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Album of bird illustrations made from bird feathers
Title
Album of bird illustrations made from bird feathers.
Production
Great Britain, approximately 1880.
Physical Description
26 pictures in 1 volume : bird feathers, watercolor ; volume 22 x 18 cm
Notes
Contained in a stationer's "Scrap Album" made by Marcus Ward & Co. (whose small label is affixed to the rear pastedown), bound in green cloth boards, the front cover stamped in black to illustrate a pair of birds in a cherry tree. With a the title leaf, printed in gold, reading: "Album. London: Marcus Ward & Co., and Royal Ulster Works, Belfast."
A description of how to make similarly constructed pictures of birds with natural feathers is given in: Elegant arts for ladies (London : Ward and Lock, 1861).
Summary
Album of 26 birds bird illustrations made with the use of real feathers, by an unidentified artist, circa 1880. Each bird is affixed on heavy cardstock (12 x 7 cm), many with gilt edges; the corners of the cards are inserted into diagonal incisions made in leaves of the album. Each bird is depicted perched on a branch or standing on the ground, minimally articulated in watercolor. The artist appears to be particularly interested in long-tail birds, though the representation of varieties is broad, and includes in part peacocks, sparrows, and other summer birds, a pheasant, a grouse, and a prairie chicken. A peculiar long legged bird may be a rendition of Uganda's Grey Crowned Crane, and a specimen boasting a red tufted crown and spotted chest may be representative of the male northern cardinal or even the exotic Afro-Eurasian hoopoe.
Format
Images
Language
English
Added to Catalog
March 07, 2014
References
Of green leaf, bird, and flower: artists' books and the natural world, p. 156
Subjects
Subjects (Local Yale)
Genre/Form
Feather (material)
Featherwork.
Also listed under
BAC QL674.4 .A43 1880+ Oversize Exhibited in: "Of Green Leaf, Bird, and Flower" : Artists' Books and the Natural World (Yale Center for British Art, May 15, 2014-August 10, 2014)
Bookmark As
Citation
