Jamaican poorwill [Siphonorhis americana]

Artist or Author: Walter Rothschild & George Edward Lodge

Work: Extinct Birds

Date of Publication: 1907

Style:

Paper Size: ~ 10 5/8" by 14 3/4"

Condition: The work is in good to excellent condition overall. There may be a few minor imperfections to be expected with age. Please review the image carefully for condition and contact us with any questions.

Description of the work: This rare chromolithographed plate is from Walter Rothschild's Extinct Birds. The work was published by Hutchinson & Co. in London in 1907.

This lithograph is from a limited edition of 300 copies of which 280 were ever for sale, this plate being the 147th and was signed by Rothschild. Noted artists contributed to the work including John G. Keulemans, George Edward Lodge, Joseph Smit, and Frederick William Frohawk.

The work was important for it raising awareness of the extinction of species. It combined prehistoric extinctions with those of recent history. Rothschild noted "The cause of recent extinction among birds is in most cases due directly or indirectly to man, but we also have instances of birds becoming extinct for no apparent reason whatever."

Provenance: Ex libris Alan Francis Brooke, Ex libris W. G. Hale, given to one of the artists, Frederick William Frohawk, by Rothschild