China Birds

A suite of engraved bird prints from 

the 1730s by Gabriel Huquier

(all the images above were cropped around the plate margin 

and the backgrounds have been extensively cleaned of stains)

'Livre des Différentes Espèces d'Oiseaux de la Chine' (Book of different species of Chinese birds) from the 1730s, engraved by Gabriel Huquier, was posted to the Biodiversity Heritage Library by the Smithsonian Institution. The book has no text, save for the title page illustration up top. (also: Internet Archive) [a bibliographic note at the Smithsonian implies that the book seen above may derive from an earlier one by Huquier: link]

The original (uncropped/uncleaned) pages were also uploaded by BHL to a Flickr set (also see all BHL Flickr sets).

A larger book ('Oiseaux de la Chine', also from the 1730s) by Jean-Baptiste Oudry features 60 plates, reproducing individual (and pairs and triplet) bird images originally engraved by Huquier. Bibliothèque de l'Institut National d'Histoire de l'Art hosts a hand-coloured edition of this book (click on the image and then note the thumbnail icon bottom left)

"The entrepreneurial printseller Gabriel Huquier (1695–1772), established in rue Saint-Jacques, Paris, was a prominent engraver and designer of ornament in an advanced Rococo taste, a pivotal figure in the production of French 18th-century ornamental etchings and engravings who was himself a collector of works of art." [W]

Also see Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum at the Smithsonian - they feature a wide array of Huquier's works, particularly his early Rococo style ornament engravings.

• Previously: China.
• Elsewhere: Twitter, Delicious, Pinboard.

Silhouette Portraits

Profile portrait silhouettes of 18th cent.

European nobility by JF Anthing

(The images above have been cropped from their - generally - full page display 

and background stains and spots/stains have been removed or toned down)

'Collection de Cent Silhouettes Des Personnes Illustres Et Celebres Dessinées D'Aprés Les Orginaux', 1791 by (Johann) Friedrich Anthing is online at the Bavarian State Library.

The names of all the royals and nobles depicted in the book's silhouettes can be found in the early pages of the volume. There's another version of this book at Dresden but it's an inferior, monochromatic print quality for mine.

These elegant etchings feature a novel, two-tone, printing technique and if any experts out there can offer an opinion as to how the print finish was achieved I'd love to hear from them. I can only presume that the portraits were pressed first with the same size plate as the border design printing plates, but really, I'm not sure. In any event, I think I might play around and make a few birthday/xmas cards &c out of some of these.

JF Anthing (1753-1805) was raised in central Germany and became something of a travelling portrait artist, specialising in the popular 18th and 19th century silhouette effect. He was also later a military adjutant to a Russian general whose historical biography he eventually wrote and published [Amazon].

Anthing enjoyed commissions and patronage from the royal courts across Europe and lived much of his life in St Petersburg, where he also created silhouette portraits of the Russian Science Academy members.

Previously:

• The Silhouette Book (including background about the silhouette phenomenon/origins and the polysuch)
• Van Geldorp
• Bric-à-Brac
• Pushkin Silhouettes
• Blackwork Prints