The Sun-Birds

"I believe that my first attraction towards the family of Sun-birds took place in Nubia, where I fell in with Hedydipna metallica, the first truly tropical form of bird that I had ever procured. 

The sense of pleasure with which I preserved my first specimens of this beautiful little species on the banks of the Nile above the First cataract, and the engaging habits of the species, impressed me so much, that on subsequent visits to the African continent I paid especial attention to the Sun-birds in each country I visited." [link]
[from the Introduction to 'A Monograph of the Nectariniidae' by Captain GE Shelley]

[W]: "The sunbirds and spiderhunters are a family, Nectariniidae, of very small passerine birds. There are 132 species in 15 genera.

The family is distributed throughout Africa, the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia and just reaches northern Australia. Most sunbirds feed largely on nectar, but also take insects and spiders, especially when feeding young. Flower tubes that bar access to nectar because of their shape, are simply punctured at the base near the nectaries. Fruit is also part of the diet of some species. Their flight is fast and direct on their short wings.

The sunbirds have counterparts in two very distantly related groups: the hummingbirds of the Americas and the honeyeaters of Australia. The resemblances are due to convergent evolution brought about by a similar nectar-feeding lifestyle. Some sunbird species can take nectar by hovering like a hummingbird, but usually perch to feed."

Sun-birds (Nectariniidae) information, photos and videos at the Internet Bird Collection - "a non-profit endeavour with the ultimate goal of disseminating knowledge about the world's avifauna."



































George Ernest Shelley (1840-1910) was a geologist, ornithologist, nephew of the renowned poet, Percy Bysshe Shelley^ and author of a number of books on African birds.

Of particular note was an unfinished 5-volume series covering all the birds of Africa^ which was cut short when the author suffered a stroke towards the end of his life. Regrettably, a stand-in author, tasked by Shelley's wife to supply at least another three volumes to complete the series, for whatever reason only managed to polish up Shelley's final book and he went no further with the project.

It was Shelley's (and our) good fortune that he was able to collaborate on the Sun-birds book with the excellent Dutch artist and naturalist, John Gerrard Keulemans (1842-1912). Keulemans had begun his career as a taxidermist for the Leiden Museum of Natural History and its director encouraged him to accompany a 2-year expedition to Africa in the mid-1860s as a kind of artist-scientist.

Our author, GE Shelley, obviously had sufficient regard for his illustrator's journal notes from the African trip, as he relied upon them as a source when writing the Sun-birds book. (in fact, Shelley acknowledged Keulemans' artistic and scientific reporting qualities in a glowing reference to the illustrator in the book's introduction)

More than 120 lithographs were prepared by Keulemans for the collaborative project on Sun-birds which consisted of twelve instalments being issued over a four year period to a mere 250 subscribers. No wonder a first edition copy of the bound book was sold in recent times for around $11,000.

The lithographic illustrations - printed by M&N Hanart - were hand-coloured and finished with gum arabic highlighting to particular small sections among the feather arrangements.

"Keulemans paid particular attention to colour and structure of feathering and his ability to transmit clear, accurate impressions of various plumages was held in much esteem. Overall, his skills for accurate representations are attributable to his detailed study of birds." [source]

The quality of the plates from 'The Monograph of the Nectariniidae..' (also known by its original working title of 'Monograph of the Cinnyridae..') brought Keulemans instant acclaim, early in a very notable book illustration career. He moved to England and became the leading ornithological artist of the late-Victorian era, contributing illustrations to a number of significant book and journal publications on birds.

