work varies, as Stafleu notes: "The copies listed in The National Union Catalog show a great variation", but it is clear that two more plates are required in the first edition of vol.I (as here), than in the second edition of 1853. According to Stafleu, there are three issues of volume I, dated 1846, 1847, and 1848. The present set includes the 1848 third issue of volume I, which is complete with a frontispiece, lithographic additional title and fifty plates. The second volume contains one more plate than called for by Stafleu (who notes only an additional titlepage, frontispiece, and forty-five plates), and the third and fourth volumes conform exactly with Stafleu's collation. Bennett writes: "The publisher clearly did not count pages of color plates when listing the numbers on the title pages, but counted every separate item on each page. " (p.103).
Bennett p.103; Bradley Bibliography III, p.58; McGrath p.218; B.A. Norton Edwin Whitefield p. 145; Stafleu & Cowan 13.290
#15207$11,000.00
 SWAINSON, William (1789-1855)
Exotic Conchology; or figures and descriptions of rare, beautiful or undescribed Shells ... Second edition, edited by Sylvanus Hanley
London: Norman for Henry G. Bohn, 1841 [one plate watermarked '1841']. Quarto (11 13/16 x 9 1/4 inches). 48 hand-coloured lithographic plates by Swainson. Contemporary red half morocco gilt over marbled paper-covered boards, the flat spine divided into six compartments by fillets, lettered in the second compartment, the others with decorative borders enclosing large centrally-placed shell tools, marbled endpapers, gilt edges. Neat repairs to spine.
Second (and best) edition of 'one of the rarest and most beautiful illustrated works on shells ever published' (S. Peter Dance 'Shell Collecting', 1966, p.125).
The publication of the first edition of this spectacular work was first begun in 1821-1822 when only the first four parts appeared. Swainson published a re-issue in 1834 (with 16 additional plates), but, after Swainson's departure for New Zealand in 1837, it was left up to Henry Bohn to purchase the remaining stock of plates and printing stones, and (probably) to arrange for Sylvanus Hanley (1819-1899) to act as editor. Hanley's task was to find a way of 'reducing the whole into systematic arrangement, of drawing up descriptions of species, and adding such synonyms as the advanced state of Conchological knowledge might require' ('Advertisement' p.4).
According to Peter Dance , the beautifully composed and drawn plates 'set a standard of shell portraiture against which later publications could be judged, a standard few equalled'. Swainson included examples from a number of well known collections, including those of Elizabeth Bligh (1752-1812), whose outstanding shell collection contained many beautiful and rare examples obtained from the South Seas by her husband, William Bligh of the Bounty; Henry Constantine Jennings (1731-1819), Charles Dubois, Mrs Angus, John Mawe and W.J. Broderip.
BM(NH) v, p.2054; cf. Dance Shell Collecting 284; cf. Nissen ZBI 4049
#18195$7,250.00
 TRAVIÈS, Edouard (1809-1865)
[Asian Fairy Bird and Javan Munia] '53./ [L'Irene vierge. Irena puella & Le Gros bec Maia. Fringilla maia]
Paris & London: Ledot aine and Gambert, Junin & Co., [circa 1857]. Lithograph, coloured by hand by Travies, printed by Becquet of Paris. Proof before letters. Sheet size: 20 1/4 x 15 inches.
A fine and very rare proof lithograph by one of the greatest ornithological artists of the 19th century, from his finest work 'Les Oiseaux Les Plus Remarquables.'
Edouard Traviès was the first artist to successfully capture the character of individual birds. This together with the wealth of detail in the backgrounds, give great charm to his images and lift them above mere ornithological illustration, into the realm of fine ornithological art.
Traviès was born in Doullens in the Somme district of France in March 1809, the younger brother of the caricaturist Charles Joseph Traviès de Villier (1804-1859). Throughout his career he concentrated on natural history subjects, both in watercolour (he exhibited regularly at the Paris Salon between 1831 and 1866) and lithography, as here. Unlike a number of his contemporaries, he was an artist both with the brush and on stone, and the present lithograph is his own work. It comes from what is undoubtedly his greatest published work: 'Les Oiseaux Les Plus Remarquables par leurs formes et leurs coleurs. Scenes variees de leurs moeurs & de leur habitudes...' published simultaneously in Paris and London circa 1857.
#3853$2,750.00
 TRAVIÈS, Edouard (1809-1865)
[Australian Rosella] `2./ La Perruche de Pennant/ Psitacus Pennantii (Vaillant) 2/3 de nature/ Nelle Hollande'
Paris: Berrieux, [circa 1857]. Lithograph, coloured by hand, by Traviès, printed by Lemercier of Paris. Sheet size: 14 1/4 x 20 5/8 inches.
A fine lithograph by one of the greatest ornithological artists of the 19th century, from his finest work 'Les Oiseaux Les Plus Remarquables.'
