This English fowl is one of the oldest known domesticated chicken breeds. Though hard to see in this vintage chicken drawing, the Dorking is most recognizable for having 5 toes rather than 4 like most chickens. These are relatively large birds with a variety of plumage colorations. This bird image is one of the dozens of chicken images on Reusable Art, all of which are all in the public domain.
It is so much fun finding vintage books full of wonderful illustrations. Thomas E. Hill’s 1882 work Hill’s Album of Biography and Art provided over 200 drawings for this site.
This image is copyright free and in the public domain anywhere that extends copyrights 70 years after death or at least 120 years after publication when the original illustrator is unknown.
