Natural History

Tamarisk Gerbil – Original Hand Coloured Copper Engraving – Schreber 1775

A rare and delightful hand-coloured copper engraving of the desert living Tamarisk Gerbil by D.R. Nitschmann for Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber (1739-1810) published as part of his classic work on mammals “Die Saughthiere in Abbildungen nach der Natur mit Beschreibungen” published circa 1775.

Strong plate mark, paper size 28cm by 20cm. Engraving quality very fine with good strong original colouring. Very good condition.

Gerbils of course popular pets at one time … they have a habit of digging themselves into holes if let loose in the garden … so watch out for this fella.

Price $90.00 unframed

18thC engraving of the popular rather cute gerbil

$90.00

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Great White-Crested Cockatoo – Greene – 1884

Original wood cut engraving of a beautiful Cockatoo from Parrots in Captivity published in London in 1884. It inhabits the rainforests of the Moluccas . He is a relative of the Sulphur Crested Cockatoo. The male and female are almost identical.

Greene’s delightful work comprising wood-engraved plates printed by Benjamin Fawcett after drawings by A.F. Lydon. The prints are hand finished with delicate highlighting in gum arabic that makes the breast feathers shimmer in a most unusual way.

Benjamin Fawcett was one of the great colour printers of the 19th century. He pioneered a system of wood block engraving from multiple blocks that resulted in vivid finely coloured works. Fawcett had an association of some 50 years with Francis Orpen Morris to produce many beautiful works on birds. Greene’s Parrots in Captivity is an authoritative and studious work. The engravings are the finest of all the illustrations of parrots from the period.

Price $90.00 unframed and matted as shown. Very good condition. Mat dimensions 37cm by 29cm … cream textured mat board with french gold line. Archival materials.
Nice Cockatoo from the Eastern Regions of Indonesia

$90.00

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Platypus Hand Coloured Copper Engraving – Schmuzer – 1798

Original hand coloured copper engraving of the Platypus by Schumzer for Gottlieb Tobias Wilhelm. It was produced for Wilhelm’s “Discourses in Natural history”.

Wilhelm (1758-1811) was a Protestant Pastor born to an engraver and publisher in Augsburg, Germany. He began his great work on natural history in 1792. It was printed by his father and issued in installments. This engraving by Jacob Schmuzer was completed in 1798 and is clearly based on the image in Hunter’s First Fleet Journal.

Price $120.00 unframed … enquire if you would like this item framed …

Very early Platypus Engraving from the late 18th Century

$120.00

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Banded Hare-wallaby or Munning – Lesson – c1830

Le Kangourou elegant (Halmaturus elegans) or …. Banded Hare-wallaby or Munning

Original hand coloured engraving originally drawn by Charles Alexander Lesueur (1778-1846) . Good strong clean example. Produced for Rene Primevere Lesson (1794-1849) for his extension of the great natural history work originally produced by Count Buffon. They were published in Paris in c1830.

The Banded Hare-wallaby is considered vulnerable and is found on Bernier Island and Dorre Island off Western Australia

Lesueur participated in the Baudin Expedition, Geographie and Naturaliste, originally taken on as a gunner. Baudin discovered his talent for art and appointed him to illustrate his private journal. Lesson participated as doctor and naturalist in the Duperry voyage round the world on board La Coquille (1822-1825).

Price $120.00 unframed … enquire if you wish framing options.

The rare Australian Banded Hare-wallaby … look after him!

$90.00

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A Handbook to the British Mammalia – Richard Lydekker – 1896

Published in London in 1896 by Edward Lloyd. Octavo, 339 pages, original maroon cloth binding with sharp gilt lines to boards and gilt title and author to spine.

The highlight the 32 plus frontispiece full page chromolithographs highlighted occasionally with gum arabic.

A superb Victorian systematic reference forming part of the Lloyd’s Natural History Series. Nice to see the bats, rodents etc getting equal weight with the badger, squirrel and fallow deer. The additional three chapters on the Ancient Mammals of Britain adds to the interest.

Lydekker on British Mammals – Nicely Illustrated

$40.00

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Spotted Seal (Phoque de Choris) – Lesson – Paris 1838

Original hand coloured engraving drawn by Antoine Charles Vauthier and engraved by Smith. Good strong clean example.

Produced for Rene Primevere Lesson (1794-1849) for his extension of the great natural history work originally produced by Count Buffon. They were published in Paris in 1838. Interesting that Lesson himself originally classified this species.

The spotted seal inhabits the Arctic regions, at one time thought to be endangered but now seen in large numbers from Alaska right through Northern Siberia.

Very good condition, clean with bright colours and a sophisticated stipple technique. Strong thick paper.. 24cm by 17cm unframed … external dimensions when framed would be 36cm by 28cm a nice size for the study or hallway.

Lesson participated as doctor and naturalist in the Duperry voyage round the world on board La Coquille (1822-1825).

Price $90.00 unframed or $190.00 framed in Voyager Natural History style … enquire if you wish …

The spotted seal now quite often seen!

$90.00

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Tamarisk Gerbil – Original Hand Coloured Copper Engraving – Schreber 1775

Great White-Crested Cockatoo – Greene – 1884

Platypus Hand Coloured Copper Engraving – Schmuzer – 1798

Banded Hare-wallaby or Munning – Lesson – c1830

A Handbook to the British Mammalia – Richard Lydekker – 1896

Spotted Seal (Phoque de Choris) – Lesson – Paris 1838

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