A fine lively view of this Australian Rosella in typical pose: wings raised, head thrust forward aggressively, the only thing missing is the sound of its cry. This appears to an adult Crimson Rosella (Platycercus elegans), which is native to south-east and eastern Australia, and has been introduced to New Zealand and Norfolk Island.
Edouard Traviès was the first artist to successfully capture the character of individual birds. This together with the wealth of detail in the backgrounds, give great charm to his images and lift them above mere ornithological illustration, into the realm of fine ornithological art.
Traviès was born in Doullens in the Somme district of France in March 1809, the younger brother of the caricaturist Charles Joseph Traviès de Villier (1804-1859). Throughout his career he concentrated on natural history subjects, both in watercolour (he exhibited regularly at the Paris Salon between 1831 and 1866) and lithography, as here. Unlike a number of his contemporaries, he was an artist both with the brush and on stone, and the present lithograph is his own work. It comes from what is undoubtedly his greatest published work: 'Les Oiseaux Les Plus Remarquables par leurs formes et leurs coleurs. Scenes variees de leurs moeurs & de leur habitudes...' published simultaneously in Paris and London circa 1857.
#3576$3,000.00
 TRAVIÈS, Edouard (1809-1865)
Barn Owl (Tyto alba) `24./ L'Effraie ou la Fressaie. (Buffon) 2/3 nature/ Strix Flammea (Gmelin)/ Europe'
Paris & London: E. Savary & Cie and Gambert, Janin & Co., [circa 1857]. Lithograph, coloured by hand, by Traviès, printed by Lemercier of Paris. Sheet size: 21 1/8 x 14 5/8 inches.
A fine lithograph by one of the greatest ornithological artists of the 19th century, from his finest work 'Les Oiseaux Les Plus Remarquables.'
The slow, gentle, silent, gliding and swooping flight of the Barn Owl at dusk is one of the unforgettable sights of the bird world. Here an adult owl prepares to take flight with a field mouse grasped in one powerful talon, in the background the fading colours of the sunset and the muted image of a large church, perhaps the owl's nesting place.
Edouard Traviès was the first artist to successfully capture the character of individual birds. This together with the wealth of detail in the backgrounds, give great charm to his images and lift them above mere ornithological illustration, into the realm of fine ornithological art.
Traviès was born in Doullens in the Somme district of France in March 1809, the younger brother of the caricaturist Charles Joseph Traviès de Villier (1804-1859). Throughout his career he concentrated on natural history subjects, both in watercolour (he exhibited regularly at the Paris Salon between 1831 and 1866) and lithography, as here. Unlike a number of his contemporaries, he was an artist both with the brush and on stone, and the present lithograph is his own work. It comes from what is undoubtedly his greatest published work: 'Les Oiseaux Les Plus Remarquables par leurs formes et leurs coleurs. Scenes variees de leurs moeurs & de leur habitudes...' published simultaneously in Paris and London circa 1857.
#3573$2,000.00
 TRAVIÈS, Edouard (1809-1865)
Blackbird and young (Turdus merula) `17. / Le Merle. (Buffon) Turdus Merula (Linnèe) Grandeur naturelle/ Europe'
Paris: Ledot ainé, [circa 1857]. Lithograph, coloured by hand, by Traviès. Sheet size: 24 1/8 x 17 1/4 inches.
A fine lithograph by one of the greatest ornithological artists of the 19th century, from his finest work 'Les Oiseaux Les Plus Remarquables.'
In this lively scene, full of movement, a male blackbird is shown presenting a caterpillar to his hungry brood of four young . Blackbirds often produce two broods a year, the first in about April and a second in June. To judge from the age of the hatchlings and the state of the surrounding foliage, this is probably a summer brood.
Edouard Traviès was the first artist to successfully capture the character of individual birds. This together with the wealth of detail in the backgrounds, give great charm to his images and lift them above mere ornithological illustration, into the realm of fine ornithological art.
Traviès was born in Doullens in the Somme district of France in March 1809, the younger brother of the caricaturist Charles Joseph Traviès de Villier (1804-1859). Throughout his career he concentrated on natural history subjects, both in watercolour (he exhibited regularly at the Paris Salon between 1831 and 1866) and lithography, as here. Unlike a number of his contemporaries, he was an artist both with the brush and on stone, and the present lithograph is his own work. It comes from what is undoubtedly his greatest published work: 'Les Oiseaux Les Plus Remarquables par leurs formes et leurs coleurs. Scenes variees de leurs moeurs & de leur habitudes...' published simultaneously in Paris and London circa 1857.
#3559$2,500.00
 TRAVIÈS, Edouard (1809-1865)
Chaffinch, male and female (Fringilla coelebs) `31./ Le Pinson, mâle et femelle. (Buffon) Grandeur naturelle/ Fringilla Coelebs. (Linné)/ Europe'
Paris & London: Berrieux and Gambert, Junin & Co, [circa 1857]. Lithograph, coloured by hand, by Traviès, printed by Lemercier of Paris. Sheet size: 14 9/16 x 20 13/16 inches.
