A History of British Birds: Volume 1, Containing the History and Description of Land Birds

by Thomas Bewick, Jenny Uglow (Introduction)

Thomas Bewick (1753-1828) is synonymous with finely crafted wood engravings of the natural world, and his instantly recognisable style influenced book illustration well into the nineteenth century. During his childhood in the Tyne valley, his two obsessions were art and nature. At fourteen, he was apprenticed to the engraver and businessman Ralph Beilby (1743 1817) with whom he later published A General History of Quadrupeds (also reissued in this series). The present work, with its text compiled from various sources, was the first practical field guide for the amateur ornithologist, inspiring also artists and writers. Each of the two volumes contains hundreds of illustrations of breathtaking beauty and precision: one for each species, neatly capturing its character in exquisite detail, interspersed with charming vignettes of country life. Volume 1, first published in 1797, covers land birds, including eagles, owls, sparrows and finches."

382 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1797

About the author

Thomas Bewick was an English wood-engraver and natural history author. Early in his career he took on all kinds of work such as engraving cutlery, making the wood blocks for advertisements, and illustrating children's books. He gradually turned to illustrating, writing and publishing his own books, gaining an adult audience for the fine illustrations in A History of Quadrupeds.

Reviews

[joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book from the nation’s happiest and least complicated age. It has to be said that it’s a terrible thing that this book, that embodies the very kernel and essence of English life and character, and as seen in other such canonical works as Jane Eyre, is so ignored.

The birds are described with a very engaging mix of the perspectives of the amateur scientist, the entrepreneurial farmer and the sportsman: issues of classification, quirks of behaviour, economic utility, beauty, and whether or not good eating.

The main interest is obviously the tailpiece engravings. What sort of a place was England in 1800?

Unkempt, marshy, scruffy, sparse. The roads unmade, the fences unwired, the trees scrubby and short, the cottages gardenless.
People do a lot of resting under hedges, a certain amount of walking and stalking, and occasionally something eccentric, like committing suicide or going mad; they are never without a soft tricorn hat and a stout stick; their animals are badly tamed, escaping, bolting and fighting. There seem to be the traces of some older and mightier civilisation about: blocks of masonry in the undergrowth.. Bewick is a man of the Enlightenment, but he isn’t bombastic about Progress. He doesn’t romanticise his countryside, but nor is he frustrated by it.

[Zellizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found here: https://archive.org/details/McGillLib...