Birds of Paradise 

Lithographs

Many of the following lithographs on Birds of Paradise are based on works by John Gould. 

John Gould (1804 - 1881) was born on September 14, 1804, at Lyme Regis on the Dorset coast in England. As the son of a gardener, Gould had no formal university training. He considered himself a self-made man. He gained his ornithological knowledge by observation and experience. In his pursuit of new and different birds, John Gould traveled to Asia, Australia and the East Indies. His series of natural history plates is considered by many as the finest works of bird illustrations ever presented. His Hummingbirds, along with his Toucans and his Birds of Paradise, are generally most in demand by collectors, but his other works are the same exquisite quality.

Gould died on February 3rd. 1881. Some of his works were edited or written by Richard Bowdler Sharpe and illustrated by William Hart. This includes some of Gould’s most spectacular plates, notably amongst those representing parrots, the birds-of-paradise, perroquets, kingfishers, and pittas. Sharpe’s own “Monograph of the Paradiseidae, or Birds of Paradise” (1891-1898) continued the work and made use of some of the same plates.

Emperor of Germany Bird of Paradise

Goldie's Bird of Paradise

Blue Bird of Paradise

Magnificent Bird of Paradise

Trumpet Bird

Arfak Astrapia

Princess Stephanie's Astrapia

Queen Victoria's Riflebird