New Zealand Antique Prints
& Rare Books
The On-line
Gallery
Prints may also be seen at:
New Zealand Birds’
(The Greytown Gallery)
65 Wood Street
Post Office Box 146
Greytown, 5742
Wairarapa
New Zealand
Mobile: +64 (0)27 508 5078
narena@nzbirds.com
John GOULD (1804–1881)
Over a period of fifty years, John Gould and his artists produced 14 titles in 49 volumes published in Imperial Folio format. Each bird or mammal was illustrated by a large, hand coloured lithograph — an amazing total of 2,999 individual plates. In addition there were several smaller books, each lavishly illustrated.
Following the traditional marketing strategy for such volumes, Gould’s books came out in parts; each part consisting of a number of hand coloured plates with Gould’s accompanying text dealing with each plate. Each part was issued in cardboard covers, the subscriber being responsible for the binding of the complete set when all parts had been received. Consequently, as each set was bound to the instructions of its owner, there is no “common” binding for any one title.
Gould’s advance publicity and prospectus was most successful. “Gould’s subscribers included 107 libraries, clubs and institutions, and no less than 12 Monarchs, 11 Royal Highnesses, 16 Dukes, 6 Marquises, 30 Earls, 5 Counts, 31 Honorables, 61 Baronets and one Bishop.”
In 1829 Gould married Elizabeth Coxen, a governess and competent artist. In 1830 he published his first scientific paper. Three hundred more were to follow, many of them illustrated. Shortly after their marriage the Goulds began their magnificent publishing enterprise.
A Century of Birds from the Himalayan Mountains [1830–33], was John Gould’s first ambitious undertaking. This comprised 80 lithographs, prepared by Elizabeth, depicting 100 species of birds, and giving the title “a century of birds”. The birds were originally sketched by Gould, painted by Elizabeth, and the plates then lithographed by Elizabeth. The printed plates were hand coloured by teams of professional colourists, to correspond to Elizabeth’s original water colour paintings.
Elizabeth’s brothers Charles and Stephen Coxen had emigrated to Australia, and settled in the Hunter Valley in NSW. They had sent Gould skins of some of the very colourful birds they had shot or trapped. Elizabeth had prepared illustrations of these birds for a book The Birds of Australia and adjacent islands but after twenty plates, Gould realised he needed many more specimens to continue. He abandoned this book, demanding that the subscribers return the parts already received. Some did, and the parts returned were re–used in the new books or destroyed. Those plates not returned, known as the “suppressed parts”, are consequently extremely valuable.
Once John Gould saw the necessity for a trip to Australia, he determined that Elizabeth must go too, in order to make her drawings on the spot. John and Elizabeth travelled to Australia in 1838 and spent 19 months during which time John collected many specimens new to science and prepared many drawings and watercolours for The Birds of Australia 1840–48, and The Mammals of Australia 1845–63, now considered to be his greatest scientific achievement.
Gould was in the process of issuing the seven volume Birds of Australia and the Supplement when Elizabeth died and he was fortunate in finding a sympathetic artist and lithographer in H. C. Richter. Over the next seven years Richter used the skins and drawings John and Elizabeth had brought from Australia and produced the majority of the 681 plates.
Reference:
Taken from preparations by Carol Cantrell as the basis for a talk to be presented to The Australian Museum Society on 21 and 23 April 1998.
Please use this link to a more comprehensive article about John Gould.
$9,890.00 USD
(includes shipping)
Takahe, Notornix mantelli: Owen
(double plate)
Price: US$9,890.00 (includes shipping costs)
LINK to LARGER image
This original hand colored lithograph is from John Gould’s The Birds of Australia (1840–48).
Artist: J.Gould & H.C. Richter del et lith.
Paper size: 67cm x 53cm (26 1/2 x 21 inches) approximately. (Double plate).
Hullmandel & Walton, Imp.
Condition: excellent.
Text: No text included.
$900.00 USD
(includes shipping)
Fleshy-footed Petrel, Puffinus carneipes:
Price: US$900.00 (includes shipping costs)
LINK to LARGER image
This original hand colored lithograph is from John Gould’s The Birds of Australia (1840–48).
Artist: J.Gould & H.C. Richter del et lith.
Paper size: 55.5cm x 37.2cm (14 1/2 x 21 1/4 inches) approximately (Imperial Folio).
Hullmandel & Walton, Imp.
Condition: Very good. Some light foxing in upper left of image, please see larger photograph.
