User-friendly Platalea Leucorodia Et Al: Brodtmann 1814 Bundle [KVYQlDzx]

• Title: Platalea leucorodia, Cancroma cochlearia, Ibis religiosa, Tantalus ruber
• Author: Karl Brodtmann
• Date: 1814
• Medium: Hand-colored lithograph
• Condition: Good
• Inches: 13 x 16 [Image]
• Centimeters: 33 x 40.6 [Image]
• Product ID: 262021

Hand-colored lithograph of a Eurasian spoonbill, boat-billed heron, African sacred ibis, and scarlet ibis by Karl Joseph Brodtmann (1787-1862), one of the most accomplished lithographers of the early-nineteenth century. Born in the city of Überlingen near the German-Swiss border, Brodtmann worked for much of his career in Zurich and Schaffhausen, Switzerland. He produced numerous hand-colored volumes of images related to natural history which served as instructional resources for bio- and zoologists. Brodtmann's lithographs also became sought-after collectibles for the aristocracy, a fact which attests to both the great beauty as well as the scientific accuracy of his work.

This piece is likely miscolored - the colorist appears to have matched the other three birds to the coloring of the boat-billed heron (top left). In reality, Eurasian spoonbills are mostly white with yellow chests and black bills, while sacred ibises have black feet, heads, bills, and tails. The most notable error is the coloring of the scarlet ibis (lower right). In actuality, these birds are a bright orange-red, as their name suggests.