Help dating Gould Lithograph

Having a hard time dating this lithograph. Hoping someone has a better idea than I.

http://www.justanswer.com/antiques/5xg41-john-gould-h-c-richter-bird-print-entitled-petrocincla.html
This link has the same question as I, and mentions "tinted borders"--do mine have them? Do they mean the blank area beyond the image is tinted? Would you say my borders are tinted?

If so, perhaps this is an earlier original from (1830-1888)?
Was this colored with pastel chalks or what? Thanks in advance.

 

Your subject line mentioned it being a lithograph. That would tend to indicate it was not colored with pastel chalks. Unless you mean it's a monochrome lithograph that somebody hand colored? It doesn't look that way to me.

Also, it has an overall green cast to it in your pictures. Is that accurate as to the real color? If so, it might be faded from its original coloration.

Fig

 

I had posted a reply but forgot to sign in, so lost it. Anyhow, it does not really have a green cast to it, but yes, the colors have faded. The green is more like picture one, but the second picture shows it better. It was cloudy when I took those pics and had a hard time with my decade-old camera.
Yes, I guess it would be called a monochrome lithograph, still learning the correct terms. I was using these two sites when I mentioned that:
http://www.antikvariat.net/LYN43954.cgi
http://www.philaprintshop.com/gould.html

 

So, from what I have learned online, these lithos were made from 1831-1888. Mine is on a thick cotton paper. In the 1940s these were "reissued", and at the bottom middle the copyright is printed. I do not know if a "reissue" means they again lithographed and hand colored, or if a thinner cotton paper was "printed", making it a nice print selling for about $40-75 now.
Mine does not have that center bottom copyright mention and does not look to have had been cut off.
Extremely long story short, am wondering if I can safely say mine is from 1831-1888 and wondering what medium was used for the coloring. The 1800s versions sometimes sell for $300, some more.
This is a learning piece for me and not much invested.

 

I agree that this looks faded. The darker center shows that it was framed for a long period. Can't tell what kind of print it is from the photos. You would need some good, sharp, tight close-ups (and even then...). Gould illustrations were popular and were reproduced a lot. An official re-issue from the original plates might be possible (I don't know how long lithographic plates remain usable) but there were lots of other reproductions as well.

 

I agree with moreotherstuff on this.

You should also check the size of yours against information on the size of the published ones. I see that an H. C. Richter was involved with some of the later publications, and yours does have his name at the bottom. Yours also has "Walter Imp." at the bottom... I found this one online that sounds and looks somewhat similar.
http://www.antikvariat.net/LYN43953.cgi

This one mentions Richter, but not Walter

http://www.grosvenorprints.com/stock_detail.php?ref=29239

 

Richter was the original lithographer.. Gould only supplied the drawings. Walter was the printer. All in order for an original issue.

What is the exact size of the sheet and exact size of the image area?

 

The original Gould bird prints were stone lithographs printed in black ink and hand colored

 

The paper size is about 20"x14" and the image area is about a 1/4" smaller, on all 4 sides.
http://www.antikvariat.net/LYN43953.cgi uses cm and that converts to about 21.46"x14.37"

One site mentioned gum arabic was used to heighten the image. When viewed at an angle, the bird wings are almost 3D and you can tell something shiny was applied there.

I have not been able to find out much about the 1940 reissue, except that the same size paper was used (more like a thin construction paper one person said), and one person mentioned the copyright notation was at the bottom center. I guess I cannot rule out that the bottom copyright notation was cut off for the paper to fit the frame it was in. Still unsure.

 

From your description I suspect you have an example from one of the original issues (1860s/70s)--not a 1940s or other reissue. The size, inscriptions, the [gum arabic?] sheen you described and general appearance support this.

However, as you say, there are enough variables to prevent a firm conclusion without hands on inspection.

It's also possible that someone more expert than I in Gould birds could determine it just by seeing your scans. Sorry I couldn't be definite.