A History of British Birds.

Newcastle: Printed by Sol. Hodgson, for Beilby & Bewick; Printed by Edward Walker for T. Bewick,, 1797 & 1804. A milestone in wood engraving and a classic bird book First edition of volume II, second edition of volume I, both demy octavo issues and attractively bound. Bewick's exquisitely engraved illustrations of British birds established his reputation as one of the country's best engravers and are widely considered to be his finest work. Bewick's books were six years in the making and eventually published to even greater acclaim than the Quadrupeds of 1790. "Apart from the excellence of the principal figures, the numerous tailpiece vignettes that enlivened every spare space in the book came in for special notice... Apart from lovingly observed landscape settings, the narrative content of many of Bewick's tailpieces is often ironic and displays a mordant view of the world and human folly... Any comparison of Bewick's work with that of his predecessors makes clear how original it appeared at the time. Not only was there truth in outline and animated posture, but the habitat was beautifully realized" (ODNB). Volume II is in Roscoe's Variant F, with the vignettes on pages 136, 269, and 369 in the second state, the text at pp. 174 and 176 running to 22 and 13 lines, and the vignette showing a man and a woman crossing a moor in a storm at page 176. Two volumes, octavo (198 x 126 mm). Late 19th-century red hard-grain morocco, spines with raised bands, gilt lettering and decoration in compartments, elaborate gilt border to covers, gilt fleurons at corners, board edges and turn-ins ruled in gilt, marbled endpapers, edges gilt. Wood-engraved title vignettes, illustrations, and tailpieces by Bewick throughout. 20th-century armorial bookplate of British collector W. T. Wiggins-Davies on front pastedowns, his library shelf labels on front free endpapers. Extremities sometime retouched with colour, inner hinges of vol. I split (front hinge and gutter of first blank repaired with tape), inner hinges of vol. II cracked, but sound, short closed tear to one leaf, intermittent foxing or light marks, else generally clean. A just about very good set. Roscoe 15e & 17d.