The White Fox of Canada – Elegant Arctic Wildlife Engraving Under Moonlight 1801

€ 209

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

Date: 1801
Sheet size: 26 × 21 cm (10.2 × 8.3 in)
Condition: Good
Reference: BG-06902

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

Condition report: Very good for age. Light overall toning and minor handling signs. Please study the scan carefully for any small edge wear or faint age marks.

About this sheet

The Arctic fox, "Le Renard Blanc du Canada," a hand-colored copper engraving signed "Hulk Sculp." and numbered "Tom. VII." The old description identifies the engraver as Abraham Jacobsz Hulk and ties the plate to the natural history of the Comte de Buffon, c.1801.

The animal stands in profile on a mossy rock ledge, with long, shaggy white fur drawn hair by hair. The scene is a night landscape. A crescent moon shows between heavy clouds at the upper left, and a conifer grows on the rocks at the right. A small hut with a smoking chimney stands in the middle distance at the left, and a pool of water with a fallen log lies in the foreground. The coloring is delicate, in grays and blues for the sky and greens and ochres for the ground.

The caption's "Canada" reflects the way 18th-century naturalists located northern species. Buffon's multi-volume Histoire naturelle was the standard reference on animals for readers across Europe, and its plates were reissued in many editions.