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"Birds of Australia"
"The Birds of Norfolk and & Lord Howe Islands"
By G.M. Mathews
Decription of the work.
We are pleased to offer a selection of prints from the rare edition, limited to 225 copies, of "The Birds Of Australia” and "The Birds Of Norfolk and Lord Howe Island and the Australasian south Polar quadrant” . The beautiful handcoloured plates were lithographated maily by Keulemans and Gronvold and in some case by R. Green and very few by Goodchild, Frohawk. They superbly depict many Australian rare birds, some now extinct.
This unique edition is based on Mathews’ collection of specimens ans skins and was issued in 79 parts, appearing at somewhat irregular intervals, between 1 to 9 parts annually. The plates figure about 100 species not given in Gould. The 2 volumes on "The Birds of Norfolk and Lord Howe Islands" completed Mathews' depiction of every then-known species in a hand-coloured lithograph, a gigantic undertaking.
The present work can be characterized as being beautifully executed traditional lithography, with an extraordinary rendering in very fine detail, all with original handcolouring, showing the subjects in association with indigenous flowering plants in their natural state and habitat. The colours are bright and very intense on a white medium weight paper and are heightened with arabic gum, to provide them a more glossed and vivid appearance.
They were signed "J.G.K" in the plate, (by 1880 Keulemans simply used his initials) of H.Gr for those from Grønvold and R.G. for those from R. Greene.
Each print is quarto in size, measuring approximately 9" 5/8 by 13 3/8 inches (24,5 by 34 cm), on fine clean paper.
Each print is accompained by original/copy relevant descriptive text.
Biography of the Artists.
J.G. Keulemans (June 1842 - March 1912) was born in Rotterdam and was a Dutch bird illustrator. He also spent a great deal of time in London, as well as in Africa and the Cape Verde Islands. He described a species of warbler, Calamodyta (Acrocephalus) brevipennis (Nederl. Tijdschr. Dierk. (Amsterdam), ex Dohrn), in 1866. In 1869 he moved to England and illustrated a large number of best known nagnificent ornithology books, and regulary provided illustrations for "The Ibis" and "The proceeding of Zoological Society".
Keulemans illustrated, among other:
- Keulemans' "Onze Vogels in Huis and Tuin" (Our birds in home and garden) (1869), that was the only work that was not only illustrated but also written by Keulemans;
- Sharp's "Monograph of the Alcedinidae" (1868-1871);
- Buller's "A History of Birds of New Zealand" (1873-1878);
- Legge's "Histrory of the Birds of Ceylon" (1880);
- Elliot's "Monograph of the Bucerotidae (hornbills)" (1887-1892);
- Godman's "Monograph of the Petrels" (1907-1910);
Keleumans also illustrated, and rendered most of the images on stones, well before publication, of the Magnificent Mathews' "Birds of Australia".
H. Grønvold. (6 September 1858 – 23 March 1940) was a Danish naturalist and artist, known for his illustrations of birds.
Henrik Grønvold was born in in Præstø. He had an early interest in natural history, and an early aptitude for natural history art.
His illustrations largely appeared in scientific periodicals, Grønvold also completed numerous plates for Walter Rothschild.
Biography of the Author.G. M. Mathews (1876 - 1949)
Born in Biamble, New South Wales - Australia, Mathews was a prominent ornithologist. Educated at Singleton Grammar School and The King's School, Parramatta, he enthusiastically collected birds' eggs. He worked for 6 years in Queensland, observing and studing birds. In 1902 he moved with his wife fo England and met R. Bowdler Sharpe, keeper of an important bird collection, who encouraged and introduced him to many experts all over the world. Mathews conceived the idea of producing an exhaustive work on Australian birds and became enthusiastic collector of specimens and books: i collected more than 5000 books and a wide selection of skins.
In 1910 Mathews wrote his fist volume of the 'Australian Birds', published in London by Witherby, his most important work: an inestimable contribution to Australasian ornithology, the last of the great colourplate bird books and the most sumptuously produced Australian book of the twentieth century. The edition was limited to 225 copies, of which only a minority are now in private hands. The beautiful plates are considered the most ornithologically correct, and about one hundred species not given in Gould's The Birds of Australia are figured in these volumes. The complete work count 12 volumes in quarto size (24.5 x 34 cm) published between 1910 and 1927 and continued with a supplement in 1928 "Birds of Norfolk and Lord Howe Islands", which Mathews initially insisted was to be considered quite a separate publication; it is indeed still often found separated from the main work to which it formed a final complement.
Mathews received many honours and was appointed C.B.E. in 1939; he represented Australia at five international ornithological congresses.
Bibliography Reference: Nissen IVB, 606; Anker, p.163; Bradley Martin 158.