In 1873, Walter Buller produced his famous book, A History of the Birds of New Zealand, containing 35 hand-coloured plates. A second edition was published in 1888, and included 48 new plates. These second edition plates, produced using the complex and expensive process of chromolithography, are still the most well-known images of New Zealand birds, and have been widely reproduced ever since, including on New Zealand stamps and currency. Finally in 1905, Buller published a Supplement to these volumes, containing 12 new hand-coloured plates.
The artist for all of this work was John Gerrard Keulemans. When Buller first met him, he was a young Dutchman, recently arrived in London. Keulemans went on to become the most celebrated and prolific ornithological artist of the late nineteenth/early twentieth century; his work is highly valued and sought-after to this day. Fortunately for New Zealand, the images he prepared for Buller, particularly those for the first edition, are regarded as examples of his finest work.
PROPOSED BOOK
In 2012 Te Papa Press (the publishing arm of the Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa) will be publishing a major book containing of the coloured images that Keulemans prepared for the two editions and Supplement of A History of the Birds of New Zealand. The full-sized images will be accompanied by background text and illustrations including a biography of Keulemans, his place in high-quality natural history publishing, and the New Zealand context of Buller and his work.
The first edition images will be sourced directly from the hand-coloured plates. The images from the second edition and supplement will be taken from the original watercolour drawings done by Keulemans prior to preparing the lithographic stones for printing. These images are held by the Natural History Museum in the United Kingdom, and have never been reproduced in their entirety since Buller’s original books. Subsequent reproductions have, until now, almost always been prepared from the printed copies of the books.
Publishing date and cost
The proposed publishing date will be in the second half of 2012. The retail price is yet to be confirmed.
Availability
The publication will be a high-quality limited edition, and will be available from New Zealand book retailers or directly from the publisher. To ensure that you are kept up-to-date on its progress, and also have the opportunity to order it once available, email keulemans@bookpro.co.nz, writing ʻinformation’ in the subject line. Enquiries can also be directed to Te Papa Press, tepapapress@tepapa.govt.nz
Please note that registering your interest in this project is not an order or commitment to buy the publication