Royal House Antiques

Description

We are delighted to offer for sale this super rare suite of Twelve original 1740-1760 dated hand water coloured prints after George Edwards 1694-1773 depicting Ornithological Birds, Butterflies and flowers in the period Decoupage frames

If you are looking at this listing then the chances are you know exactly what these are, I’ll include a short Bio below, there are different values to these sets and this is suite is at the very highest end as it has not just the basic birds but some of the most colourful examples I have seen, it also have birds mixed with butterflies in four of the examples which is super rare

The condition is period perfect, you can see the plate mark impressions around the boarders, some of the prints are detailed and dated with what they are, all the information has been pictured for you

These prints totally define a space, I can’t explain just how magical they are in real life

Dimensions

Height:- 41.5cm

Width:- 35cm

Depth:- 2.5cm

Please note all measurements are taken at the widest point, if you would like any additional or specific measurements please ask

A Natural History of Uncommon Birds (1743-1751) by George Edwards with 362 plates in all, with 318 of birds & the balance of various mammals, fish & insects.

It was heralded as the most important of all Bird Books, both from an artistic and an ornithological perspective, and time has certainly not dimmed either its luster or appeal.

George Edwards was an English draughtsman and a skilled observer of birds and one of the most prominent ornithologists of his day. He worked as Librarian to the Royal College of Physicians, where he was later elected a fellow, and was honored with the Gold Medal of the Royal Society. As the Librarian to the Royal College of Physicians, he oversaw a library of 8,000 volumes. The small honorarium he received for this post liberated him to pursue his ornithological studies and drawings.

He died in West Ham, which was also his birthplace, in 1773. Natural History and Gleanings was illustrated for the first time many foreign species often drawn from live specimens held in captivity in London.

Edwards etched his own plates and then hand-colored several copies before supervising others in the coloring. The result is a work of superb skill and breathtaking color that remains ever-popular and is now increasingly rare.

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.”

Any questions please feel free to ask before you bid
Payments

We accept payment via Bitcoin, Bitcoin cash, Ethereum, Bacs, Chaps, PayPal or Card, we would kindly ask that all items are paid for within 48 hours and collected within 7 working days, we can hold all paid items for 14 days free of charge, there after a £20 a week storage fee will apply. We have long term storage which is very economically priced, we are happy to hold stock for as long as needed providing it is arranged prior to the purchase.

If sold items aren’t collected within three months and no arrangements have been made for long term storage you will forfeit the item and payment.