Camelids
had been virtually unseen outside of South American landscapes until the
20th century and, given their inaccessibility, little was known about them
or the way they looked - as some of our older prints show. Most
images were drawn from memory or second and third hand descriptions which
resulted in a host of weird and wonderful variations: horse tails, floppy
ears, and equine hooves are just some of the impressions of camelids from
centuries past.
Click
on the image for enlarged and improved view
*** 3 red stars
signify that we may have a similar
item for sale or to swap.
Email for details
One of our
favourites, a wood engraving dating from the mid 1840's. Titled "Alpaca
and Llama", a click on the picture to enlarge it will show two
similar llama-type animals with the rare distinction of having fine
horse tails!
Hand-coloured
print dated May 1799.
It is interesting for offering one of the most accurate
portrayals of a llama we have found pre-20thC! It is not
only our oldest print but our smallest, with the longest title
too: It was published in "The Naturalist's Pocket Magazine or
Compleat Cabinet of the Curiosities and Beauties of Nature".
The
smallest
creature on
this mid-
1800's print
is a musk
deer (centre right) whilst the other three are llama with the horizontal wobbly
ears (top), Vicuna
(bottom) and introducing middle left, a "Sooty Paca"!
A rare hand-coloured map dating
from 1755 and surrounded with delightful vignettes including
gold-panning in Brazil, Indians from Chile and Condor and Llamas
from Peru.
Limited edition art on a plate!
A beautiful portrait of a Vicuna and its cria, by Will Nelson and
fired by W.S.George Fine China as part of their series "Last
of their kind: Endangered species." ***
Spot
the difference! Another
favourite: an original print by A. B. Strong
from "Natural History" published in 1849
- but "Unnatural History" might be a better title... Just click
on the image to reveal some truly unique llamas being chased by an
eagle. What great companions they make for our horse-tailed llamas
above...
Art?
Well, it was for the fun drawing of the six legged llama rather than
the music that I succumbed to this 2001 music CD of Nashville music.
The group is called Llama, and the CD is poetically and
appropriately (for llamas) called Close To The Silence!
There's another pop group called The high Llamas...
More to follow...
Prints
for sale
We have a considerable collection of old
camelid prints
and usually have one or two for sale.
Email for details
