cover of Look And Learn book 1976 (Original)
20thLandLBook76LL
£160.00
Two Toucans (Signed) (Original)
Two Toucans (Signed) (Original)
Medium: Gouache on Board
Size: 14" x 19" (360mm x 475mm)
Date: 1970
Signature: Signed by artist bottom right
Code: DavisToucanLL
This is the Signed unique original Gouache painting by Reginald B Davis.
Big-beaked Birds. The colourful, giant bill, which in some large species measure more than half the length of the body, is the hallmark of toucans. Despite its size it is very light, being composed of bone struts filled with spongy tissue of keratin between them. The bill has forward-facing serrations resembling teeth, which historically led naturalists to believe that toucans captured fish and were primarily carnivorous; today it is known that they eat mostly fruit.
Researchers have discovered that the large bill of the toucan is a highly efficient thermoregulation system, though its size may still be advantageous in other ways. It does aid their feeding (as they can sit in one spot and reach for all fruit in range, thereby reducing energy expenditure), and it has also been theorised that the bill may intimidate smaller birds, so that the toucan may plunder nests undisturbed.
The beak also allows the bird to reach deep into tree holes to access food unavailable to other birds, and also to depredate suspended nests built by smaller birds. However, as there is no sexual dimorphism in coloration it is unlikely to be a sexual signal. This is the original artwork for illustration on p25 of Treasure issue no 389.
- Artist Biography
Reginald Ben Davis (10 December 1907 - December 1998; UK)
Reginald Ben Davis was a British illustrator and comic artist, best known for his wildlife illustrations.
Davis was a commercial artist before the Second World War working for Byron Studios. After the war he became a regular artist for School Friend, drawing the adventures of castaway schoolgirl 'Jill Crusoe'. Amongst his other strips for the same paper were 'Phantom Ballerina' and 'Penny of Maywood Stables'.
After working as a commercial illustrator, Davis became a regular cover artist and contributor of adventurous girls' comics for the Amalgamated Press magazine School Friend during the 1950s. In serials like 'Jill Crusoe, 'Jon of the Jungle', Castaway' (1950-1959) and 'Katy of Cedar Creek' (1957-1960) he could already show his skills in drawing flora and fauna, and later illustrated text stories for Girls' Crystal in the early 1960s. From 1962 he concentrated on colour illustration work and only occasionally returned to comic strips.
He later fine-tuned his flora and fauna skills as a prominent illustrator of nature sections in the magazines Treasure (1963-1971) and Look and Learn (1970-1982). Some of his Look and Learn illustrations were collected in Animal Partnerships by Maurice Burton (1969).
In the 1970s he concentrated on illustrating wildlife books. Davis lived in Liphook, Hampshire, where he died in late 1998, aged 90.
Source: Look and Learn; Lambiek
Similar Items...
cover of Look And Learn book 1976 (Original)
Artist: 20th Century unidentified artistMedium: Watercolour on CardSize: 9" x 10" (220mm x 250mm)Date: 1975Code: 20thLandLBook76LLThis is the unique o...
£160.00View details
Feathered Friends (Original)
Artist: 20th Century unidentified artistMedium: Watercolour on BoardSize: 8" x 11" (205mm x 270mm)Date: c. 1930Code: 20th4BirdsThis is the unique orig...
£250.00View details
Full Set of 50 Cigarette Cards Curious Beaks (1929)
A complete set of 50 cards (1 – 50) in very fine and better condition. Excellent artwork.Includes Flamingo, Friar bird, Hawfinch, Curlew, Crossbill, D...
£35.00View details