Jasper, Theodore "Kingbird or Tyrant Flycatcher, Pigeon Hawk." Pl. XXXI

Theodore Jasper.  "Kingbird or Tyrant Flycatcher, Pigeon Hawk." Pl. XXXI. From Studer’s Popular Ornithology.  The Birds of North America, Upwards of Seven Hundred different species . . . artistically drawn and colored from Nature by Theodore Jasper, A.M.M.D. 

New York City and Columbus, Ohio: Jacob H. Studer & Co., 1881.  Ca. 12 x 9.  Chromolithograph by Courier Co.  Excellent condition.

One of a handsome series of bird images printed in color in the late nineteenth century.  The “crayon plates,” as chromolithographs were also known, are fine examples of the variations in color achievable by this increasingly utilized process.  It is boasted of the series that the 700 plus species represented and illustrated in 119 plates are all those known to exist on the continent.  Larger birds are shown alone, while smaller birds of related species are grouped on a single plate.  Though the composition and image size are very different from those used by John James Audubon 50 years earlier, they were clearly intended to capitalize on the popularity of his work, The Birds of North America, first published in 1827.  Attractive examples of nineteenth century natural history images.