Spencerian Bird in Red Ink with Branch in Beak, 1896 Red Ink Drawing iroquois visceral and substantial

visceral and substantial

with hand-drawn compass rose  (looks like very dark graphite to me) and N and S stamped into the needle

Especially amusing (or disturbing

and delighted

graphic appeal

Spencerian Bird in Red Ink with Branch in Beak, 1896 Red Ink Drawing iroquois visceral and substantialI resist a good number of Spencerian calligraphic birds, drawn on calling cards and sometimes on pages in autograph albums, as this was they're very lovely, but often one nearly the same as the next. No way I could pass on this dove though, finely rendered in red ink, branch in beak, by someone quite expert in the form, with quite a complex flurry of furling leaves framing it. A charming example, dated 1896 at lower left. 7 3 8" x 5 11 16". Very good