The Fair Lory (Male and Female) [Pl. LV]

Book Description

[London: R.H.Porter, 1896]. Lithograph, coloured by hand, by Keulemans. Very good condition apart from some overall light soiling, and a slightly brownish tint to the paper due to age. 12 1/2 x 10 inches. A beautiful and lively image from one of the greatest ornithological artists of the late 19th century. John Gerrard Keulemans was the most sought-after bird artist of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A prolific and highly talented illustrator, he worked largely from prepared specimens producing pleasing compositions but with subjects that were always anatomically accurate. The present image is from A Monograph of the Lories, or Brush-tongued Parrots (London: 1896), a work that according to Sacheverell Sitwell (writing in Fine Birds Books) included Keulemans 'best work'. The artist shows a masterful grasp of composition, balancing the need to show the birds in characteristic pose, whilst giving the maximum amount of information about the beautiful plummage that is so typical of the Loriidae family, but without losing sight of the importance of retaining the harmony of the image as a whole. The author, Mivart, describes the Loriidae family as 'a very attractive group of rather small birds' varying 'from the size of a Turtle-Dove to about that of a Sparrow', and consisting 'of 75 more or less distinct species. The family is remarkable for its brilliancy and gay coloration', and its friendliness: 'Some of them will spontaneously approach human dwellings, and most of them make excellent pets'. Their feeding habits are a special feature: 'The lories are very choice feeders, living as they do on the nectars and pollen of flowers. Their tongue is very remarkable, as it is formed as a kind of brush, which is no doubt destined to extract the nectar'. Cf. Fine Bird Books (1990) p.94; cf.T.Keulemans & J.Coldewey. Feathers to Brush p.64; cf.Nissen IVB 640; cf.Wood p.468; cf.Zimmer p.439

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