Black Tern, Lesser Tern, Common Tern9 by 11 3/4 inchesLWG44 $65 We are offering a selection of hand colored engravings from the second edition of The Birds of Great Britain, with their Eggs, a work in 8 volumes with 336 plates (278 of birds, 58 of eggs), dated 1795.William Lewin (1747-1795) was a highly regarded naturalist and natural history illustrator. His was the first attempt to include all the eggs of the British birds in a work on birds. He did not live to see the publication of his second edition, which was completed by his sons. The illustrations are quite unlike most 18th century bird art in that they have a striking simplicity of line and a classicism that make them seem quite contemporary. The birds are captured in captivating, lifelike poses that avoid the stiff look of many of the works of this era. References include Fine Bird Books p.119. Dictionary of Bird Artists p. 337 Each print measures 9 inches by 11 3/4 inches with strong plate marks, on thick, creamy wove paper with some sheets bearing J Whatman watermarks. The wide margins of each print are not fully shown in the photographs. Each plate is nicely engraved in copperplate hand with the name of the bird, the artist and the date. The condition is excellent for prints that are over 230 years old!
