ORNITHOLOGY ONLY
The Naturalist’s Library. Ornithology.
Edinburgh: W.H. Lizars, 3, St. James Sqaure, nd.
Price: $2,750.00
About the item
440 color-plates. Complete. 14 vols. Small 8vo. ORNITHOLOGY ONLY. Bound in half red morocco and marbled boards. Set shows wear at spines, Heads to Vols. 13 & 14 chipped, internally bright. McGill/Wood, p. 405.; Ayer/Zimmer, p. 325; Nissen VBI 471; Copenhagen/Anker p. 224; Noakes, Edward Lear p. 209.
Item #267583
Sir William Jardine's Naturalist's Library is a monument to Victorian industry and zeal for natural history education. On account of the high-quality hand-colored illustrations, it is seldom found complete. The work is divided into four main sections: Ornithology, Mammalia, Entomology and Ichthyology; each was prepared by a leading naturalist. Among the artists who contributed to this massive work was Edward Lear, whose illustrations include 1 uncolored and 37 colored plates in Mammalia vol. II (1834); 1 uncolored and 31 colored plates in Ornithology vol. V (Pigeons, 1835);
and 1 uncolored and 31 colored plates in Ornithology vol. VI (Parrots, 1836). "Each volume contains a biography of a well-known naturalist in addition to the subject matter, which comprises a brief treatment of the individual forms with a statement of synonyms, distribution, brief descriptions and sometimes other information of interest" (Copenhagen/Anker).
Sir William Jardine (1800-1874) was a key figure in the history of Victorian science. He owned the finest private natural history museum and library in Britain.