• The illustrations seen here from 'A Monograph of the Nectariniidae, or, Family of Sun-birds' by GE Shelley and JG Keulemans (1876-1880) come courtesy of this Flickr set, uploaded by the most fabulous and collaborative, multi-institutional Biodiversity Heritage Library. Click on any of the images above to access much larger image files on Flickr.
• The Sun-birds book at the Biodiversity Heritage Library. {bibliographic record}.
• The Sun-birds book at the Internet Archive.
• Most of the information in this blog entry derives from three sources: AbeBooks, Antiquariaat Junk and a number of Christie's auction records.
• Works by Shelley: Amazon & Archive.org.
• Works by Keulemans: Amazon & Archive.org.
• Just in passing, I noted that one reference in particular is quoted all over the place and I presume it is the authority on ornithological publications: 'Catalogue of the Edward E. Ayer Ornithological Library' by JT Zimmer (1996 edition) -- (1926).
• 'Feathers to Brush the Victorian Bird Artist John Gerrard Keulemans 1842-1912' (1982) by Jan Coldewey (limited edition biography)

Marine East Asia

The Chinese Fish Collection is a large set of 19th century watercolour sketches depicting species  from the waterways and seas of China and Japan. 

The illustrations range from the absurd to the accurate and the selection below skews intentionally towards the former. The captions are all taken from the source site.

Exocoetus evolans L [= Exocoetus volitans Linnaeus, 1758

Crayracion hispidus Blkr [= Arothron hispidus (Linnaeus, 1758)]

Duymeria aurigaria Blkr [= Pteragogus aurigarius (Richardson, 1845)]

Platophrys (Platophrys) pavo blkr [= Rhombus pavo Bleeker, 1855]

Carrasius auratus [Carrasius auratus (Linnaeus, 1758)]

inktvis Euprimna morsei (Verrill, 1881)

Uranoscopus asper Schl [Uranoscopus asper Temminck & Schlegel, 1843]

Hemipteronotus pentadactylus (punctulatus) 

[= Novacula pentadactylus Valenciennes in C&V, 1840

Mastacembelus fasciatus [= Ablennes hians (Valenciennes, 1846)]

Blennius ocellaris L. [qstnmrk] [Blennius ocellaris Linnaeus, 1758]

Tetraodon ocellatus Osb [Tetraodon ocellatus Linnaeus, 1758] 

(= bimaculatus Rich.) [Tetraodon bimaculatus Richardson, 1845]

Uranoscopus guttatus Cuv[qstnmrk] [Uranoscopus guttatus Cuvier in C&V, 1829] fig. artificialis

Antennarius marmoratus Gunth [Chironectes marmoratus Lesson (ex Cuvier), 1831]

Pseudoscarus pyrrostethus Blkr [= Scarus ghobban Forsskål, 1775]

Trichidion [vrgtkn][vrgtkn] fasciatum Blkr [unknown name]

Trachicephalus uranoscopus (Bloch & Schneider, 1801) - (fig artifice)

Holland's Groningen University plays host to a unique collection of 19th century watercolour sketches produced somewhere, some time, in the far east of Asia. Two boxes, containing more than 450 drawings, were bequeathed to the University's Natural History Department in about 1870 via the estate of the former Dutch consul in Canton, MJ Senn van Basel (d. 1863).

There is little in the way of background information online relating to this collection (story of this blog's life). It's not known whether the set was commissioned or purchased by van Basel and there's no indication as to the name(s) or origin(s) of the artist(s) involved.

Pencilled notations of the Latin name(?) of the species and what is likely the surname of the person who first described the animal - (eg. Cuvier or Linnaeus etc) - appear on all the sketches, as well as the less formal species names written in Chinese characters. It's quite possible both sets of handwriting were later additions.

But the charm of the series really derives from the stylised and amusing, near-anthropomorphic, representations and vivid colours of the marine animals, rather than in the degree of scientific accuracy. While there was some active prejudice in the selection of the examples above, the bizarre and absurd types certainly outnumber the regular, run of the mill sketches in the collection, that's for sure. And thankful we all are too!

• 'Afbeeldingen van Chinese vissen, HS 433' is online at the Groningen University Library and consists of more than 450 digitised marine animal sketches. An icon near the zoom slider brings up a thumbnail image page, but be warned: it's like one of those old 'wheel-spinning' Java applets and it killed my (G-Chrome) browser a couple of times, so the thumbnail page was actually less than useless for me; paging through the sketches ended up being easier and more productive.
• The Groningen Library special collections blog, 'The World of Books'^[T], provided a dedicated blog post in 2008 about the series [Trans.].
• The Groningen Library catalogue entry.
• Previously: science and marine and fauna --> related summary bookmarks for this here BibliOdyssey blog. 

