Painted Finch, Emblema Picta. John Gould Australian Birds print

by Gould, John

Inexpensive Lansdowne Press reproduction John Gould bird print, published in 1974 and limited to 500 copies. 

This image was reproduced from a hand-coloured lithograph by Henry Constantine Richter after the drawing by John Gould for his grandest work, The Birds of Australia, published in London between 1840 and 1848.

Passionate about birds, John Gould (1804-1881), was known as 'the Bird Man'. In Australia, the Gould League of Bird Lovers was named in his honour in 1909. Gould obtained subscribers to finance his grand publications on the birds of different regions of the world, which were illustrated with large hand-coloured lithographs by eminent artists - closely supervised by Gould.

Gould was assisted by his artist wife, Elizabeth Gould (1804-1841), who refined many of her husband's sketches of the birds in their habitats for lithographs to be made for publication of prints in London. Elizabeth Gould also did over 600 lithographs for her husband's publications. Elizabeth died after the birth of their eighth child following their return to England from Australia. Gould illustrations are some of the finest ever done of Australian birds.

This image is in good condition, of original published size, 53 x 37cm (21 x 14.5 inches). The paper is not as thick as the original lithographs were, and the ink colour does not have the same longevity as early colour. We recommend conservation materials and U/V protective glass to minimize fading.