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Original 1899 Audubon Calendar, published under the auspices of the Massachusetts Audubon Society by L. Prang & Co., Boston, U.S.A.
A beautifully illustrated late-Victorian bird calendar featuring naturalistic color illustrations of American birds, accompanied by monthly calendar grids and ornithological information.
The surviving original pink hanging cord is threaded through the upper edges of the sheets.
Illustrations photographed include:
January: Golden-Crowned Kinglets, perched among evergreen branches.
February: Cedar-Bird (Cedar Waxwing), with its distinctive crest, blue-gray wings, and yellow-tipped tail.
March: Blue-Bird (Eastern Bluebird), brilliantly colored blue and reddish orange.
December: Tree Sparrow, illustrated in a winter landscape.
The reverse of the January sheet includes “Birds at Yule-Tide,” with passages attributed to naturalist Frank Bolles, followed by an informative account of the Tree Sparrow, including quotations from Henry David Thoreau.
The calendar is a particularly appealing example of the early Audubon movement\'s efforts to encourage public appreciation and protection of wild birds. Its publication by L. Prang & Co., one of America\'s leading nineteenth-century color printers, adds considerable interest.
An attractive and increasingly scarce piece of nineteenth-century American ornithological ephemera, combining decorative bird illustrations, natural history, and early conservation history.
Publisher: L. Prang & Co., BostonIssuing organization: Massachusetts Audubon SocietyYear: 1899Format: Large-format illustrated hanging calendar with original cordIllustrations: Color-printed bird studies
The photographs show January, February, March, and December. The total number of surviving monthly sheets has not yet been confirmed.
Condition
Good antique condition, with notable age-related defects.
The color illustrations remain attractive, with strong surviving colors. There is considerable marginal staining and discoloration, particularly on the January cover, along with water staining, scattered foxing, edge wear, small tears, creasing, and some paper deterioration around the borders.
The original hanging cord survives. The sheets show general handling wear consistent with a calendar more than 125 years old.
The February and March illustrations are particularly attractive despite peripheral wear. See photographs for the precise condition.
1899 Audubon calendar, Massachusetts Audubon Society, L Prang Boston, antique bird calendar, Victorian ornithology, 19th century bird prints, Golden Crowned Kinglet, Cedar Waxwing, Eastern Bluebird, Tree Sparrow, antique natural history, bird conservation, Victorian chromolithography, illustrated wall calendar, Frank Bolles, Henry David Thoreau