Rise of the Living Type

Stylised 17th century floriated letterforms

&

grotesque mask sprinkles

Baroque absurdities or genius ornamental typeforms? Take your pick.

The prints above and below were designed in the mid-1600s by the Polish goldsmith, Jan (or Johann) Christian Bierpfaff (1600-?1690). He apprenticed with the Mackensen family of metalworkers in Cracow who introduced the Dutch auricular ('shell or ear-like')^ style of ornament into the Polish gold and silver workshops.

Bierpfaff's organic alphabet (dedicated to the patriarch of the Mackensen clan) blends the newly discovered shell patterns with grotesque botanical styling to produce extraordinary, abstracted figures in which the ornament itself comes to life. These are wonderful and astonishing print designs to my way of thinking. In fact, I'd go even further and suggest that the first image right up the top - the 'A' - is just about the most ingenious piece of printed artwork that that has ever been featured on this site.

The design is whimsical, imaginative and exquisite, all while being restrained within the confines of a recognisable alphabetical form. We see and feel dynamic, emergent shapes of plant and monster life-forms. Glance away and the appearance might change. It is a remarkably 'fluid' perspective. And a bizarre, autonomous child-form stands alongside its presumptive mother; the artist is no longer required. We have achieved self-replicating ornament. Now that's what I call proto-surrealism.

Although the background information online seems a little ambiguous as to publication dates, I believe the series above (released as a suite of 20+ prints called: 'Libellus Novus Elementorum Latinorum..') was the first appearance of Bierpfaff's innovative designs. His fellow-countryman, Jeremias Falck (a renowned artist in his own right), engraved the suite, and it's worth clicking through to see them in a larger format.

The image series below appears to be absolutely identical to the Falck engravings, except for the addition of grotesque masks and similar, odd accoutrements (as well as the text in the title page cartouche). This second suite of prints was engraved by the Strasbourg artist, Peter Aubry.

• An incomplete series of alphabet prints (above) from 'Libellus Novus Elementorum Latinorum' can be found at the Rijksmuseum website. Strangely, I could only find the images via a google image search using Bierpfaff's name {they didn't even turn up searching through the museum site itself for reasons that escape me; some local search poltergeist I assume ---- I can't even find them all now as I'm about to post this entry, so I don't know what I did to find them last week!}
• The majority of images below come from The Art Institute of Chicago and, although modestly sized, I think the collection is approximately complete.
• The two images with double letters each came from MAK^ via Ornamental Prints Online ("Bierpfaff")
• Short bio on Bierpfaff.
• Jeremias Falck at Wikipedia.
• Previously: a few Falck prints appear in Grab Bag.
• Previously: the general bookmark of calligraphy.
• Follow along at Twitter. I'm also using Pinboard for blog summaries AND significant collection bookmarks, in addition to the regular tagged summaries on Delicious.
• LATER: Actually, one very relevant post from late 2011deserves linking here: Satyr Taxis features another (amazing/extraordinary) collection of prints - this time from the 16th century - in which the ornament came to life.

The Bookplate Collection

The Ex Libris (bookplate) illustrations below were selected from the first half of the enormous John Starr Stewart Collection at the University of Illinois. Will from 50Watts sampled the back half of the same database: [The Bookplate Collection: Second Half].

George Clulow (undated)

"Against starry sky, bare-breasted Egyptian goddess wearing ankh pendant and holding sheaf and quill; ouroboros (snake with its tail in its mouth) surrounded open book with owner's initials, book press and ink balls. Motto on banner: Lux in tenebris (Light in the shadows)"

Carolta Campins - bookplate by Joaquim Renart, 1904

"Tree eradicated (showing roots) with shield upon which is a lyre."

Denver Athletic Club Library - bookplate by Leota Woy, 1904

"Within triangular space, bald man in waistcoat and checkered pants

reads a book; below, a man runs with football, 'DAC' on his jersey."

