Durham Shorthorn Cow, British Cattle Chromolithograph by Olivier de Penne, 1863

This is an original antique chromolithograph, printed in color from several lithographic stones, from Victor Borie's Animaux de la Ferme, Espèce Bovine, published in Paris about 1863. The plate is lettered "RACE DURHAM, VACHE." (Durham breed, cow). The cow stands in profile facing the viewer's left with her head turned toward the viewer, a broad, square bodied animal with a dark brown and white roan coat, mottled over the neck and body and lighter toward the hindquarters. Her white face is marked with brown around the eyes and muzzle, her short horns curve inward, and her udder shows beneath the flank. She stands on a ground shading from pale buff to warm brown.

Above the image, the plate is headed Animaux de la Ferme, Espèce Bovine (Farm Animals, Cattle), with the imprint "Lib. Agricole de la Maison Rustique, rue Jacob, 26, à Paris." at left (the agricultural bookshop of the Maison Rustique), and "par Victor Borie" (by Victor Borie) at right. Below the image, the printer's line reads "imp. Zanote, rue des Boulangers, 13, Paris." (printed by Zanote, rue des Boulangers, Paris); this plate carries no artist's credit in the margin. The artist's signature, Ol. de Penne, is also drawn into the image at lower right. The artist is the French animal painter Charles Olivier de Penne (1831 to 1897).

The Durham, known in Britain as the Shorthorn, was developed in the Tees valley in the north of England and was a leading improved breed of the period, prized for beef and milk and imported into France in numbers. Borie's album sets out the cattle of France alongside British and other foreign breeds, each animal shown in profile on a plain ground so that build, coat and horns can be compared. It was issued by the Librairie Agricole de la Maison Rustique, the Paris publisher of agricultural books.

The clear profile and warm palette suit a kitchen, study or country house, alone or with other plates from the series.

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