California Birds – Northern California Honeyeater & Port Français Thrush, c.1798

€ 440

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

Date: 1798
Sheet size: 42.4 × 27.5 cm (16.7 × 10.8 in)
Condition: Good
Reference: BG-14129-27, -28

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

Good condition overall. Light, even age toning to the paper with occasional small spots and faint handling marks, consistent with age. Plates are cleanly printed with clear details and full margins. No restoration observed.

About this sheet

Two North Pacific birds on separate copper-engraved plates, shown side by side: "Promerops de la Californie Septentrionale" and "Merle du Port des Français". Each is an uncolored engraving with a ruled border and a French caption beneath the image.

The left plate shows a long-billed bird perched on a bare branch, its curved bill, pale underside and barred tail drawn with careful shading. The right plate shows a thrush-like bird with spotted wings turned in profile on a weathered branch. Neither has a background, in the manner of natural history plates that put the specimen first.

Port des Français is Lituya Bay on the coast of Alaska, visited by the French expedition of La Pérouse in 1786, and the old description connects both plates with that voyage's natural history. The bird from "northern California" and the one from the Alaskan anchorage are paired here because they come from the same expedition and plate series.