George
Edwards (1694-1773)
Engravings from Gleanings of
Natural History - 1758
and A Natural History of Uncommon Birds (1743-1751)
George
Edwards was one of the greatest British bird
artists. He often worked from live birds in
nature or in captivity in London (at the time,
many artists worked from dead specimens) and
is sometimes called "The Father of Ornithology."
The Linneaus names of some 350 birds were based
on Edward's careful description of them.
These
handcolored plates come from
"Gleanings
of Natural History" originally published
in 1758-1764 and from "A Natural History
of Uncommon Birds" published between 1743
and 1751.
Based on the paper, some of these are from the
original editions and come from later early
19th Century editions -- click on the images
for more detailed information about the individual
prints.
