A Treatise on British Song-Birds. Including Observations on their Natural Habits, Manner of Incubation, &c. With Remarks on the Treatment of the Young and Management of the Old Birds in a Domestic State

Description:

First edition of the larger, 8vo issue (the advertisement leaf states that the work was issued ' ... with 15 coloured Engravings. 8vo, 16s. bds. - 12mo, 12s. bds.'). Fine hand-coloured plates engraved by R. Scott, with backgrounds also coloured. According to Mullens and Swann, 'The coloured plates occur in two states, viz. with and without coloured backgrounds'. The author is not stated on title page, but his name appears at the end of the Introduction, in which he states, 'The plates are admirably engraved, by Mr Scott of Edinburgh, from very correct and beautiful drawings done by an English artist; and the publisher has authorised us to state, that neither pains nor expense,, on his part, has been spared to get the plates finely done and accurately coloured from nature'. Very scarce. Wood states, 'a rather rare, well-written account of 33 species, with excellent plates.'

Patrick Syme (1774-1845) was a Scottish artist and drawing master best known for his flower-paintings. He took a prominent role in the foundation of the Scottish Academy, and also published, Practical Directions for Learning Flower Drawing (1810) and a translation of A.G. Werner's Nomenclature of Colours (1814) (the latter which he recommends as a standard for the description of colours in natural history in his Introduction to Treatise on British Song Birds.

Freeman 3646; Mullens & Swann p. 572; Nissen IVB 920; Wood, p. 590.

Condition

8vo (235x150mm), finely bound in recent, full, panelled calf, raised bands to spine, edged with gilt rules, gilt title, blind tooling to compartments, marbled endpapers. An untrimmed copy with wide margins, fore- and bottom edges uncut, a few leaves unopened at fore-edge. Light offsetting from some plates to facing text pages. A handsomely bound, clean and untrimmed copy.