John Gould Edward Lear (8 results)

Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. Gould, John; Thorburn, Archibald: Lear, Edward: Auubon, JJ (illustrator). A selection of prints from the London Natural History Museum's library. Top corners bumped otherwise nearly mint.

GOULD, Archibald THORBURN, Edward LEAR, J.J. AUDUBON & Alexander WILSON (illustrator). PML Editions - Bibliothèque d'histoire Naturelle - 1991 - In-folio - Cartonnage éditeur avec jaquette illustrée (accrocs)- 40 illustrations couleurs PP - 93 pages - Propre Livres.

52 plates in box. Condition: NEW. Edward Lear (illustrator). NEW, still in publisher's shrink-wrap. Multi-lingual 31 page booklet text in English, French, and German 51 Large Art Prints 20" Height x 13.75" Length. == Ships from Hawaii. ==. Big-billed technicolor marvels: 51 ready-to-frame art prints John Gould's toucans are arguably the most striking and dramatic bird illustrations ever published. Gould (1804-1881), one of the most prolific ornithological publishers of the 19th century, had a romantic enthusiasm for winged creatures, as well as a passion for natural history and a impulse to catalog. Drawing on his outstanding scientific and artistic talents, he embarked on a series of projects that would eventually make him the leading publisher of ornithological illustrations in Victorian Britain. Gould's unparalleled career spanned five decades, during which he produced a series of books depicting birds from all over the world. The dazzling illustrations from Gould's Monograph of the Ramphastidae, or Family of Toucans, 1852-1854 represent his most dramatic, magnificent images. The amazing range of vivid colors-shiny black, vibrant red, yellow, and orange-creates an unprecedented sense of animation. Shown against simple backgrounds, The toucans look very much alive, as if they were about to take flight. The inspiration for Toucans came while Gould was working on his Birds of Europe, when he became fascinated by the toucan collection of a fellow ornithologist. He made several trips to central European museums to gather material for Toucans, and after publication of the first edition, had some of the plates redrawn and added 20 new birds to this revised and expanded second edition. All are included in these touchingly beautiful reproductions of Gould's hand-colored lithographs. Text in English, French, and German.

Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Edward Lear (illustrator). 1st Edition. The book is near fine, the solander case is very good with some faint scuff marks and bumping to one corner. This release would have originally come with an additional loose print of an eagle owl, however, it is not present here. Edward Lear, the 20th child in his family, suffered from a number of lifelong health problems, including epilepsy, bronchitis and asthma. When he was a child, his family got into financial trouble, and he was required to leave the family home from a young age, where he was raised by his sister, 21 years his senior. His sisters taught him to paint, and from his early teens he began to make money drawing sketches, also taking on work drawing medical illustrations. At the age of 18 was employed at The Zoological Society to produce ornithological drawings. Lear had already met John Audubon, who had just published Birds of America in double elephant folio size, and Lear wanted to create his own large format book - Illustrations of The Family Psittacidae, or Parrots. He set out to create 175 copies to be sold in 14 issues to subscribers, however, it ultimately failed financially and was never completed. During this time, John Gould was curator and head preserver at The Zoological Society of London, where he became aware of Lear's talents. Gould was a successful businessman and had his own taxidermy company. With Lear in financial trouble, the two came to a deal where Lear would to draw for Gould. Gould also acquired the rights to Lear's failed work, with some of the illustrations later appearing in his famed Birds of Europe book. The deal would enable Lear to travel to zoos across Europe to create his drawings from live specimens, rather than stuffed animals as was commonly the case at the time. Lear used lithography, rather than copper etching that many of his predecessors had used. The lithography technique allowed for extra fine details, and Lear would often be seen carrying these great slabs of limestone to work on. He would draw directly onto the stone, rather the usual way of copying from paper, perhaps to save time and money, or perhaps feeling that it gave the works more life. Lear went on to become one of the most respected figures in the field of ornithological drawings, but his work was always published alongside other artists. From the age of 35, Lear's eyesight started to fail, leaving him less able to pick out the fine details required for his ornithological drawings, so he then focused primarily on landscapes, the nonsense works, and travel. In 1954, while researching for his Zoo Quest TV series and books, David Attenborough bought a box of bird prints and was struck by one in particular, of a toucan, signed E Lear. Attenborough became a huge admirer of Lear's work and over the course of many years collected prints of all 80 bird portraits that Lear had drawn for Gould. Attenborough had these bound into a single volume in a 19th century leather binding. Attenborough felt that Lear's exceptional ornithological drawings deserved to be published alone, and, to celebrate 200 years since Lear's birth, The Folio Society reproduced Attenborough's collection in facsimile. Limited to 780 copies, this stunning imperial folio size (21½x14¼ inches) book is bound in full Nigerian goatskin leather, lavishly decorated in gilt to the front and back, spine, edges, and inside edges, top edge gilt, with hand marbled endpapers, 80 lithographs in high quality reproduction, 184 pages total, signed and with an introduction by David Attenborough. Presented in a strong buckram solander case. A beautiful book, perhaps the most beautiful produced by The Folio Society. Signed by Author(s).

No Binding. Condition: Near Fine. 1st Edition. This is a hand-colored original lithograph published in Gould's Birds of Europe in conjunction with Edward Lear famous in his own right for his Birds of Europe. Appears to be the same bird with different background. This lithograph is signed by Lear and appears priced as high as $2000. This lithograph is in excellent condition and priced to allow investment in museum quality framing. Comments have appeared that this"Gould print" signed by Lear, is one of the first, if not the first collaboration between Edward Lear and John and Elizabeth Gould. Every Gould collector should have a Gould/Lear lithograph in his/her collection. Lear signed this litho. Add $20 for special handling and shipping. Signed by Author(s).

Hand-coloured lithographed plate, heightened with gum arabic; framed and glazed, overall dimensions: 453 mm x 614 mm x 40 mm. Edward Lear is one of the greatest ornithological artists of all time. His contributions to John Gould's work Birds of Europe included the most eye-catching subjects in the book:, cranes, pelicans, swans, and flamingos. Lear's plates are from bird drawings that 'are certainly among the most remarkable bird drawings ever made, [for] it is evident that Lear endowed them with some measure of his own whimsy and intelligence, his energetic curiosity, his self-conscious clumsiness and his unselfconscious charm' (Hyman). 'He introduced a sense of subtlety and freedom into her drawings where previously she had only mimicked the technique used in etching or engraving. There is no doubt that Edward Lear was the first person to understand the art of lithography and to use it to its fullest potential. It was a legacy that made the works of Gould into a success and took them into the forefront of nineteenth-century illustration' (Tree). Anker 169; Fine Bird Books, p.77; Nissen IVB 371; Sauer 2; Wood, p.364; Zimmer, p.251.

Hand-colored lithographic plate, approximately 14.5 inches wide by 21 inches long. From: Gould, J., The Birds of Europe, 1832-1837, plate number 256. Image is of a Short-toed Ptarmigan, Lagopus brachydactylus (Temm.). Gould's The Birds of Europe documented native Europe birds to the same artistic standards that had been previously applied to foreign birds. This volume was the first time he worked with Edward Lear who was a master of painting live specimens of birds. Light wear to very edge of plate, framing tape on top edge, image is clean and bright; in fine condition.

Original lithograph with fine later hand-colouring for the "Family of Toucans". Good condition.