A Saxon Priest meets a Swiss Crescent and a Copper Fireback or Saxon Whitetail: three very different breeds of fancy pigeon painted in a natural setting by British artist Joseph W Ludlow (1840-1916) for the rare 'Illustrated Book of Pigeons with Standards for Judging' (also known as 'Cassell's Pigeon Book'), written by Robert Fulton and first published in 1876 with 50 chromolithograph illustrations.
Three very different fancy pigeon breeds, Saxon Priest, Swiss Crescent and Copper Fireback or Saxon Whitetail, depicted in a natural setting by British painter Joseph Williamson Ludlow for a rare volume first published in 1876: 'The Illustrated Book of Pigeons with Standards for Judging'. Joseph Ludlow (1840-1916) specialised in portraying domestic birds, including various types of poultry. This artwork was one of 50 he painted to be reproduced as chromolithographs for 'The Illustrated Book of Pigeons'. The volume was published by Cassell, Petter and Galpin and is alternatively known as 'Cassell's Pigeon Book'. It was written by Robert Fulton and edited by Lewis Wright. The book ran to nearly 400 pages, providing pigeon fanciers with a comprehensive guide to breeding and raising fancy and ornamental birds. It sold well over several editions in the 1870s and 1880s and is still regarded as a useful reference work. However, complete examples in good condition with all of the pages and colour plates intact are now very rare.
Size: 8014px × 9848px
Location: 'The Illustrated Book of Pigeons' by Robert Fulton, illustrated by Joseph Williamson Ludlow (1876)
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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