Antique Natural HistoryOriginal plates from the naturalists' books, 1600s to 1900s
Rambouillet Merino Ram and Ewe of 1786, Antique Sheep Print, 1873
Rambouillet Merino Ram and Ewe of 1786, Antique Sheep Print, 1873, view 2
Rambouillet Merino Ram and Ewe of 1786, Antique Sheep Print, 1873, view 3
Rambouillet Merino Ram and Ewe of 1786, Antique Sheep Print, 1873, view 4

Framed and on the wall

Rambouillet Merino Ram and Ewe of 1786, Antique Sheep Print, 1873, shown framedRambouillet Merino Ram and Ewe of 1786, Antique Sheep Print, 1873, shown framed on a wallRambouillet Merino Ram and Ewe of 1786, Antique Sheep Print, 1873, shown framed in a room

Frame and rooms are illustrations of how the print could look; the description says what is included.

Rambouillet Merino Ram and Ewe of 1786, Antique Sheep Print, 1873

£315 ($415, €370)

Period original, not a reproduction.

Buy now Ask a question

Shipped from the Netherlands, flat, insured and tracked, worldwide. Returns accepted within 14 days.

Date
1873
Technique
Lithograph
Coloring
Uncolored
Condition
Good. Good condition with age toning, scattered foxing and minor marginal discoloration, including faint staining at the upper right. Sold unframed. Please review the images for further condition details.
Period
Late 19th century
Section
Mammals
Reference
BG-13538-22
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.

This antique sheep print shows a Merino ram and ewe in the court of the Bergerie Nationale at Rambouillet, lithographed by F. Lehnert after a drawing made by Marchal in 1786, for the French agricultural album of the Vienna Exposition, 1873. The Rambouillet flock was founded on sheep sent from Spain by royal grant in that year, and this plate reproduces the earliest record of them.

That is exactly why the ministry put it in the Vienna album: it was proof that the state had held the blood for the better part of a century. The plate pairs directly with the 1873 view of the same flock.

The sheet comes from the folio of maps, plans and drawings that the Direction de l'Agriculture of the French Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce assembled for its own exhibit at the Exposition Universelle held in Vienna in 1873, printed in Paris by the Imprimerie Nationale. The album gathered the statistical cartography, the model state farms, the breed portraits and the prize silver by which France meant to present its agriculture to the world. Its thematic maps belong to the first generation of printed statistical mapping, a field now collected for the history of data visualization quite as much as for the history of farming.

It is a tinted lithograph, printed in two stones without hand color, and is otherwise uncolored. This antique sheep print would suit a farmhouse kitchen, a study or a country interior, and it will interest collectors of animal art, sheep breeding and the history of wool.

The sheet is in good condition, with age toning, scattered foxing and minor marginal discoloration, including faint staining at the upper right. The toning is the ordinary result of age rather than damage. Please see the images for a full view of the condition.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed. Any framed or interior images are shown for presentation and inspiration only, unless the listing explicitly states that the item is sold framed.

Ask about this print

We reply by email, usually within one working day.

Your favorites

Saved in this browser. Email the list to yourself to keep it on any device.

We use your email to send this list and, only if you tick the box and confirm, for occasional new arrivals. Every email has an unsubscribe link. Bartele Gallery, the Netherlands.