10.5 x 16 inches, hand coloured etched engraving. Prideaux John Selby (1788-1867) was a very gifted artist and the 'Illustrations of British Ornithology' is the 'most splendid and costly work yet printed on the birds of Great Britain' (William Swainson, ex Jackson). In many critic's opinions the clarity of the engraving gives the birds a beauty that is lacking in the lithographs of the likes of John Gould. 'The cool, classical quality of Selby's plates belongs to the age of elegance and could never have been achieved by the Victorian John Gould. Selby's bird figures were the most accurate delineations of British birds to date, and the liveliest' (Jackson). Ayer (1926) 571; Fine Bird Books (1990) 107; Jackson (1985) 201-13; Nissen IVB (1976) 853. Seller Inventory # D3080

Contact seller

Report this item

Bibliographic Details

Title: Merlin, Male

Publisher: Edinburgh

Publication Date: 1826

Binding: No binding

Store Description

Founded by the late Clive A. Burden in 1966, the company is one of the longest established dealers in antique maps, atlases, books and rare decorative prints. All items offered are fine original examples. Areas of particular focus are the British Isles and North America. Our stock dates from incunabula (pre-1500) to the late 1800s. We also carry decorative prints including botanical, bird, other natural history, architecture, in addition to Vanity Fair caricatures. Books include atlases, illustrated, and colour plate works. Philip D. Burden joined his father in the business in 1979. His interests included the British Isles and North America. He wrote and published in 1996 and 2007 the definitive two volume treatise entitled ?The Mapping of North America?. This was the first work to list all known printed maps relating to North America up to the year 1700. Each fully described and illustrated. Clive A. Burden Ltd. is a member of the following organisations: the ABA (Antiquarian Bookdealers Association), ILAB (International League of Antiquarian Booksellers), and IMCoS (International Map Collector?s Society).

Visit Seller's Storefront

Seller's business information

Clive A Burden Ltd
5 Jardine House, Harrovian Business Village, Bessborough Road, Harrow, HA1 3EX, United Kingdom

Terms of Sale:

Unless stated otherwise all items are original as described.

If an item is coloured the following terms are used:
Early colour means an item was coloured at or near the time of publication.
Modern colour refers to an item coloured within the last few decades.

All measurements are given in millimetres, height by width, and are of the image size excluding the margins or text block (in the case of books).

The condition of each item is described noting only unusual flaws.

If a buyer is not satisfied...

More Information

Shipping Terms:

All orders will be sent by registered or recorded mail, by air to overseas customers, unless the customer requests a courier service at their own expense. Payment must be made in pounds sterling or US dollars unless otherwise agreed. We also accept Visa, MasterCard and PayPal. For these we require the name, number and expiry date of the card, security code if required, a contact phone number and the full billing address of the card for shipping purposes.

Payment Methods
accepted by seller

Add to Wants