George Edwards Seligmann Edition Bird Prints

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Scarlet Lory Psittacus coccineus Orientalis EDS34 $195	The Hawk Headed Parrot Psittacus Orientalis capite accipitrino EDS29 $225	Blue-faced Green Parrot Psittacus viridis fronte coerulea EDS45 $185


Lesser Green Parrot, West Indies Psittacus viridis minor Occidentalis EDS40 $165	Dusky Parrot, America Psittacus suscus Mexicanus EDS41 $245	Great Green Parrot from the West Indiess Psittacus viridis major Occidentalis EDS42 $185


The Little Green and Red Long Tailed Parrakeet Psittacus minor cauda longissima EDS46 $175	Rose-headed Ring Parrakeet Psittacus minor torquatus capite roseo EDS53 $215	Swallow-Tail'd Kingfisher Ispida Surinamensis, binis plumnis in cauda longissimis EDS48 $185


Common Crane Grus Indica major EDS55 $195	Great White Crane from North America Grus Americanus alta major Tight margin on left EDS56 $195	Numidian Crane Grus Numidica Remargined on left EDS57 $195


Sapphire-Crowned & Golden-Winged Parrot ParrakeetPsittacus minor vertice Sapphirino EDS58 $165	Little Red-headed Parrot & Maryland Yellow-Throat Psittacus minor capite rubro vulgo EDS44 $145	Psittacus minimus viridis et ruber Indicus EDS60 $165


Golden Thrush Galbula Bengalensis EDS66 $165	Blue Grosbeak Coccothraustes caeruleus Angolensis EDS63 $245	Bengal Thrush Sturnus luteus Bengalensis EDS65 $145


Northern Goshawk, Canada Pygargus Accipiter Canadensis EDS67 $165	Gros-beak, Cedar Tree Coccothraustes vulgaris EDS68 SOLD	Grosbeak, Canada Rubicilla maxima Canadensis EDS69 $215

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George Edwards was an English draughtsman and a skilled observer of birds and one of the most prominent ornithologists of his day. He worked as Librarian to the Royal College of Physicians, where he was later elected a fellow, and was honored with the Gold Medal of the Royal Society. As the Librarian to the Royal College of Physicians, he oversaw a library of 8,000 volumes. The small honorarium he received for this post liberated him to pursue his ornithological studies and drawings. He died in West Ham, which was also his birthplace, in 1773.

Natural History and Gleanings was illustrated for the first time many foreign species often drawn from live specimens held in captivity in London. Edwards etched his own plates and then hand colored several copies before supervising others in the coloring. The result is a work of superb skill and breathtaking color that remains ever popular and is now increasingly rare. Such was the impact of Natural History and Gleanings, that Edwards is considered to have almost single-handedly popularized the art of bird and animal illustration, and is thus known as "The Father of British Ornithology."

In 1749-1776, Johann Michael Seligmann, a German engraver re-engraved these George Edwards plates, as well as many by Mark Catesby plates for the "Sammlung Verschiedener Auslandischer un Seltener Vogel" published in Nurenberg. In some cases, botanical and scenic backgrounds were added for superb decorative effect.

(References include Fine Bird Books, p.93, Dictionary of Bird Artist p.431, Nissen, IVB 859, Nissen, SVB 455.)

It is from the Nuremberg, 1768-1776 French Seligmann edition that we are pleased to present these plates in excellent condition. There is very little foxing on the plates and the strong chain lined watermarked paper is a beautiful light creamy color. The ORIGINAL hand coloring is very vibrant & the paper has a rare, silky quality to it. Each print is folio in size, measuring approximately 9 ½ inches by 15 inches, with a few having tight margins on one side, as shown. Most prints are accompanied by a copy of the beautiful title page and a copy of the French descriptive text when available. This work is 250 years old and it is rare indeed to find these very scarce prints in such good condition.