C. F. TUNNICLIFFE - Two original watercolour paintings from Lockley's CINNAMON BIRDS

Skokholm, 1948. Painting. Illus. by Charles F. Tunnicliffe. Fine. n/a. Original. 230mm x 170mm. Two original watercolour paintings for the plates in The Cinnamon Bird (Skokholm)by Lockley (including a Signed copy of The Cinnamon Bird, 1948 published by Staples Pub., dust jacket chipped and worn but professionally restored). Both plates are newly framed, acid free mount, backing mount and solid oak frame. Illustration 230mm x 170mm; frame 440mm x 370mm. The first features Sea-Blue, Heliotrope and Kitty together, nesting amongst lichen-covered rocks, this is plate 2 that appears opposite page 33 in the book. The second, opposite page 48, a dramatic illustration of a Sparrow-hawk taking a canary flying over a rocky cliff studded with sea-thrift, the shimmering sea far below, set against the background of the landing steps at North Haven Point, the cliffs of the mainland in the far distance.They have never been framed and presumably kept in a drawer for the last 75 years, so are as bright as the day they were painted. They both have utilitarian, contemporary mounts fixed to the edges, with pencil notes (possibly by the print-master) to the bottom margin "MS [manuscript] page 34, Sea Blue, Heliotrope & Kitty" to the first and "MS Page 65. Sparrowhawk & self fawn Canary" to the second. [LOCKLEY, TUNNICLIFFE AND THE REMARKABLE STORY OF CANARIES INTRODUCED TO SKOKHOLM: THE CINNAMON BIRD On Good Friday, In 1939 six pairs of outdoor-bred Border Canaries were introduced onto the remote Welsh island of Skokholm. Gilbert White of Selborne writing in 1767 mooted the idea of canary birds being able to fend for themselves, or as he put it "shift for themselves" in the wild in England. Ronald L. Lockley the well-known ornithologist, and prolific author, was at the time the Warden of Skokholm and in a quasi-scientific manner put Gilbert's White thesis to the test... At first the Canaries were acclimatised in a large aviary, and soon started to nest and quickly multiplied. The fledged youngsters formed "charms" of from five to thirty and ranged all over the island. Unfortunately Sparrow-Hawks on their autumn migration appeared in September and quickly dispatched most of this brilliant company.In the end a sorry remnant of one adult and six juveniles were saved from destruction and caged for the winter, however one particularly tenacious Sparrow-Hawk entered the aviary and quickly killed Kitty one of the original birds of a bright cinnamon colour. Lockley wrote an account of the canary experiment on Skokholm in The Cinnamon Bird, (Staples Press Limited, London 1948) However what is of more significance is that Naylor/Turner, a member of the R.S.P.C.A. bred the birds for detecting foul air in London's underground - "in sewers, tube railways and tunnels" but would only allow the birds to spend three months underground, thereafter they were taken back to the aviary, or given away. The central character in The Cinnamon Bird is the female bird Kitty, who paired up with True-Blue, and we read of other "marriages" - Sea-Blue to Heliotrope, Green Brother to Fawn Yellow and so on. The book seemingly aimed at the juvenile market, recounts their relationships and adventures, in a jaunty style, almost anthropomorphic at times - though the blurb for the book describes it somewhat differently "From this diary emerges not only a fascinating scientific record, but a story in clear, vivid prose that conjures up for us the spirit of the bird-haunted island". However, scientific or otherwise, perhaps the greatest virtue of the Cinnamon Bird is not the story or the experiment, but the outstanding colour plates by Charles Frederic Tunnicliffe. Tunnicliffe visited the island where he made sketches used as the basis for these illustrations. There are four plates and a separate jacket design featuring Kitty sitting amongst thrift on a rocky cliff with the sea in the background].