Henry Constantine Richter (7 June 1821 – 16 March 1902) was an English zoological illustrator who produced a very large number of skillful coloured lithographs of birds and mammals, mainly for the scientific books of the renowned English 19th century ornithologist John Gould.
Many of the original drawings used by Richter as the basis for his coloured lithographs were by Gould's wife, Elizabeth Coxen, produced before her death in 1841.[1][2]
Richter's reputation was overshadowed by that of his much-celebrated employer. Since it was not customary to acknowledge illustrators alongside authors in the titles of publications, his name was forgotten. But in 1978, his great ability and the extent of his contribution to Gould's work came to light, in the work of the researcher Christine E. Jackson.[3]
- ^ Stephens, M 2009, Henry Constantine Richter (about 1821-1902), Australian Museum, Sydney NSW, accessed 02 Dec 2017, https://australianmuseum.net.au/henry-constantine-richter-about-1821-1902.
- ^ Cook, KS 2013, 'Gould collections at KU: the story of the Gould Collection', John Gould: Bird Illustration in the Age of Darwin, University of Kansas, accessed 3 Dec 2017, https://exhibits.lib.ku.edu/exhibits/show/gould/about/kucollections.
- ^ Jackson, CE 2011, 'The painting of hand-coloured zoological illustrations', Archives of Natural History, 38, 1, pp. 36-52.