Mancelle Cow, French Cattle Breed, Antique Chromolithograph by Borie, 1863

An original antique chromolithograph, printed in color, lettered "RACE MANCELLE, VACHE." and published in Paris about 1863 in Victor Borie's Animaux de la Ferme, Espèce Bovine. A cow stands in profile facing left, her white face marked with red around the eye and ear and topped by short upcurved horns. The body is red with white patches across the back and flanks, the udder shows beneath, and the legs are white below the knees. She stands on a sandy ground with a gray shadow.

The sheet 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 upper left and "par Victor Borie." at upper right. The caption below the image translates as "Mancelle breed, cow", and the printer's line "Imp. Zanote rue des Boulangers. 13 Paris." runs at lower left. At lower right, below the border, the artist is credited as "O. de Penne. Del.", the Latin delineavit meaning "drew it", which names the French animal painter Olivier de Penne (Charles Olivier de Penne, 1831 to 1897). The drawing is also signed in the stone with the artist's script signature at lower left.

The plate shows the cattle of the old province of Maine around Le Mans in western France. Borie's album is a survey in colored portraits of the cattle breeds of France, together with British and other foreign breeds, issued in Paris by the Librairie Agricole de la Maison Rustique of 26 rue Jacob, a publisher of books on farming and rural life. Each animal is drawn broadside against a plain ground, the convention of the livestock portrait, so that the build, coat and horns of the breed can be read and compared from plate to plate.

With its soft printed tints and clear lettering, the plate suits a simple frame and a light mount in a kitchen, study or country dining room.

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