Gleanings of Natural History, exhibiting figures of Quadrupeds, Birds, Insects, Plants, &c. (Volume III, Labelled VII)
Date1794-1802
Primary Author
George Edwards
(1694 - 1773)
OriginEngland, London
MediumLetterpress and hand-colored copper plate counterproofs on wove paper bound in leather with gilding
DimensionsOverall: 12 × 9 1/2in. (30.5 × 24.1cm)
Credit LineMuseum Purchase, The Friends of Colonial Williamsburg Collections Fund
Object number2023-17,7
DescriptionVolume Seven of 7-volume set of Edwards BirdsLabel TextThis book is volume VII of a rare set of books by naturalist George Edwards. They comprise his two important works bound into seven volumes: "A Natural History of Uncommon birds, and of Some Other Rare and Undescribed Animals, Quadrupeds, Reptiles, Fishes, Insects, &c." and "Gleanings of Natural History, exhibiting figures of Quadrupeds, Birds, Insects, Plants, &c." All seven volumes were illustrated with counter proof engravings, a costly and time-consuming method of printing that produced delicate impressions lacking platemarks. A counterproof is a print taken directly from another that has just been printed. While the ink is still wet, a print is passed through a rolling press again with a clean sheet of paper to get a second copy. The resulting image is a much lighter, reversed image of the original engraving.
In a pre-photographic age, drawings and watercolors were the most immediate form of capturing the details of the natural world. In 1765, Edwards wrote to the Earl of Bute, an enthusiast and patron of natural history, to describe how counter proofs from the prints he etched for "History of Uncommon Birds" fooled some viewers who mistook them for drawings: “In the course of My Labours I have taken of reversed Prints of my history of birds on Sett as a Curiosity and have Colourd them higer than ordinary to make them appear Somtings like Drawings, they have deceive som[sic] people in that respect they having no marks of the copper Plates.” (See 2013-102, A-C) Counterproofs produced a subtle and softer image resembling a drawing that could be hand-colored to better display the nuance of plumage, color, and anatomy of specimens without the boldness of an engraved line.
Edwards, who is known as "the father of British Ornithology," collaborated and corresponded with many "curious gentlemen", as he called them, in Europe and America to record and gather images and information about the natural world including Carl Linnaeus, Peter Collinson, Mark Catesby, and Sir Hans Sloane. These two publications were the product of over 20 years of collecting, correspondence, gathering, and artistic effort that culminated in seven volumes and a combined 361 engraved and hand-colored plates. Edwards engraved the plates himself and prided his work on being a product of England, though it recorded specimens from around the world including China, India, parts of Africa, and the Americas.
These works were originally published between 1743-1751 (Uncommon Birds) and 1758-1764 (Gleanings), respectively, however this set was likely published between 1794 and 1802.
