J.IIC-CG VOLUME 6 (1981)
The Analysis of Watercolour Pigments from Audubon’s The Birds of America Vol. 1
Thirty-eight pigment samples from engravings in Volume I of The Birds of America by John James Audubon were analyzed; these engravings were hand coloured in the period 1827 to 1838. Despite severe restrictions on sample size, sixteen of these pigments were positively identified using a single-particle Gandolfi X-ray diffraction camera. Of the remainder, most were further characterized by polarized light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy/X-ray energy spectrometry. The comparative limitations of the three techniques are discussed. Pigments identified include ivory or bone black, lead white, cobalt blue, chrome yellow, red lead and vermilion. Organic red and blue lakes were also observed in several samples.
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