Birds of Asia Lithographs of John Gould

John Gould, ornithologist and natural-history artist, had few rivals in his own field during the nineteenth-or any other-century, and the value of his original works reflects this reputation today. Apart from numerous books and nearly 300 articles he executed a total of 2,999 illustrations for 41 folio volumes. His wife, until her death in 1841, was responsible for the technical side of the lithographic process (for they published many of the works themselves), and a handful of plates were done by other artists, including Edward Lear and Joseph Wolf. The years, 1838-40, saw Gould in Australia where he did much original work, and in 1843 he was elected F.R.S. He enjoyed a deservedly high reputation from then until his death. The Birds of Asia was in fact, published posthumously, in 1886, having been completed by R. Bowdler Sharpe. The modern text for this edition, Birds of Asia, has been written by Abram Rutgers, and it demonstrates just how accurate were John Gould's illustrations-despite the general lack of ornithological knowledge in the mid-nineteenth century. Mr. Rutgers is a leading Dutch ornithologist and author of over 20 books.