BIRDS OF NEW GUINEA

This was John Gould's last full-scale work and was left unfinished at his death in 1881.  The first 12 of the projected 25 parts were prepared by Gould, and the remaining parts were then completed by R. Bowdler Sharpe who wrote the descriptions and Gould's long-time assistant, William Hart, who completed the drawings.  As Gould's involvement in the illustrations consisted mainly of sketching the images and their placement on the page which were then completed and lithographed by Hart, there is virtually no difference in style between the earlier and later images.  Hart was an excellent artist and lithographer having worked on nearly 2000 plates of birds, most of which were for Gould.  The printing was done by Walter or Mintern Brothers and the publication ran from 1877-1888, published by Henry Sotheran.