Title: British Ornithology: being the History with ...
Publisher: London: Stephen Couchman for the author, sold by Sherwood, Neely and Jones.
Publication Date: 1811
Binding: Hardcover
Book Condition: Good
Edition: 1st Edition
VERY RARE FIRST EDITION of a work originally issued in 48 parts. 69 (of 96, in the first two 1811 volumes) hand-coloured etched plates by Graves, William Samuel Howitt and Weddell after Graves, Howitt and Sydenham Teak Edwards (occasional light browning or spotting). 15 x 25 cm. Modern burgundy half calf, spines gilt, rubbed and worn. Incomplete first edition first two volumes with 69 fine bird plates drawn, engraved and hand-coloured mostly by George Graves, (a few plates after Samuel Howitt and Sydenham Edwards, and engraved by Weddell and Warner). With 42 plates of the first volume and 27 plates of the second volume, this collection presents nearly three-quarters of all the plates in the first two volumes. It was available with the plates in both coloured and uncoloured form-these are coloured. Graves' etched plates are "notable for their softness and considerable charm and form an interesting link between the old-style illustrations of the eighteenth century and the better figures of the nineteenth century" (Christine Jackson Bird Etchings 1985, p.200). Mullens and Swann p.246; Nissen IVB 386. A nice example of this study of British birds, with many songbirds, game birds, owls and hawks, divers, waders, and sea birds. George Graves, FLS, was an English publisher, artist, engraver and colourist who worked on botanical and ornithological works. Apart from British Birds (1811-1821), he also wrote and illustrated Ovarium Britannicum (1816), The Naturalist's Pocket Book (1817), and A Monograph on British Grasses (1822). From 1817, he oversaw the hand-colouring and publishing with William Jackson Hooker of Curtis' Flora Londinensis (1817-1828), bankrupting himself in the process. Provenance: With the fine etched armorial bookplate on front paste-down endpaper and ink signature on preliminary blank page of Ranulphus John Carthew (1863-1943), Lieutenant Colonel, Royal Field Artillery. WorldCat locates 10 copies in UK libraries. Seller Inventory # 5169