Henrietta Jane Adeane - bookplate by Harry Soane, 1883

"Printed in black and red. Within a picture frame, a lozenge escutcheon: vert (green) a chevron or (gold) charged with 3 mullets (stars) sable (black), between three griffin's heads erased or (gold). Banner with originator's name"

Robert Barclay - armorial (undated)

"Crest: a dove with an olive branch in its

mouth, perched on a straight wreath.

Motto: Cedant arma = Let military power give way"

Barry H Jones (undated)

"Oil lamp, crossed quills, decorative border."

Arthur Wellington Clarke (1898)

**Who Borrow Books and Soon Restore

May Come Again and Borrow More**

"Armorial crowned eagle rising erased, above ledge

with books, scroll, ink pot and quill, microscope"

Mary Alice Ercolini - bookplate by SE Blake (undated)

"Japanese ukiyo'e scene with three women in a room.

Vignette lower left.

Note: Discolored by collector's glue."

F Bargallo - bookplate by André Henry(1895)

"Cipher: FB; books, music, portfolio of fashion plates; flower; snake and cup; Motto: Omnis homo mendax = Every man is a liar; In malis venenum, in mediocribus somnus, in egregiis solamen." 

Georges Goury - bookplate by Georges Demeufe (undated)

"The motto, "Fert in omnia rutubam et tristitiam terribilis amor" (In all thing terrible love brings trouble and sadness"); depicts a man hanging from a gallows and a night landscape with trees, bats, and a crescent moon."

H Danreuther - bookplate by Edmond des Robert

"Coat of arms. Armorial shield Crest: a woodsman holding an uprooted tree (also depicted on shield). Motto: Quantum est quod nescimus (How little we know). Multicolored. The motto was previously used by the Dutch scholar Daniel Heinsius (1580-1655)"

James T Tarbotton - bookplate by C Helard (undated)

"Raised arms hold uprooted oak tree with

owl in upper branch. Portrait bottom right."

James Henry Darlington - bookplate by Louis Rhead, 1902

"Two women (Theology and Science) shake hands under symbol of the Holy Spirit"

Count Karl Emich of Leiningen-Westerburg - bookplate by A de Riquer, 1903

"Dramatic depicition of bird's head"

Max Harrwitz - bookplate by SB (undated)

"Putto with open book; another putto on
chair of books; central tree with shield and motto.
(Harrwitz was a rare book dealer and publisher in Berlin)"

Pio Freixa Aulet - bookplate by José Triadó (undated, ~1905)

"Town in winter landscape; shield with bars and wing."

Robert Hall, 1902

"Interior with wall of books, large reading table with
books (including open illuminated manuscript, chairs;
large window looking out onto building with spire tower."

Rudolf Benkard, 1895

Halt! Mein Buch!

Stop! My Book!

"Hand reaches out from cloud to nab a man running past "

a bookshelf with a book (Ex libris album) under his arm.

William Livermore Kingman - bookplate by David McNeely Stauffer, 1898

**I am but a Gatherer and Disposer of other Men's Stuff**

"Man in renaissance garb, with ruff, sash and sword; behind him, shelves of books, scientific instruments, decanter and glass; on the table, an envelope for prints marked 'Gravures', partially unfurled print marked 'H. Goltzius'; ink pot and quill, globe showing western hemisphere; open book resting on two closed books.
Note - Quote is by Sir Henry Wotton (1568-1639), from the preface to his Elements of Architecture (1624); name on print refers to Hendrik Goltzius (1558-1617)"

SA Flint (undated)

"Floral frame with beehive against flint arrowhead in center; spires upper left; musical instruments upper right; books lower left; easel lower right, Motto: Sans hâte, sans repos (Without haste, without rest)"

• The John Starr Stewart Ex Libris Collection (1600+ bookplates) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
• See Will's post on 50Watts sampling from the back half of the Ex Libris Collection.
• The World of Ex Libris: A Historical Perspective (via The Wayback Machine)
• Previously on BibliOdyssey:::::::: The Bookplate Book --><-- Assorted Ex Libris --><-- Pratt Ex Libris --><-- Heraldic Bookplates --><-- Oleg Denisenko --><----> AND, generally : bookart