Black-tailed Godwit – John Gould

John Gould (1804-1881)

First edition, hand coloured lithograph, 22” x 15”.

John Gould, writer, publisher and ornithologist, produced a monumental series of illustrated bird books covering Europe, Australia, Asia and New Guinea, together with over 300 published articles in the scientific journals of the day, and illustrated records of the birds collected during the voyages of HMS Beagle and Sulphur. His last fully completed work was “The Birds of Great Britain”, published between 1862 and 1873, and was generally considered to be his greatest achievement.