ATTRIBUTED TO ISAAC SPACKMAN, CIRCA 1760

These birds correspond most closely to the work of the Islington embosser and artist Isaac Spackman. The Chinese pheasant here numbered 'V' corresponds fairly closely to No. 1 in Samuel Dixon's 1750 series but the differences are characteristic of Spackman's imitations of Dixon's works. The other birds in this grouup are extremely rare and it is not clear from which set they come. The pelican corresponds with one sold from the collection of the late Mrs Robert Tritton, Godmersham Park, Kent, Christie's house sale, 6-9 June 1983, lot 254 (part), and offered here as lot 218. The Mandarin duck has not previously been recorded though it relates directly to George Edwards' illustration of the same bird (see lot 183).