Goosander — engraving

"Goosander (Common Merganser)".

Technique, Material: Chromolithograph / Paper
Artist: Archibald Thorburn,  Engraver: 
Date, Publisher: Lith. Highest Approved Partnership of I. N. Kushnerev and Co., Moscow.
Size: 25,5x16 cm.

The Goosander or Common Merganser (Latin: Mergus merganser, L.) is a large duck with a narrow, hooked bill equipped with serrated edges that help it grip fish — its primary prey. The Latin name Mergus merganser was given to the bird by the great Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778) in 1758 in the 10th edition of his famous "Systema Naturae," the starting point of modern zoological nomenclature. The genus name Mergus derives from the Latin mergo — "to dive," and the species name merganser combines mergus (diver) and anser (goose).

The Goosander is one of the largest representatives of the sawbill ducks. The male has striking plumage: a blackish-green head, white neck and breast, and grey flanks. The female is greyish with a reddish-brown head and crest. The species is widely distributed across the Northern Hemisphere, from forest-tundra to forest-steppe zones, nesting along the banks of rivers and lakes with clear water. In Russia, it occurs from the western borders to Kamchatka and Sakhalin. It feeds mainly on fish, which sometimes brings it into conflict with fisheries, but it plays an important role in aquatic ecosystems.

The Artist
The drawing for this chromolithograph was created by the eminent British animal painter Archibald Thorburn (1860–1935) , recognized as the finest ornithological painter of his generation. His works, created in close collaboration with leading naturalists of the era, are distinguished by exceptional anatomical accuracy combined with artistic expressiveness. He gained greatest fame for his 268 watercolors for Lord Lilford's monumental work "Coloured Figures of the Birds of the British Islands" (1885–1898).

The scale 1/3 is indicated on the sheet. In this series of ornithological chromolithographs, this fraction denotes the ratio of the depicted size to the bird's actual size. This means the bird in the illustration is shown at a scale of one-third (1:3) of its natural size.

The Publisher
This lithograph was printed by the printing house of the I. N. Kushnerev and Co. Partnership in Moscow, one of the largest printing enterprises in the Russian Empire at the end of the 19th century. The Partnership's status as "Highest Approved" meant its charter had been personally approved by the Emperor — a mark of exceptional trust and supreme quality. The printing house was renowned for its first-class execution of illustrated publications, including multi-colored chromolithographs.