New Illustrations of Zoology; containing fifty coloured plates of new, curious and non-descript Birds, with a few Quadrupeds, Reptiles and Insects...

Description:

First Edition. This exquisite work by Peter Brown (fl. 1776), a Danish-born artist and flower painter, presents an important collection of ornithological illustrations. Brown exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy from 1770 to 1791. The finely executed hand coloured plates in this work depict birds, mammals, insects, and a reptile, offering a stunning visual record of the natural world as it was understood in the late 18th century. 42 of the plates focus on birds, with a few featuring them alongside insects, while the remaining plates showcase mammals (5), insects (2), and a reptile (1). The illustrations are based on specimens from renowned collectors, including Marmaduke Tunstall, private collections, the British Museum, and the Royal Society. Some of the plates are derived from drawings made during the travels of the Dutch governor of Ceylon, Gideon Loten, in Java and Ceylon, and were executed by the native artist P.C. de Bevere from living specimens. The text is printed in both English and French, with brief letterpress descriptions accompanying each illustration. The principal text was written by the noted naturalist Thomas Pennant, who had previously collaborated with Brown on plates for his British Zoology.

This work was published by Benjamin White, the brother of the famed naturalist Gilbert White

Anker, 72; Fine Bird Books, p. 62; Nissen IVB, 151.

Condition

4to, contemporary full leather, gilt border to both boards, corners neatly restored, rebacked in sympathetic style with raised bands, gilt tooling to compartments, red leather title piece, original marbled endpapers retained. Some offsetting to plates.

Provenance: From the distinguished library of Lytton Strachey (1880–1932), biographer, essayist, and member of the Bloomsbury Group, with his small bookplate designed by his lover, Dora Carrington (1893–1932). Following Strachey’s death, the book passed to Ralph and Frances Partridge (whose names are inscribed to the fly-leaf). Earlier ownership signatures of R.M. Trench Chiswell and Mary Constance Butler are present.