A General History of Quadrupeds

The second edition of Thomas Bewick's beautifully illustrated work on the mammals of the world. The second edition is much improved and enlarged from the first. Thomas Bewick, 1753-1828, was an English wood engraver and ornithologist. Bewick showed, at a very early age, a talent for drawing. He had no lessons in art. At the age of 14 he was apprenticed to Ralph Beilby, an engraver in Newcastle. In 1775 he received a premium from the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce. In 1776 he became a partner in Beilby's workshop. A General History of Quadrupeds first appeared in 1790. The Quadrupeds deals with mammals of the whole world, and is particularly thorough on some of the domestic animals. It includes bats and seals but does not include whales or dolphins. Bewick was helped by his intimate knowledge of the habits of animals acquired during his constant excursions into the country. Bewick's art is considered the pinnacle of its medium. This is likely due to his methods: Bewick, unlike his predecessors, would carve in harder woods, notably box wood, against the grain, using fine tools normally favoured by metal engravers. This proved to be far superior, and has been the dominant method used since. Ralph Beilby, 1744-1817, was an English engraver, working chiefly on silver and copper. Beilby became a silversmith, jeweller, and seal-engraver under his father and elder brothers. In addition, he became a copper engraver to meet the demand of the then North England market. In 1767 Thomas Bewick was apprenticed to him. The texts in Bewick's A General History of Quadrupeds (1790) and History of British Birds: Land Birds (1797) were drafted by Beilby and revised by Bewick. Collated complete. Expertly rebacked with a morocco spine and contemporary calf boards. Externally, wear to corners and slight rubbing to boards though spine remains smart. Internally, firmly bound. Loss to rear free endpaper. The tails of three pages have been removed and then neatly repaired, not affecting text. There are contemporary copperplate inscriptions to some pages. Generally bright with tidemarks to two front blanks. Some scattered foxing through, though many pages do remain clean. Marks to title page. Very Good.…