Details
BROWN, Peter (fl. 1766-91). New Illustrations of Zoology, containing fifty coloured plates of new, curious, and non-descript birds, with a few quadrupeds, reptiles and insects. London: printed for B. White, 1776.
4° (292 x 232 mm). Additional title-page in French, descriptive letter-press in French and English, principally by Thomas Pennant. 50 hand-coloured engravings by Brown, of which 42 are of birds (slight spotting on margin of 3 plates, slight marginal water-staining on few others, engravings not affected). Green-stained morocco, rebacked, covers with gilt stamp of House of Commons Library in centre and gilt roll-tooled borders, spine olive morocco gilt-tooled between raised bands, with red morocco lettering-piece, gilt turn-ins and board edges, original marbled endpapers with House of Commons Library bookplate, g.e.
A SUPERB EXAMPLE OF ONE OF ONLY A FEW DE LUXE COPIES of this set of engravings, exquisitely hand-coloured and highlighted. While this issue is not recorded in the bibliographies, it consisted of no more than 20 copies. A distinguishing feature is that the cicada in plate XXVI is fully coloured, unlike ordinary copies. The plates were mainly executed from examples in the collections of Marmaduke Tunstall and others, but some are taken from drawings which the Dutch Governor of Ceylon, Gideon Loten, had painted from life by the Ceylonese artist P. C. de Bevere in Java and Ceylon. The book, a supplement to George Edwards's A Natural History of Birds (1743-51), was published by Gilbert White's brother Benjamin. Brown, a Dane by birth, was also known as a flower painter. Anker 72; Nissen IVB 151; Fine Bird Books p. 62.
4° (292 x 232 mm). Additional title-page in French, descriptive letter-press in French and English, principally by Thomas Pennant. 50 hand-coloured engravings by Brown, of which 42 are of birds (slight spotting on margin of 3 plates, slight marginal water-staining on few others, engravings not affected). Green-stained morocco, rebacked, covers with gilt stamp of House of Commons Library in centre and gilt roll-tooled borders, spine olive morocco gilt-tooled between raised bands, with red morocco lettering-piece, gilt turn-ins and board edges, original marbled endpapers with House of Commons Library bookplate, g.e.
A SUPERB EXAMPLE OF ONE OF ONLY A FEW DE LUXE COPIES of this set of engravings, exquisitely hand-coloured and highlighted. While this issue is not recorded in the bibliographies, it consisted of no more than 20 copies. A distinguishing feature is that the cicada in plate XXVI is fully coloured, unlike ordinary copies. The plates were mainly executed from examples in the collections of Marmaduke Tunstall and others, but some are taken from drawings which the Dutch Governor of Ceylon, Gideon Loten, had painted from life by the Ceylonese artist P. C. de Bevere in Java and Ceylon. The book, a supplement to George Edwards's A Natural History of Birds (1743-51), was published by Gilbert White's brother Benjamin. Brown, a Dane by birth, was also known as a flower painter. Anker 72; Nissen IVB 151; Fine Bird Books p. 62.