Text: No text included.
$670.00 USD
(includes shipping)
Wood Swallow, Artamus sordidus:
Price: US$670.00 (includes shipping costs)
LINK to LARGER image
This original hand colored lithograph is from John Gould’s The Birds of Australia (1840–48).
Artist: J.Gould & H.C. Richter del et lith.
Paper size: 14 1/2 x 21 1/4 inches approximately (Imperial Folio).
Hullmandel & Walton, Imp.
Condition: Excellent.
Text: text is included.
$600.00 USD
(includes shipping)
Tree Martin, Collocalia arborea:
Price: US$600.00 (includes shipping costs)
LINK to LARGER image
This original hand colored lithograph is from John Gould’s The Birds of Australia (1840–48).
Artist: J.Gould & H.C. Richter del et lith.
Paper size: 14 1/2 x 21 1/4 inches approximately (Imperial Folio).
Hullmandel & Walton, Imp.
Condition: very good. 5cm tear on bottom right extending into the title (please see larger image).
Text: text is included.
$535.00 USD
(includes shipping)
Grey Noddy, Anous cinereus (Procelsterna cerulean):
Price: US$535.00 (includes shipping costs)
LINK to LARGER image
This original hand colored lithograph is from John Gould’s The Birds of Australia (1840–48).
Artist: J.Gould & H.C. Richter del et lith.
Paper size: 14 1/2 x 21 1/4 inches approximately (Imperial Folio).
Hullmandel & Walton, Imp.
Condition: excellent.
Text: no text.
$500.00 USD
(includes shipping)
Green backed gerygone, Gerygone chloronotus:
Price: US$500.00 (includes shipping costs)
LINK to LARGER image
This original hand colored lithograph is from John Gould’s The Birds of Australia (1840–48).
Artist: J.Gould & H.C. Richter del et lith.
Paper size: 14 1/2 x 21 1/4 inches approximately (Imperial Folio).
Hullmandel & Walton, Imp.
Condition: very good. Two light spots on right margin.
Text: text is included.
$1,855.00 USD
(includes shipping)
Fairy Penguin, Spheniscus undina:
Price: US$1,855.00 (includes shipping costs)
LINK to LARGER image
This original hand colored lithograph is from John Gould’s The Birds of Australia (1840–48).
Artist: J.Gould & H.C. Richter del et lith.
Paper size: 14 1/2 x 21 1/4 inches approximately (Imperial Folio).
Hullmandel & Walton, Imp.
Condition: excellent.
Text: text is included.
$900.00 USD
(includes shipping)
Skua, Lestris catarrhactes:
Price: US$900.00 (includes shipping costs)
LINK to LARGER image
This original hand colored lithograph is from John Gould’s The Birds of Australia (1840–48).
Artist: J.Gould & H.C. Richter del et lith.
Paper size: 14 1/2 x 21 1/4 inches approximately (Imperial Folio).
Hullmandel & Walton, Imp.
Condition: excellent.
Text: text is included.
$500.00 USD
(includes shipping)
Green backed zosterops, Zosterops chloronotus:
Price: US$500.00 (includes shipping costs)
LINK to LARGER image
This original hand colored lithograph is from John Gould’s The Birds of Australia (1840–48).
Artist: J.Gould & H.C. Richter del et lith.
Paper size: 14 1/2 x 21 1/4 inches approximately (Imperial Folio).
Hullmandel & Walton, Imp.
Condition: good, light spot of foxing in right bottom image.
Text: no text.
$500.00 USD
(includes shipping)
Buff breasted gerygone, Gerygone levigaster:
Price: US$500.00 (includes shipping costs)
LINK to LARGER image
This original hand colored lithograph is from John Gould’s The Birds of Australia (1840–48).
Artist: J.Gould & H.C. Richter del et lith.
Paper size: 14 1/2 x 21 1/4 inches approximately (Imperial Folio).
Hullmandel & Walton, Imp.
Condition: good, some foxing just below main image, also below title.
Text: no text.
$950.00 USD
(includes shipping)
White-eyebrowed Water Crake, Porzana leucophrys:
Price: US$950.00 (includes shipping costs)
LINK to LARGER image
This original hand colored lithograph is from John Gould’s The Birds of Australia (1840–48).
Artist: J.Gould & H.C. Richter del et lith.
Paper size: 14 1/2 x 21 1/4 inches approximately (Imperial Folio).
Hullmandel & Walton, Imp.
Condition: excellent.
Text: text is included.
