John Gould was obsessed with hummingbirds — he amassed thousands of specimens and drew crowds when he displayed them — and his five-volume Monograph of the Trochilidae is his monument to them. To capture the impossible metallic shimmer of the birds’ throats, his printers laid transparent oil glazes over gold and silver leaf, so the plates themselves catch the light and flash as you move, exactly as the living bird does. Here a hummingbird hangs at a flower, its gorget glinting, the whole thing as much jewel as illustration. Rigorous science shot through with pure wonder — the Victorian love of the natural world at its most dazzling.

Maker: John Gould (1804 to 1881)
Date: 1849–1861
Medium of the original: Painting
Original held by: A Monograph of the Trochilidae
Credit: A Monograph of the Trochilidae · via Wikimedia Commons
Rights: Public domain, verified
Catalogue number: PA-00670

As chosen: 8 x 12 in, art print, classic frame
Picture	8 x 12 in
Outside size	9.6 x 13.6 in
Depth	0.9 in (22 mm)
Weight	[[REAL PROOF NEEDED: shipped weight per size and frame]]
Hanging	[[REAL PROOF NEEDED: hanging hardware Prodigi fits to this frame]]
Material	Enhanced matte art paper, 200 gsm; acrylic glazing
Made in	Charlotte, North Carolina, by Prodigi

Before a size goes on sale, the file is measured against it: pixels per inch at that size, how much of the picture a crop would lose, tone and sharpness. A size that fails is not offered, so there is nothing to choose wrong.

How the print check works

Sizes offered
Size	dpi	Grade	How it fits
8 x 12 in	214	Excellent	Trimmed 5.6%

Sizes withheld
Size	Why
8 x 10 in	Wrong shape: a 21% crop
11 x 14 in	Wrong shape: a 20% crop
12 x 16 in	Wrong shape: a 16% crop
12 x 18 in	142 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged
16 x 20 in	Wrong shape: a 21% crop
16 x 24 in	107 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged
18 x 24 in	Wrong shape: a 16% crop
20 x 30 in	85 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged
24 x 30 in	Wrong shape: a 21% crop
24 x 36 in	71 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged
30 x 40 in	Wrong shape: a 16% crop
36 x 48 in	Wrong shape: a 16% crop
40 x 60 in	42 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged

Scanned

2026-10-07

Master file

1,713 x 2,722 px, srgb

Tone

Darks 157, lights 226 of 255; 0% clipped light, 0% clipped dark

Colour

0% vivid

Sharpness

14.64

Notes

Narrow tonal range (25 L*): prints soft and even, as the original reads
Neutrals lean warm (yellow): the paper and varnish of the original, kept as scanned

Shipping for this piece to a US address is $24.80, the print room’s own rate, charged per piece. Checkout shows the total before you pay.

Every piece is printed after you order it, in Charlotte, North Carolina, and ships from there. For now we ship to US addresses only.

A piece that arrives damaged, misprinted or in the wrong size is replaced at our cost. The details: shipping and returns and replacements.