Cormorant in Breeding Plumage on a Rock after Lilian Medland, c. 1909

This is an original antique bird print, a photogravure printed in black and gray tones without added color. It shows an adult Cormorant in breeding plumage standing upright on a rock in breaking surf, seen from the viewer's left in three quarter view. The head is raised with the hooked bill pointing up and to the right, and the white face and throat patch, the pale streaks on the crown and neck and the white patch on the thigh are clearly shown. The scaled feathers of the back and wing are drawn in detail, the stiff tail rests against the rock, and low rocks and open sea fill the distance.

The plate is lettered "PLATE CXLV" at lower right and "1/4 scale" at lower center, the scale at which the bird is drawn. The artist's signature, "L. M. Medland", is drawn into the image. No species name is printed on the plate; the identification given here is made from the drawing itself.

The plate comes from The Birds of the British Islands by Charles Stonham, published in London by E. Grant Richards in five volumes between 1906 and 1911. This plate belongs to the third volume. The illustrations were drawn by Lilian M. Medland and reproduced by photogravure, a photomechanical intaglio process that carries the soft gradations of a wash drawing and leaves a plate mark around the image. Stonham's text follows the birds in systematic order, and this volume moves through the cormorants, gannet, herons, storks, ibis and spoonbill to the geese and ducks.

The monochrome image suits a simple frame with a wide mat, and it works well alone or alongside other plates from the same volume.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed.