Three 'nuns' with black, yellow and red heads ... high resolution scan of original colour plate from the 'Illustrated Book of Pigeons with Standards for Judging' (also known as 'Cassell's Pigeon Book'), published in 1876. Nun pigeons, painted for the book by British artist Joseph W Ludlow (1840-1916), have mainly white bodies and coloured heads and are called Nuns or Dutch Shells from the raised, hood-like feathers covering the backs of their heads and necks.
These three Nun or Dutch Shell pigeons, named after raised, hood-shaped feathers covering the back of the neck and head, were depicted by the British bird artist Joseph Williamson Ludlow for a rare late-19th century volume, 'The Illustrated Book of Pigeons with Standards for Judging', published in the 1870s and 1880s. The chromolithograph shows Nun birds with yellow, black and red heads in a coop or loft. It was one of 50 artworks painted by Ludlow for the book, which was first published in 1876 by Cassell, Petter and Galpin and is often known as 'Cassell's Pigeon Book'. It was written by Robert Fulton and edited by Lewis Wright. Nuns or Dutch Shells are exhibition birds originating from flying tumbler pigeons, but selectively bred over many years for showing. Their bodies are mostly white, with only the head, tail and flight feathers showing any colour. The colour of the head determines the name of the Nun variety. Joseph W Ludlow (1840-1916) was an ornithological artist who specialised in portraying domestic birds. He illustrated several other books on poultry and pigeons in the natural history series produced by Cassell. The Illustrated Book of Pigeons, which ran to nearly 400 pages, provided pigeon fanciers with a comprehensive guide to breeding and raising fancy and ornamental birds. It sold well over several editions and is still regarded as a useful reference work. However, complete examples in good condition with all of the pages and colour plates intact are now very rare.
Size: 8058px × 9816px
Location: 'The Illustrated Book of Pigeons' by Robert Fulton, illustrated by Joseph Williamson Ludlow (1876)
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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