Sharpe & Keulemans's Family of Kingfishers - Volume with 120 Originally Hand-colored Lithographs

Artist or Author: Richard Bowler Sharpe & John Gerrard Keulemans

Work: A Monograph of the Alcedinidae: or, Family of Kingfishers

Date of Publication: 1868-1871

Style: Volume with 120 Originally Hand-colored Lithographs

Paper Size: ~ 9 1/4" by 12"

Condition: The work is in very good good to excellent condition overall. There is some scattered light foxing, very occasional inoffensive spotting to plates, else plates generally clean and fresh. There is some fading and wear to the bindings. 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 beautiful volume with 120 originally hand-colored lithographs is Richard Sharpe's A Monograph of the Alcedinidae: or, Family of Kingfishers. This is the first edition of the work published by the author between 1868 and 1871.

The volume is bound in quarter leather with five raised bands and some gold gilt details (faded). There are 120 hand-colored lithographs by and after J. G. Keulemans and a hand-colored lithographed map as well.

Richard Bowler Sharpe (1847-1909) was a British naturalist and curator of the British Museum's bird collection. He published several works on birds throughout the course of his career and has a handful of bird species named after him, including the Sharpe's longclaw and the Sharpe's starling.

John Gerrard Keulemans (1842-1912) is one of the most respected bird artists whose images were noted for their fine detail. He contributed to some of the best known ornithological works including those of Elliot, Buller, Dresser, and The Ibis. According to Jackson (Bird Illustrators, p. 90) “The great value of Keulemans' work as an ornithological draughtsman lay in his sureness of design of the plate and his accuracy in portraying the birds themselves. The bird figures were carefully drawn and executed down to the last scales on the feet. The feathering was neatly delineated with the different plumes receiving sympathetic treatment.”

Provenance: Bookplate of Major H. Jones, Owned by Professor William Gardner Hale, top British authority on wading birds