Fine Rare Prints

Antique print from The Instructive Picture Book of 1878

Animals of Africa

The Mandrill monkey
$195 - order #6289

Information

This wonderful antique lithograph is from a superb and very rare children's natural history book, The Instructive Picture Book. This contained some of the most attractive antique prints of animals that have ever been made. Observe how each print is composed as an artistic whole, with the animals placed in realistic yet utterly fascinating environments.

These lithographs were printed using a complex color lithograph printing method and are very reminiscent of Japanese woodblock prints. They are quite unlike any other antique prints we have seen.

These are exceptionally rare and beautiful prints. We have been searching for them for over ten years and are delighted to have acquired them at long last.

Date

1878

Print method

Multi-block color stone lithograph.

Stone lithography was accidentally discovered by a young actor who, in order to save spending too much on copper engraving plates, tried to print using a smooth limestone he took from a street in Munich. He had stumbled upon a marvelous printing technique which was soon being used by famous artists such as Goya, and later Manet and Degas.

Lithography has always been surrounded by a certain mystique. Partly this is due to the fact that even today the complexities of the chemical reactions have yet to be fully understood, but mainly it is because the workshops veiled their methods in secrecy.

Size

Small folio ~ 12¼" by 7¾" (32cm by 19½cm). The border around the print is slightly bigger than shown in the scan above as the print was larger than our scanner bed.

Condition

The image area is clean with just the odd speck of foxing on a few of these prints. The paper is somewhat age toned close to the edges. There are a few pin holes very close to the edge of the paper where the print was bound.

To order

Please note the order number for this print which is shown at the top of the page. Then click on the Order button at the top or the Order link at the bottom of this page.