This beautiful hand-colored lithograph depicts a pair of glittering emerald hummingbirds, a male and a female, perched on a flowering branch of Calliandra Tweediei. Named by French naturalist Jules Bourcier, the birds are common in Peru and the Chuquisaca region in Bolivia. The drawing and lithography are credited to John Gould and Henry C. Richter. Gould (1804-81) created some of the most beautiful bird prints ever produced and was known throughout the world as "The Bird Man." This lithograph appeared in his six-volume series on hummingbirds, published from 1849-87. Printed by Hullmandel and Walton.

References: Sitwell, p. 102.

Condition: A

A beautiful example in contemporary color that captures the magnificent variety of colors in the plumage. There is minor toning confined to the sheet's edges.