Art

George Edwards was an English naturalist and ornithologist. He studied natural history, and gained a reputation for his coloured drawings of animals, especially birds. This fabulous engraving comes from the third volume of his Natural History of Birds, which together with later Gleanings of Natural History, contain engravings and descriptions of more than 600 subjects in natural history not before described or delineated. The engravings were executed "after curious original paintings, designed from the life"title page. Such was the impact of Natural History and Gleanings that Edwards is considered to have almost single-handedly popularized the art of bird and animal illustration, and is thus known as "The Father of British Ornithology." Copper engraving. Original colour. Fine condition.