William Hart "Paradisea Minor (Lesser Bird-of-Paradise)" Vintage 16x22 Lithograph from John Gould's Book "The Birds of Great Britain"

Vintage lithograph measures 16" x 22" in size. The lithograph is from the artwork that William Hart did for John Gould's Book "The Birds of Great Britain", published in 1873. The lithograph has been attached to a cardboard backing. See photos for details regarding the condition of the lithograph. 

William Matthew Hart was born in Limerick, Ireland on March 31, 1823. In 1851 Hart began work hand coloring the printed plates for Gould’s books. He and Gould shared a liking for intensely colored birds, such as Gould’s popular display of mounted humming-birds at the Great Exhibition of 1851. Gould chose Hart to color the pattern plates (models for the colorers to copy) for and to execute the metallic highlights on the plates for A Monograph of the Trochilidae, or Family of Humming-birds.

Another major project on which Hart worked was Birds of Great Britain, a book issued in 25 parts 1862-1873. The 22nd part, issued in September 1872, marked his venture into copying the drawings onto the lithographic plates. Some of the plates in the 2nd edition of the Monograph of the Trogonidae also bear the credit “J Gould & W. Hart del et lith”. Whereas Hart’s profession was listed in the 1871 population census as a print colorer, in the 1881 census he described himself as a “lithographer & print colorer”. He colored bird books by other authors, as well.

Watercolor and oil paintings of birds by Hart survive, and Gould was the proud owner of a painting by Hart of a trout that Gould had caught. However, Hart was not given full credit for drawing the birds in Gould publications until employed by R.B. Sharpe on Gould supplements published after Gould’s death. In these and other books on which Hart was employed by Sharpe, the illustrations are boldly executed and colored. Hart drew less accurately than Richter and was less skilled at lithographic drawing but paid great attention to background details, such as leaves.

Due to the uniqueness of each item, please refer to the photos provided in this auction. We offer high resolution images of each item rather than a written description of condition.

This item is being shipped from the Pristine Auction warehouse.