About Elliot

About Elliot

Elliot, Daniel Giraud

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Monograph of the Bucerotidae (58)

The originals were printed by Taylor & Francis of London, published for the subscribers by the author, 1877-1882. 1 volume bound from the ten original parts, folio (14 3/4 x 11 1/8 inches). 60 lithographic plates printed by M. & N.Hanhart (comprising: 57 plates by and after John Gerrard Keulemans, all hand-coloured by Mr. Smith, 3 uncoloured plates by and after Joseph Smit), occasional uncoloured illustrations. 

The first edition of this 'comprehensive treatment of the entire family of hornbills' (Zimmer) from one of the best known American ornithologists of the second half of the nineteenth century, with illustrations by Keulemans, the most popular ornithological artist of the period.

This is the important first monograph on this widely scattered family of extraordinary birds. "The Bucerotidae are pretty equally divided at the present day between the Ethiopian and Oriental Regions, the first having twenty-seven and the latter twenty-nine species, while but a few... are scattered about the islands of the Malay archipelago" (introduction). Hornbills are extraordinary not only for their physical appearance but also for their behavior - the most noteworthy shared trait amongst the species is the male's habit of "enclosing the female in the hollow of some tree, firmly fastening her in by a wall of mud, and keeping her close prisoner until the eggs are hatched" (introduction). The male will feed the female through a slit in the wall whilst she incubates the eggs. She will only break through the wall of mud and leave the nest once the young have hatched, at which point the wall is rebuilt and remains in place until the young are ready to fly. The bizarre beauty of this species is here ably captured by Keulemans highly accurate and beautifully observed plates. Keulemans was born in Rotterdam, Holland, in 1842, but worked and lived chiefly in England, working on most of the important ornithological monographs and periodicals published between about 1870 and his death in London in 1912. He was 'undoubtedly the most popular bird artist of his day as well as being the most prolific. He was gifted with a superb sense of draughtsman-ship and revealed his considerable versatility in capturing the significant subtleties of color, form, and expression in the birds... represented in his various illustrations'.

A Monograph of the Pittidae (31)

About the original used for our giclées:

A Monograph of the Pittidae, or Family of Ant-Thrushes
New York: D. Appleton & Co, [1861-]1863. Folio (21 5/16 x 14 inches).

1page. dedication to Philip Lutley Sclater,

1 pag. list of subscribers.

31 fine hand-coloured lithographic plates, heightened with gum arabic, after Elliot (24), Paul Louis Oudart (4), E. Maubert (1), A.Mesnel (1) and one unsigned, drawn on stone by C. P.Tholey and others, printed and coloured by Bowen & Co. of Philadelphia.First edition.Important and a rare and spectacular ornithological work, because it was the first book by Elliot with his own illustrations, and the scarcest of his major monographs.

'Elliot was not his own painter, except among the Pittas. Early in his career, in 1863, he had brought out his book on the Pittidae, or Ant-Thrushes with plates of a delightful... character, after his own drawings.' (Fine Bird Books). Elliot's chosen illustrator, Paul Louis Oudart, died after completing only 3 plates, and rather than risk a hurried instruction to another artist, Elliot 'felt compelled to turn draughtsman myself' (Preface) and executed all of the other drawings, bar one each by Maubert and Mesnel. The illustrations and indeed the birds themselves represent the pinnacle of Elliot's pictorial work. The Pittidae described are native to Borneo, Nepal, Ceylon, the Philippines, New Guinea, and Cambodia amongst other places. Their plumage is rendered in vibrant shades of blues, greens and reds, and the birds (many of whom are shown feeding their young) are placed against beautifully drawn landscapes. Elliot was also careful to ensure that the flowers and foliage shown in detail with the birds were appropriate for the species shown.

The Birds of Paradise (36)

About the original used for our giclées:

ELLIOT, Daniel Giraud (1835-1915) - After Joseph WOLF (1820-1899)

[London: 1873]. Lithograph by J. Smit after Joseph Wolf, hand-coloured by J.D. White, heightened with gum arabic. .

A magnificent image of the largest and most remarkable of the thin-billed Birds of Paradise, painted by Joseph Wolf, who was 'without exception, the best all-round animal artist who ever lived' (Sir Edwin Landseer). From Elliot's great work on the 'Birds of Paradise', which includes some of the most highly praised bird illustrations ever produced.

Ornithological illustration reached its height during the golden age of lithography, and this image is from that great era. Even today, with all of the excellent methods of colour reproduction available, the beauty of hand-colouring cannot be equalled.

Joseph Wolf is pre-eminent amongst the ornithological artists of the day: he was the first bird artist to fully understand and use the new freedom of style that lithography allowed. The lithographic crayon suited Wolf's drawing style, transforming his soft expressive lines and subtle suggestions of movement into a printable image. His work set a new standard in life-like representations and Wolf's skill at capturing the essential character of his subjects also breathed life into the stiff "bird on a perch" portrayals so characteristic of bird art of the day.

The plates in Elliot's Monograph of the... Birds of Paradise, 'almost as magnificent as the birds they portray, were the fruits of Elliot's considerable wealth, Wolf's great artistry and both men's profound knowledge and love of birds' (Dance). Elliot writes in the preface `The drawings of Mr. Wolf will, I am sure, receive the admiration of those who see them; for, like all that artist's productions, they cannot be surpassed, if equalled, at the present time. Mr. J. Smit has lithographed the drawings with his usual conscientious fidelity, and in his share of the work has left me nothing to desire... In the coloring of the plates Mr. J.D. White has faithfully followed the originals; and in the difficult portions where it was necessary to produce the metallic hues, he has been very successful'.

 

 

 

 

 

A Monograph of the Phasianidae (79)

About the original used for our giclées:

Elliot, Daniel Giraud. A Monograph of the Phasianidae or Family of the Pheasants.

New York: by the Author, [1870]-1872

First edition, 2 volumes, 79 fine hand-coloured lithographed plates by Joseph Smit and J.G. Keulemans after Joseph Wolf, 2 uncoloured plates of heads and feet by Smit, list of subscribers, contemporary red morocco gilt, some spotting to the plates as usual, the plate of feathers folded at foot

"of the great nineteenth-century ornithological monographs, none save audubon's is so sumptuous as d.g. elliot's Monograph of the Phasianidae, or Family of the Pheasants... a rare American contribution to this elegant class of books. It was entirely illustrated by the incomparable Joseph Wolf" (R.M. Mengel, "Beauty and the Beast: Natural History and Art"' The Living Bird, 18 Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, 1979-1980).

Recent documentary evidence suggests that the lithographic stones to this work were destroyed after only 150 copies were taken.

 

 

A Monograph of the Phasianidae

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