Buy this book on-line

Bewick, Thomas : A History of British Birds. (Two Volumes: History and Description of Land Birds (Vol. I); History and Description of Water Birds (Vol. II))

Printed by Charles Henry Cook, for R. E. Bewick; Sold by Him, Longman and Co., London; and All Booksellers., Newcastle, England, 1832

Two volumes, complete. Contemporary brown full leather binding with gilt lettering on red spine labels (two spine labels per volume). Small gilt decorations on spine and edges of covers. Five slightly raised bands. Marbled endpapers (multicolored with predominant color of blue-green). All edges marbled. 5 1/2" x 8 3/4." All pages of both volumes, complete. Vol. I: xl, [1] 2-386. Vol. II: xxii, [1] 2-424. Many black-and-white illustrations in both volumes, complete. Small (perhaps contemporary) bookseller's ticket on blue paper tipped in upper-left corner of front pastedown of Vol. I: "Bain, Bookseller, 1. Haymarket." Former owner's black-and-white illustrated with coat of arms tipped in on front pastedown of each volume: "Edwd. Beaumont [Penn?]." Former owner's signature in black ink on a front flyleaf of each volume. Pages are very clean and intact except slight fading to marbled edges, light age toning throughout, a few pencil annotations, and light to moderate foxing (most of the foxing is concentrated on the flyleaves and first few pages of text in front and back of each volume). Covers have light to moderate wear to edges and corners, light rubbing, and several surface scratches and marks on front and back. Binding is tight. Very Good copies. Thomas Bewick (c. 1753-1828) was an English wood engraver and natural history writer. This is a two-volume set of his A History of British Birds. Vol. I contains the History and Description of Land Birds (first published in 1797). Vol. II contains the History and Description of Water Birds (first published in 1804). A History of British Birds is perhaps Bewick's best-known work and was a forerunner of the modern field guide. It was arguably the first field guide aimed toward a general audience. Both volumes describe birds found in Britain. In writing these volumes, Bewick drew upon his own knowledge and observations of the natural world as well as those of acquaintances, gentry, and other works of natural history. Each bird featured herein is accompanied by brief text that typically varies between one paragraph and two or a few pages. Many of the birds are also illustrated through Bewick's delightfully meticulous engravings. Bewick has also added decorative engraved tail-pieces which show country scenes of various character: a bird playfully stoops over to gaze at a bottle floating in the water (p. 99, v. 1); a mouse skitters by a sleeping cat (p. 41, v. 1); countrymen and -women tend to everyday labors (pp. 167 and 200, v. 1); ruins stand like stoic sentinels over the countryside (p. 70, v. 1); a man has hanged himself over a river (p. 61, v. 1); and a farm scene is obscured by Bewick's cheeky signature formed by his own fingerprint (p. 230, v. 1). In each volume, birds are first organized by general "type" such as birds of prey, "birds of the pie kind," "of the grosbeak," "of the bunting," "of the heron," "of the auk, or penguin," and "of the petrel." Each bird within that "type" is then described in its own entry. The following is a sampling of the birds described or represented in the volumes: peregrine falcon, tawny owl, rook, mountain linnet, field lark, nightingale, turtle dove, peacock, partridge, night heron, water ouzel, puffin, spotted guillemot, Arctic gull, shearwater, "wild swan," harlequin duck, cormorant, and "golden-winged paroquet [parakeet].". Book. Book Condition: Very Good. Binding: Hardcover

Bibliophile Bookbase for antiquarian books, maps and prints.