Description
John Gould's Birds of Asia
These masterfully hand-colored lithographs are from John Gould's famous work Birds of Asia, published in London between 1850 and 1883. Gould's prints are known for their masterful design, composition, detail, and color. Even during their original time of publication Gould's plates were very expensive. However, this set exceeds even those standards when one takes in the stunning color applied. The special recognition afforded to this set may very well have been for its recipient, perhaps a high-ranking man of nobility. Whatever the reason, those responsible for this color deserve distinction.
John Gould is perhaps the greatest ornithological artist of all time. It is widely accepted that Gould sketched all 3000 of his plate. His wife, Lear, Wolf, Hart, and Richter did much of the remaining artistic work, however. The other artists helped with work such as transferring the sketches to stone, hand-printing, and hand-coloring. Elizabeth Gould and Edward Lear are particularly well-known for their masterful artistry.
John led Elizabeth to learn lithography from the noted lithographer, and fellow contributor to Gould's works, Edward Lear. Elizabeth went on to produce some 600 lithographs in her short career (due to her very young passing at the age of 37). Many of her illustrations were used in Gould's work, Birds of Australia, but published under H. C. Richter's name since the work was completed posthumously.