Pair of 19th Century John Gould, H. C. Richter Hand-Colored Bird Lithographs

$2,800

About

Decorate a office or study with this set of antique lithographs. Hand painted in England circa 1850 by Gould and Richter, each print features exotic birds on trees or leaves. Titled “Nectarinia Gouldle”, “Spathura Solstitilatis”, ” John Gould (1804-1881) was an English ornithologist. He published a number of monographs on birds, illustrated by plates produced by his wife, Elizabeth Gould, He has been considered the father of bird study in Australia and the Gould League in Australia is named after him. His identification of the birds now nicknamed “Darwin’s finches” played a role in the inception of Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection. Gould’s work is referenced in Charles Darwin’s book, On the Origin of Species. Henry Constantine Richter (1821-1902) was an English zoological illustrator who produced a very large number of skillful colored lithographs of birds and mammals, mainly for the scientific books of the renowned English 19th century ornithologist John Gould. Many of the original drawings used by Richter as the basis for his colored lithographs were by Gould’s wife, Elizabeth Coxen, produced before her death in 1841. Richter’s reputation was overshadowed by that of his much-celebrated employer. Since it was not customary to acknowledge illustrators alongside authors in the titles of publications, his name was forgotten. But in 1978, his great ability and the extent of his contribution to Gould’s work came to light, in the work of the researcher Christine E. Jackson. 15″W x `19″H

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