Pileated Parrakeet

Print Author & Artist:
W. T. Greene; printed by Benjamin Fawcett

Date:
1884

Style:
Original 19th-century chromolithograph with hand-applied colour

Paper Size:
Approx. 10 × 7 inches (c. 25.5 × 18 cm)

Condition:
Good, with bright original colour and crisp detail. Light age toning in places, wholly commensurate with age - This image has smudging above head of parrot and so is reflected in the price.

Wider Description of the Collection:
A beautifully preserved 19th-century plate, produced during the golden age of natural-history illustration. These finely executed chromolithographs were finished by hand with watercolour, creating depth, brilliance, and surface texture unmatched by later mechanical processes.

This group originates from a prestigious 19th-century institutional holding and bears the historical ownership mark of Westminster School (Reg. Schol. Westmon.), one of Britain’s most distinguished academic libraries, with accession recorded in 1892.

Such surviving institutional sets are exceedingly scarce, and examples with clear, early provenance are highly sought-after by collectors. These plates represent some of the finest Victorian colour-printed ornithological works, notable for their artistry, technical sophistication, and faithful depiction of exotic species.

An authentic piece of natural-history art from the high Victorian period - not a modern reproduction.