A History of British Birds Volume One History and Description of Land Birds,Volume Two History and Description of Water Birds

London: Printed For Sol Hodgson,For Beilby & Bewick. Superb Set First Editions in Contemporary Quarter Brown Leather Binding over marbled boards with gilt titles in 2nd compartments and Volumes in 4th Compartments,each other compartment with gilt scroll designs,cream endpapers.There are no former names or inscriptions present in either volume.A very handsome set with Volume One published in 1797 and Volume Two in 1804.Both bindings are firm with NO hinge weaknesses.Text block is really very clean with only light foxing spots to volume one mostly contained within page margins.The text in Volume one on Land Birds was written by Ralph Beilby, while Bewick took over the text for the second volume. The book is admired for the beauty and clarity of Bewick's wood-engravings, which are most widely considered his finest work and among the finest in that medium.The book was effectively the first "field guide" for non-specialists with Bewick provideing an accurate illustration of each species. The common and scientific names are listed and the bird is described along with its distribution and behaviour.The group of land birds are split into birds of prey, omnivorous birds, insectivorous birds, and granivorous birds while the families of water birds are simply listed.The end of each section is filled with tail pieces.Great set for the collector that would grace any bookshelf or Private Library,Vol One (xxx) 335pp Volume Two (xx) 400pp First Editions 1797 & 1804 . Fine. Hardcover. First Edition. 1st Printing. 1797.