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George EdwardsA Group of Twelve 18th Century engravings of Parrots.1747-1751
1747-1751
About the Item
Edwards, George
Parrots, a group of twelve.
London, For the author, at the College of Physicians in Warwick-Lane. 1747-1751
Decorative plates for “A Natural History of Birds” one of the most important and comprehensive of all English 18th-century natural history books.
George Edwards FRS (3 April 1694 – 23 July 1773) was an English naturalist and ornithologist, known as the "father of British ornithology".
Edwards was born at West Ham, then in the county of Essex. In his early years, he travelled extensively through mainland Europe, studying natural history, and gained a reputation for his coloured drawings of animals, especially birds. He was appointed as beadle to the Royal College of Physicians in 1733. He was an English draughtsman and a skilled observer of birds and one of the most prominent ornithologists of his day.
A group of twelve 18th century hand-coloured copper engraved plates, paper size: 29.3cm by 23.5cm, framed and glazed, overall size: 33cm by 28cm by 5cm.
Presented in wooden frames with a slip.
SITWELL, Sacheverell ‘Fine Bird Books’, 1990 pp.93; Nissen IVB 286-88; Zimmer pp. 192-98
- Creator:George Edwards (1694 - 1773, English)
- Creation Year:1747-1751
- Dimensions:Height: 13 in (33 cm)Width: 11.03 in (28 cm)Depth: 1.97 in (5 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:London, GB
- Reference Number:Seller: 1134581stDibs: LU1419215673582
George Edwards
Known today as the Father of British Ornithology, George Edwards was a draftsman and naturalist who popularized the art of bird and animal illustrations throughout the 18th century. His main collections of etchings, which were bound as the volumes A Natural History of Uncommon Birds and Gleaning of Natural History, together comprise more than 600 animals and were the first works to delineate many of the featured species.
Edwards cultivated an interest in natural history while traveling around Europe, becoming particularly enamored with birds. Upon his return to the United Kingdom, in 1733, Irish physicist Hans Sloane, an acquaintance of British naturalists/illustrators Eleazar Albin and Mark Catesby, offered Edwards a librarian position at the Royal College of Physicians. The job granted him access to a large collection of works on natural history, which he explored enthusiastically.
With instruction from Catesby, Edwards learned etching and spent much of his time preparing plates and drawings for his books. While Edwards hand-colored his early editions, later works were colored in by other artists, like British artist Peter Paillou, allowing Edwards to focus on etching and writing.
George Edwards earned his reputation for both his illustrations and written descriptions of his subjects — widely acclaimed for their accuracy. Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus cited Edwards’s texts when developing his major work, Systema Naturæ. The Royal Society in London awarded Edwards the Copley Medal in 1750 for outstanding achievement in the field of science. Edwards retired in 1763 to Plaistow, England, and died in 1773.
On 1stDibs, find a collection of George Edwards engravings and wall decorations.
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