Close-ups
Original Hand Colored Antique Engraving of Reindeer, Published circa 1820
$180 (£135, €160)
Period original, not a reproduction.
Shipped from the Netherlands, flat, insured and tracked, worldwide. Returns accepted within 14 days.
- Date
- 1820
- Size
- 10.1 × 7.8 in (25.6 × 19.7 cm)
- Condition
- Good. General age-related toning. Some wear and soiling, adding to its patina. Blank verso. Please study image carefully.
- Period
- Early 19th century
- Artist or book
- Bertuch
- Section
- Mammals
- Reference
- f_38599852
- Color
- Hand colored
What the condition grades mean
- Excellent
- Bright and clean, with no faults worth mentioning.
- Very good
- Only light signs of age, such as faint toning.
- Good
- Normal signs of age for a sheet of this period: toning, some foxing, small marks or neat old repairs.
- Fair
- Clear faults such as staining, tears or repairs, priced to match.
Every fault we see is written in the condition note, and the whole sheet is shown uncropped in the photos.
Original antique print of reindeer. This engraved print originates from a very rare unknown Dutch work. The plates are similar to the plates in the famous German work: ‘Bilderbuch fur Kinder' by F.J. Bertuch, published 1790-1830 in Weimar. This could be Dutch edition of this work (no references found), or a work that used the Bertuch plates. Published circa 1820.
The engraving of these animals are drawn in an illustrative style common in historical natural history texts, where the details and proportions may not always be scientifically accurate according to today's standards.
Each image seems to be labeled with "Vier. Dieren" (Dutch for "four animals") followed by a Roman numeral, possibly indicating the volume or chapter in the book, and each animal is numbered, suggesting they are part of a series or catalog within the text. These illustrations were likely created at a time when the scientific community relied on drawings to document and share knowledge about different species, and often these illustrations were based on descriptions if the artist had not seen the animal in person.
