Description
Description of George Edwards' A Natural History of Uncommon Birds
These lifelike hand-colored engravings are from the work entitled A Natural History of Uncommon Birds by George Edwards. Edwards, often referred to as the "Father of British Ornithology," took great care in etching the original drawings and personally supervising the coloring in order to assure accuracy in the finished product. The 4-volume work was published in 1743-1751. In the following years, from 1758-1764, he produced three supplementary volumes originally entitled Gleanings of Natural History. The two series are often considered one work today. In the seven volumes are contained engravings and descriptions of more than 600 subjects which had not before been illustrated or described. He also added a general index which was later completed with Linnaean names supplied by Linnaeus personally, with whom Edwards often corresponded. They are on fine chain-linked, watermarked paper measuring ~ 11 1/2" by 9 1/4".