Antique Bird Print of the Common Loon by Sepp & Nozeman, 1829

€ 637

Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)

Date: 1829
Sheet size: 53 × 37 cm (20.9 × 14.6 in)
Reference: BG-05991-250

What the condition grades mean

Excellent: Bright and clean, with no faults worth mentioning.
Very good: Only light signs of age, such as faint toning.
Good: Normal signs of age for a sheet of this period: toning, some foxing, small marks or neat old repairs.
Fair: Clear faults such as staining, tears or repairs, priced to match.

Every fault we see is written in the condition note, and the whole sheet is shown uncropped in the photos.

Condition

Very good. General age-related toning. Please review the images for further condition details.

About this sheet

Common loon, called the "ijsduiker" in Dutch (Gavia immer, here titled Colymbus glacialis), an original hand-colored engraving from Nederlandsche Vogelen, the Dutch bird work by Nozeman, Houttuyn and Sepp issued in Amsterdam between 1770 and 1829. This sheet is dated 1829, and the title "Colymbus glacialis" is engraved at the top.

The bird is shown in a three-quarter rear view, turned to look to the right, standing on a small mound of green turf with tufts of marsh grass beside it. The black head and neck carry a striped white collar, and the back is dark, scattered with rows of white spots in the checkered pattern typical of the breeding plumage. The webbed feet are set far back on the body, as in all divers. The coloring is delicate and applied by hand over the engraved lines.

The loon breeds on lakes across Canada, the northern United States and Alaska, and winters on both coasts of the United States. Nederlandsche Vogelen was the first great ornithological work of the Netherlands, and its plates depict the birds at close to life size.