Helena's Calypte
14 1/4 by 21 1/4 inches
GHF117 $395
We are delighted to offer these superb ORIGINAL hand-colored lithographs of hummingbirds from "John Gould’s Monograph of the Trochilidae, or Family of Hummingbirds", volume III, published in 1861. John Gould was a self-taught English naturalist, gifted artist & talented taxidermist. A man of vision, with a talent for organization and administration, he founded an empire for ornithological illustration, publishing more than forty large folio volumes. These works contain over 3,000 plates, all superbly drawn and meticulously hand colored. The first work appeared in 1831 and the last in 1888, seven years after Gould's death.
Of these six volumes of hummingbirds, consisting of 418 hand colored plates, even fewer have the highly prized gold or silver iridescence, produced by layering gold or silver leaf under the watercolor paint to mirror the shimmering beauty of each bird. This process is now lost to modern colorists and has become the hallmark of authenticity for Gould hummingbirds, as many now offered on the market are later editions without the characteristic gilding. So it is with great pleasure that we offer this authentic ollection of hummingbird prints, most with the treasured iridescence, all from volume volume III, with the largest and showiest species. Donald Heald, the renowned American Book dealer, calls this volume "the distilled essence of a masterpiece...the heart of the work"
These prints are on fine heavy paper in excellent condition, measuring approximately 14 1/4" by 21 1/4", accompanied by the original descriptive text & a copy of the title page to volume III. The provenance is the collection of Lord Kennet of the Dene. References: Fine Bird Books, p.102, Bird Artists of the World, p. 259.
