Antique Engraving of Crested Porcupine and North American Porcupine, ca.1825

€ 140

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

Date: 1825
Sheet size: 26.5 × 17.5 cm (10.4 × 6.9 in)
Condition: Good
Reference: BG-13261-107

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

This antique engraving is in very good condition, with light toning and minor foxing that add to its authentic historical character while maintaining its visual appeal.

About this sheet

Crested porcupine and North American porcupine, a hand-colored engraving of about 1825 from a French natural history work. The plate is lettered "Histrix cristata, Porc-épic d'Italie" for the upper figure and "Histrix dorsata, L'Urson" for the lower, with a faint engraver's credit at the lower left.

The upper animal, the crested porcupine of southern Europe and Africa, is drawn in profile on a patch of green turf, its head low and its long black and white quills swept back over the body in a fan. The lower animal, the urson, is shown with a rounded, dark brown body, a short tail and a short mane of pale quills across the back, standing on a green and gray ground. Both are hand-colored in watercolor.

The urson, now called the North American porcupine, is a native of Canada and the northern United States, and was long known in France under its Canadian name.