Six Birds, accurately drawn and coloured after nature, with full instructions for the young artist

Description:

First edition. A charming book, illustrated with six hand-coloured stipple-engraved plates, each accompanied by a corresponding uncoloured plate. Published in the Regency era, when accomplishments such as drawing and watercolour were considered essential to a young lady's education, Brookshaw's manual offered both instruction and inspiration. As he explains in his preface, the drawings were 'submitted to young Ladies with the view of promoting the taste for drawing Birds, many of which, from their elegant forms and beautiful plumage, are interesting and appropriate subjects for the pencil.' The six birds depicted are the goldfinch, the red start, the pie finch, the bullfinch, the bramble finch, and the tom-tit and red pole.

George Brookshaw (c.1751-1823) was an English painter, illustrator, and former London cabinet-maker who specialised in painted furniture with floral decoration. He later became a teacher of flower painting and produced several illustrated drawing manuals, including this one on birds, as well as two similar works on flowers and fruit. However, he is best known for his finely illustrated treatise on fruit growing, Pomona Britannica (1812).

Nissen IVB 150.

Condition

Folio (368x267mm), original publisher's boards with printed paper title label to the front cover. Spine worn and stitching loosened, with some leaves working loose and the boards nearly detached. Boards show a few old stains and marks commensurate with age and use in an art setting. Plates lightly soiled in places; the coloured plates remain particularly bright and vivid. A scarce survival in the original publisher's boards.