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C1848
(1860)
Phalacrocorax punctatus. Spotted Cormorant
Artist:
Rare lithograph of the best and largest colonial image of the Spotted Shag (Parekareka) from John Gould’s epic series, The Birds of Australia and Adjacent Islands, published for the author, printed by Richard and John E. Taylor, London. This lithograph is … Read Full Description
$A 1,450
S/N: GOULDAA-586–222318
(C111F)
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Details
Full Title:
Phalacrocorax punctatus. Spotted Cormorant
Date:
C1848
(1860)
Artist:
Condition:
In good condition.
Technique:
Lithograph with original hand colouring and gum arabic highlights.
Paper Size:
550mm
x 380mm
AUTHENTICITY
Genuine antique
dated:
1860
Description:
Rare lithograph of the best and largest colonial image of the Spotted Shag (Parekareka) from John Gould’s epic series, The Birds of Australia and Adjacent Islands, published for the author, printed by Richard and John E. Taylor, London. This lithograph is by Edward Lear.
In his introduction to The Birds of Australia, Gould stated the reasons for endeavouring the mammoth task of documenting the ornithology of Australia; “I was naturally desirous of turning my attention to the Ornithology of some other region; and a variety of opportune and concurring circumstances induced me to select that of Australia, the birds of which, although invested with the highest degree of interest, had been almost entirely neglected In the absence,
then, of any general work on the Birds of Australia, the field was comparatively a new one, and of no ordinary degree of interest, from the circumstance of its being one of the finest possessions of the British Crown, and from its natural productions being as remarkable for the anomalous nature of their forms, as for their beauty, and the singularity of their habits.”
Common name: Spotted Shag, Parekareka
Binomial name: Phalacrocorax punctatus
First described: Sparrman 1786
Distribution: QLD
Edward Lear (1812 - 1888)
Lear was was an English artist, illustrator, musician, author and poet. By the age of 16 was already drawing "for bread and cheese" and soon developed into a serious "ornithological draughtsman" employed by the Zoological Society and then from 1832 to 1836 by the Earl of Derby, who kept a private menagerie at his estate, Knowsley Hall. He was the first major bird artist to draw birds from real live birds, instead of skins. Lear's first publication, published when he was 19 years old, was Illustrations of the Family of Psittacidae, or Parrots in 1830. One of the greatest ornithological artists of his era, he taught Elizabeth Gould whilst also contributing to John Gould's works and was compared favourably to the naturalist John James Audubon. His eyesight deteriorated too much, to work with such precision on the fine drawings and etchings.
