GOULD, John (1804-1881)

Phoenicocichla arquata (Necklaced Pitta). From A Monograph of the Pittidae

London: c.1879-1880. Lithographed pattern plate (proof before letters) with original hand-colouring, on wove paper. Manuscript annotations in pencil. Some signs of use typical of a working pattern plate. Sheet size: 22 x 15 inches.

A rare hand-coloured pattern plate from Gould’s Monograph of the Pittidae, preserving the ideal colouring approved for production and annotated for use in the studio.

This work served as the pattern plate, the reference copy from which colourists worked when preparing impressions of this image of the Necklaced Pitta. It preserves the ideal colouring established for the plate: three birds arranged among grasses and rocks, with the strong interplay of red, blue, and olive tones carefully balanced across the composition and particular attention given to the breast band, wing coverts, and surrounding ground. Gould identifies the Necklaced Pitta as being native to Borneo. He writes, "The 'necklace' as I term the row of blue markings on the breast, is quite peculiar to this Pitta and reminds me more than anything else of the necklaces of shells, which Tasmanian women used to wear as I saw them years ago..." (Monograph of the Pittidae). The manuscript notes make the function of the plate clear. A pencil inscription at the upper right reads "Pattern for Pittidae only," followed by a further note distinguishing it from another model in use. At lower right, the annotation "This Pitta pattern has 3 birds, the Asia pattern has 2 only" records a practical distinction between separate works by Gould. The species name is faintly inscribed at lower center. These are marks of use, preserving not only the approved colouring but also the working distinctions necessary to keep multiple plates and variants clearly separated in production. Pattern plates are significant because they document a stage of manufacture that is usually lost. If the lithographic stone preserves the printed basis of the image, the pattern plate preserves the ideal finished appearance toward which the colourists were directed. It shows how colour, emphasis, and balance were communicated across a hand-coloured edition, and offers unusually direct evidence of the practical organisation of the studio. Because such plates were retained for reference rather than intended for sale, their survival is uncommon and they stand not only as attractive works on paper but as material records of the process by which Gould's plates were brought to their final published form.

Item #42761

Price: $2,500.00