A fine lithograph by one of the greatest ornithological artists of the 19th century, from his finest work 'Les Oiseaux Les Plus Remarquables.'
A male Chaffinch looks warily at the viewer as his mate comes in to land beside him in a small clearing surrounded by bluebells, violets, wild strawberries and the lower branches of an oak sapling. A butterfly, possibly a Gatekeeper, suns itself on the stalk of a bluebell flower
Edouard Traviès was the first artist to successfully capture the character of individual birds. This together with the wealth of detail in the backgrounds, give great charm to his images and lift them above mere ornithological illustration, into the realm of fine ornithological art.
Traviès was born in Doullens in the Somme district of France in March 1809, the younger brother of the caricaturist Charles Joseph Traviès de Villier (1804-1859). Throughout his career he concentrated on natural history subjects, both in watercolour (he exhibited regularly at the Paris Salon between 1831 and 1866) and lithography, as here. Unlike a number of his contemporaries, he was an artist both with the brush and on stone, and the present lithograph is his own work. It comes from what is undoubtedly his greatest published work: 'Les Oiseaux Les Plus Remarquables par leurs formes et leurs coleurs. Scenes variees de leurs moeurs & de leur habitudes...' published simultaneously in Paris and London circa 1857.
#3570$2,250.00
 TRAVIÈS, Edouard (1809-1865)
Crested Crane (Balearica pavonina) `29./ L'Oiseau Royal. (Buffon) 1/4 nature./ Ardea Pavonia. (Linné)./ Afrique'
Paris & London: Berrieux and Gambart, Junin& Co, [circa 1857]. Lithograph, coloured by hand, by Traviès, printed by Lemercier of Paris. Sheet size: 21 1/8 x 14 5/8 inches.
A fine lithograph by one of the greatest ornithological artists of the 19th century, from his finest work 'Les Oiseaux Les Plus Remarquables.'
The African Crowned Crane must surely be one of the most elegant of all birds. Three individuals are shown here in a suitable landscape with banana palms to the left and a great stand of papyrus reed to the right.
Edouard Traviès was the first artist to successfully capture the character of individual birds. This together with the wealth of detail in the backgrounds, give great charm to his images and lift them above mere ornithological illustration, into the realm of fine ornithological art.
Traviès was born in Doullens in the Somme district of France in March 1809, the younger brother of the caricaturist Charles Joseph Traviès de Villier (1804-1859). Throughout his career he concentrated on natural history subjects, both in watercolour (he exhibited regularly at the Paris Salon between 1831 and 1866) and lithography, as here. Unlike a number of his contemporaries, he was an artist both with the brush and on stone, and the present lithograph is his own work. It comes from what is undoubtedly his greatest published work: 'Les Oiseaux Les Plus Remarquables par leurs formes et leurs coleurs. Scenes variees de leurs moeurs & de leur habitudes...' published simultaneously in Paris and London circa 1857.
#3578$3,500.00
 TRAVIÈS, Edouard (1809-1865)
European Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus), facing right `1./ La Crécerelle (Buffon) 2/3 nat./ Falco tinnunculus (Linnè)./ Europe'
Paris & London: Ledot ainé & E. Gambart & Co, April 1857. Lithograph, coloured by hand, by Traviès, printed by Becquet of Paris. Sheet size: 23 1/8 x 16 1/2 inches.
A fine lithograph by one of the greatest ornithological artists of the 19th century, from his finest work 'Les Oiseaux Les Plus Remarquables.'
This dramatic scene shows a male Kestrel battling with a grass snake amongst the ivy on top of an old wall, a pine tree behind. Uniquely, Traviès produced two versions of this plate: the present image, and then a slightly smaller version with the scene reversed. The two versions have different printers and publishers.
The male Kestrel can be identified by the blue-gray head and a tail with a black tip which develop when they are a year old, the females remain a fawn and black colour. This scene is unusual, and the Kestrel would not have attacked the snake as prey: the usual diet of the Kestrel is beetles, worms and the occasional small mouse.
Edouard Traviès was the first artist to successfully capture the character of individual birds. This together with the wealth of detail in the backgrounds, give great charm to his images and lift them above mere ornithological illustration, into the realm of fine ornithological art.
Traviès was born in Doullens in the Somme district of France in March 1809, the younger brother of the caricaturist Charles Joseph Traviès de Villier (1804-1859). Throughout his career he concentrated on natural history subjects, both in watercolour (he exhibited regularly at the Paris Salon between 1831 and 1866) and lithography, as here. Unlike a number of his contemporaries, he was an artist both with the brush and on stone, and the present lithograph is his own work. It comes from what is undoubtedly his greatest published work: 'Les Oiseaux Les Plus Remarquables par leurs formes et leurs coleurs. Scenes variees de leurs moeurs & de leur habitudes...' published simultaneously in Paris and London circa 1857.
#3560$2,500.00
 TRAVIÈS, Edouard (1809-1865)
Great Grey Shr | | | |
