DANIEL GIRAUD ELLIOT American, 1835-1915 Two Framed Plates: "Larus brachyrhynchus" and "Larus Hutchinsii" Lithograph As published in "The New and Heretofore Unfigured Species of the Birds of North America." New York, Elliot, 1866-69. Original lithograph, hand-colored at publication, from a rare compendium of American ornithological prints. It features two different species of gulls, identified by the captions at the bottom: "LARUS BRACHYRHYNCHUS" and "LARUS HUTCHINSII". The larger, open-mouthed bird appears to be the representation of Larus Hutchinsii, while the bird in the foreground is Larus Brachyrhynchus. Another gull is shown in flight in the background, near the horizon line over the water. The print depicts the birds standing on a sandy shore with some sparse vegetation. The lower left corner includes the inscription "Drawn & Printed in colours by W. E. Hitchcock. N. Y." and the lower right corner reads "Britton & Co. Lith. N. Y. Publis'h'd," indicating it was drawn and color-printed by W. E. Hitchcock and lithographed and published by Britton & Co. in New York. Framed. Not examined out of frame. - Sight: 17.5 x 22.5 inches; frame: 28 x 33 inches $350-600
ARTIST PROFILE: Daniel Giraud Elliot (1835–1915) was a prominent American zoologist, explorer, and a foundational figure in the development of major scientific institutions in the United States. Born into a wealthy New York family, he utilized his personal fortune to publish a series of "sumptuous" color-plate books on birds and mammals, such as his celebrated monographs on the Family of the Pheasants (1870–72) and the Family of Cats (1878), for which he commissioned renowned illustrators like Joseph Wolf and Joseph Smit. Elliot’s influential career included serving as the first curator of zoology at the Field Museum in Chicago, where he led the first North American museum expedition to Somaliland in 1896, and participating in the elite Harriman Alaska Expedition in 1899. A central figure in the scientific community, he co-founded the American Museum of Natural History and the American Ornithologists' Union, later serving as the latter's president. His lasting legacy is honored by the National Academy of Sciences through the Daniel Giraud Elliot Medal, established to recognize meritorious work in zoology or paleontology.
