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Framed and on the wall
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Der Bison (American Bison) - Hand-Colored Zoological Print, Circa 1840
$370 (£280, €330)
Period original, not a reproduction.
Shipped from the Netherlands, flat, insured and tracked, worldwide. Returns accepted within 14 days.
- Date
- 1840
- Size
- 11.8 × 15.2 in (30 × 38.5 cm)
- Condition
- Good. The condition of this print is good for its age, with vibrant hand-colored detailling. Minor scattered foxing and slight edge discoloration that do not detract from the image's appeal.
- Period
- Early 19th century
- Section
- Mammals
- Reference
- f_43014742
Der Bison, a hand-colored lithograph of about 1840 from a German natural history series. The title "Der Bison" and the scientific name "(Bos americanus Gmel.)" are printed below the image, with a paragraph of German text beneath.
The animal is drawn in a lowered, charging pose, head down with its heavy mane and beard of shaggy brown hair, a short curved horn and a red eye, the forequarters massive and the hindquarters thin, and the tail raised. A wash of green marks the ground, a rocky outcrop and a faint sky stand behind it, and a flock of birds crosses the upper part of the sheet. The German text below gives the animal's size and habits, and notes that the bison lives in herds of many thousands in North America.
The name Bos americanus was the form Gmelin gave to the American bison in the eighteenth century. In 1840 the bison still ranged across the central plains of North America, and the herds were the main resource of the Plains peoples.
