GREAT NORTHERN DIVER OR LOON (PLATE CCCVI)

Common Loon, "Gavia immer" JW 36 fine, fresh impression, two small tears in the upper edge sheet 24 7/8 by 37 7/8 in.; 631 by 962 mm. Based on a composition painted on July 9, 1833, in Labrador. The bird on the left, in winter plumage, had been drawn in October, 1819. "I tried to finish my drawing of the Loon but in vain; I covered my paper to protect it from the rain, with the exception only of a few inches where I wished to work, and yet that small space was not spared by the drops that fell from the rigging on my table; there is no window, and the only light is admitted through hatches.".