George Edwards (English, 1694–1773)
A Natural History of Birds, vol. 1, 1743London, England
Engraving with hand
coloring
Lent by the
Chipstone Foundation, 2000.25.1
Unlike Catesby, George Edwards never traveled to
America. Instead he based his
drawings on live and stuffed specimens that colleagues sent back to
London. His model for the image
seen here was a live Canadian bird that had been sent back to an English
ornithology enthusiast. Eventhough
Edwards’ book contained illustrations entirely based on drawings made in London
rather than in North America, his publication brought to light hundreds of
species previously unknown to European scientists.
