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C1917
Psephotellus pulcherrimus. (Beautiful Parrot)
Artist:
Superb lithograph with original hand colouring of the presumed extinct Paradise Parrot from the last great series on Australian ornithology, The Birds of Australia by G. Matthew’s. Presumed extinct, last sighting was in 1921 when C.H. Jerrard, a cattleman in the … Read Full Description
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Details
Full Title:
Psephotellus pulcherrimus. (Beautiful Parrot)
Date:
C1917
Artist:
Engraver:
Witherby & Co
Condition:
In good condition.
Technique:
Lithograph with original hand colouring and gum Arabic highlights.
Image Size:
240mm
x 335mm
Paper Size:
250mm
x 353mm
AUTHENTICITY
Genuine antique
dated:
1917
Description:
Superb lithograph with original hand colouring of the presumed extinct Paradise Parrot from the last great series on Australian ornithology, The Birds of Australia by G. Matthew’s. Presumed extinct, last sighting was in 1921 when C.H. Jerrard, a cattleman in the Burnett River Region of Queensland reported having found an occupied nest. To prove his claim, he sent photographs of birds at their nest in a termite mound. Today these photographs remain the only ones of the living birds ever taken.
This series is rarer than John Gould’s work on Australian birds, with only 225 sets made. It was the last series produced using the laborious process of hand colouring of each individual lithograph.
Modern binomial name:Psephotellus pulcherrimus
First described: Gould, 1845
Distribution: QLD
References:
Anker, J. Bird Books and Bird Art. Amsterdam 1979 : 328
Nissen, C. Die illustrierten Vogelbucher. Stuttgart 1995 : IVB 605
Collections:
State Library New South Wales: Call Numbers: MRB/F598.2/M
State Library Victoria: RARESF 598.2994 M42
State Library of Western Australia: Call Number Q 598.2994 MAT
State Library South Australia: Rare Books Room 598.294 M429
National Library Australia: Rex Nan Kivell Collection ; NK9772
State Library Queensland: RBF 598.2994
National Museum of Australia: Call no: AIA F 598.2994 MA
Roland J. Green (1896 - 1972)
English bird artist, who produced numerous bird studies in watercolours and oils. Green remained a bachelor throughout his life, making his home in a disused drainage mill at Hickling in Norfolk. He set many of his bird paintings in the Broads, capturing some of the wild beauty of this region in his distinctive style. Roland Green was born in Kent, the son of a taxidermist, who trained him in the skinning, stuffing and setting up birds, thereby instilling an extensive knowledge of anatomy and plumage. He showed an early aptitude for drawing and painting birds. Educated in Rochester and at the Regent Street Polytechnic, he was a skilled bird and mammal painter, holding annual exhibitions of his paintings and etchings. The subjects of his etchings were snipe, Canada geese, mallard and kingfishers. He also gave lectures on bird watching and the drawing of birds, with an emphasis on birds in flight. He spent a great deal of time in the reedbeds, creating the mistaken impression of being unsociable, but his talks to pupils at various schools dispelled that notion.
