The Wilson 2nd Edition, Pl. 74 Black-bellied Darter; Female D.; Great Northern Diver; Black-headed Gull; Little Auk captures a lively avian assembly.
Engraved and hand-colored on a 13 ¾” × 10 ⅜” sheet of creamy paper, this antique original print is from the first folio devoted to North American birds. Own a significant piece of history today with this 19th-century wildlife engraving!
About American Ornithology
Alexander Wilson’s 1st Edition of American Ornithology was produced from 1808 – 1814. The folio contains 76 hand-colored engravings depicting 262 North American bird species. These engravings mark the fledgling stages of ornithology in America and were foundational to the development of subsequent natural history publications.
Pulled from the original copper plates used for his 1st edition, Wilson’s 2nd edition of American Ornithology was posthumously published between 1818 and 1829. This issue is richly colored with fine pigments and printed on soft, dense paper, causing it to rival the appeal of Wilson’s 1st edition.
About Alexander Wilson
Alexander Wilson, the “Father of American Ornithology,” was the first artist-naturalist to attempt to create a comprehensive visual survey of North American birds. Inspired by the abundance and variety of avian life in the New World, Wilson devoted himself to the scientific study and artistic rendering of birds. His 1808-1814 folio American Ornithology contains 76 hand-colored engravings featuring 262 species of birds. In addition to discovering 39 new species, Wilson laid the foundations for the study of North American bird life.
To learn more about Wilson 2nd Edition, Pl. 74 Black-bellied Darter; Female D.; Great Northern Diver; Black-headed Gull; Little Auk, email us at [email protected] or check out our articles “A Transcript from Living Nature” and Was Alexander Wilson’s Art Precursive of the Modern Field Guide?
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