antique prints, maps and watercolors

Lewis Wright. (Japanese Bantams) Illustrated Book of Poultry. London: Cassells 1880. $125.00

click for detailed image CassellJapaneseBantamsVLG.JPG

"Mrs. Woodcock's Japanese Bantams, first price at Crystal Palace, 1872..."

Containing 50 chromolithographed print of prize roosters, hens and other fowl in what is perhaps the most famous 19th century illustrated book on the subject. The titles specify names of the breed and the prizes that they won. The series was so popular that it was reproduced using a different, less successful technique in a smaller format in 1902. The prints in this series are a particularly good example of the beautiful color possibilities of chromolithography. J. Ludlow, a bird artist specializing in domestic birds was the artist for many of the birds in the series. Lewis Wright was an author, editor and poultry pigeon and animal expert.

Chromolithograph.
10 ¾ x 8 ¼ inches,sheet.
A few scattered spots of light foxing in margins.