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AJ | GILDED
1856 Swedish Crossbill Bird Lithograph
Hand-Colored Lithograph · Peter Åkerlund (1835–1871)
This original hand-colored lithograph comes from Svenska foglarna (The Swedish Birds), an illustrated account of Sweden’s birdlife with text by the ornithologist Carl Jacob Sundevall (1801–1875). Beginning in 1856, the undertaking paired detailed written descriptions with bird illustrations drawn and lithographed by Peter Åkerlund. The completed atlas eventually contained 84 plates.
The project proved much longer than either of its original makers’ lives. Åkerlund died in 1871 and Sundevall in 1875, leaving Johan Gustaf Hjalmar Kinberg (1820–1908) to continue the text. The final volumes did not appear until 1886, thirty years after the work began. Plate I opens that undertaking with three species of crossbill, birds whose unusual crossed beaks allow them to pry seeds from conifer cones.
Catalog Details
Publication
Svenska foglarna (The Swedish Birds)
Illustrator & Lithographer
Peter Åkerlund
Date
1856
Medium
Original antique hand-colored lithograph
Sheet Size
Approx. 12 W × 9.25 H in.
