Known today as the Father of British Ornithology, George Edwards was a draftsman and naturalist who popularized the art of bird and animal illustrations throughout the 18th century. His main collections of etchings, which were bound as the volumes A Natural History of Uncommon Birds and Gleaning of Natural History, together comprise more than 600 animals and were the first works to delineate many of the featured species.
Edwards cultivated an interest in natural history while traveling around Europe, becoming particularly enamored with birds. Upon his return to the United Kingdom, in 1733, Irish physicist Hans Sloane, an acquaintance of British naturalists/illustrators Eleazar Albin and Mark Catesby, offered Edwards a librarian position at the Royal College of Physicians. The job granted him access to a large collection of works on natural history, which he explored enthusiastically.
With instruction from Catesby, Edwards learned etching and spent much of his time preparing plates and drawings for his books. While Edwards hand-colored his early editions, later works were colored in by other artists, like British artist Peter Paillou, allowing Edwards to focus on etching and writing.
George Edwards earned his reputation for both his illustrations and written descriptions of his subjects — widely acclaimed for their accuracy. Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus cited Edwards’s texts when developing his major work, Systema Naturæ. The Royal Society in London awarded Edwards the Copley Medal in 1750 for outstanding achievement in the field of science. Edwards retired in 1763 to Plaistow, England, and died in 1773.
On 1stDibs, find a collection of George Edwards engravings and wall decorations.
12 ANTIQUE 1740 GEORGE EDWARDS HAND COLOURED ORNITHOLOGICAL ENGRAVINGS OF BIRDs
By George Edwards
Located in West Sussex, Pulborough
Royal House Antiques Royal House Antiques is delighted to offer for sale this super rare suite of Twelve original 1740-1760 dated hand water coloured prints after George Edwards 169...
Paper
Set of 18 Hand Coloured Bird Engravings
Located in New York, NY
Set of 18 hand coloured bird engravings. Antique hand coloured bird engravings by Jacques de Seve, commissioned by George-Louis Leclrec, Comtes de B...
Paper
$462Sale Price|20% Off
H 13.19 in W 15.16 in D 0.2 in
Original Hand-coloured Antique Print of Geneva, Switzerland, circa 1702
By Pieter Schenk the Elder
Located in Langweer, NL
Panoramic view of Geneva, Switzerland. Engraved and published in Amsterdam by Pieter Schenk (1660 - 1718/1719). Titles in Dutch, to left, and Latin. This print originates from Schenk...
Paper
$4,200Sale Price / set|30% Off
H 16.63 in W 14.63 in D 0.75 in
GEORGE EDWARDS - Two Hand Colored Ornithological Engravings - U.K. - C.1741-1759
By George Edwards
Located in Chatham, ON
GEORGE EDWARDS (Naturalist, ornithologist and artist 1694-1773) - 'A Natural History of Uncommon Birds' (Published in several volumes between 1743 and 1764) - Antique pair of mid 18t...
Glass, Wood, Paper
$875
H 20.87 in W 14.57 in D 0 in
Antique Hand-Coloured Bird Print of the Long-Tailed-Tit by Sepp & Nozeman, 1770
Located in Langweer, NL
Antique print titled ‘Parus Caudatus'. This print depicts the Long-tailed-tit (Dutch: staartmees). The long-tailed tit or long-tailed bushtit (Aegithalos caudatus), occasionally refe...
Paper
$7,004
H 24.81 in W 21.66 in D 1.97 in
17th Century Hand Coloured Engraving of Sunflowers by Basilius Besler
By Basilius Besler
Located in Gloucestershire, GB
Superb original hand-coloured engraving of Sunflowers by Basilius Besler dating to 1640. Basilius Besler (1561-1629) was a prominent botanist and apothecary in Nuremberg. He was ta...
Wood, Paper
Antique Pair of Salmon Fishing Engravings by George Earl
By George Earl
Located in Oxfordshire, GB
Pair of salmon fishing pictures, fishing & poaching. A large pair of goupilgravures, fishing and poaching, by George Earl. The pair of angling pictures ti...
Paper
$242Sale Price|20% Off
H 10.24 in W 7.76 in D 0.02 in
Original Antique Bird Engraving of a Green Macaw
By Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon
Located in Langweer, NL
Antique bird print titled 'L'Ara Vert'. Old bird engraving of a green macaw. This print originates from 'Histoire Naturelle, générale et particulière, avec la description du Cabinet ...
Paper
$280
H 12.13 in W 7.88 in D 0 in
Antique Hand-Coloured Engraving of Tarantula Spiders from Crete, 1688
Located in Langweer, NL
Antique print, titled: 'De Spinneweb Tarantula.' - This original antique print shows spiders of Crete. Dutch text on verso. Source unknown, to be determined. Artists and Engravers...
Paper
$268
H 14.57 in W 10.83 in D 0.2 in
Antique Hand-Coloured Bird Engravings from Goldsmith’s Animated Nature, ca.1852
Located in Langweer, NL
Various Bird Species – Hand-Coloured Engraving from Goldsmith’s Animated Nature, c.1852 This finely detailed and delicately hand-coloured engraving depicts a lively grouping of bird...
Paper
18 Antique Bird Hand-Coloured Engravings
Located in New York, NY
Antique Bird Prints Natural History Studies of Parrots and Tropical Birds Hand-colored engravings 23.5 x 30.5 inches each including frame Imagine all 18 on one wall in your study.
Paper
$886Sale Price|20% Off
H 21.07 in W 14.57 in D 0.02 in
Carrion Crow with Eggs – Hand-Coloured Engraving from Nozeman, 1797
By J.C. Sepp, Cornelius Nozeman, M. Houttuyn
Located in Langweer, NL
Carrion Crow with Eggs – Hand-Coloured Engraving from Nozeman’s Nederlandsche Vogelen, 1770–1829 Antique print titled 'Corvus, Corone'. The carrion crow (Corvus corone) is a large, ...
Paper
$232
H 14.97 in W 11.03 in D 0.02 in
Philomachus Pugnax Antique Bird Print, 1929, Detailed Ornithology Art of a Ruff
Located in Langweer, NL
Antique bird print titled 'Philomachus Pugnax'. Old bird print depicting the Ruff. This print originates from 'Svenska Foglar Efter Naturen Och Pa Stenritade' by Magnus von Wright.
Paper
Sold
H 16.34 in W 13.78 in D 0.99 in
12 ANTIQUE 1740 GEORGE EDWARDS HAND COLOURED ORNITHOLOGICAL ENGRAVINGS OF BIRDs
By George Edwards
Located in West Sussex, Pulborough
Royal House Antiques Royal House Antiques is delighted to offer for sale this super rare suite of Twelve original 1740-1760 dated hand water coloured prints after George Edwards 169...
Paper
Sold
H 17.19 in W 14.25 in D 0.75 in
George Edwards Set of Twelve Parrot Engravings with Chinoiserie Frames
By George Edwards
Located in Downingtown, PA
George Edwards Set of Twelve Parrot Engravings with chinoiserie Frames, Natural History of Birds, Engraved by Georg Dionysius Ehret, Mid-18th cent...
Paper
George Edwards Prints of Parrots with Decoupage Frames
By George Edwards
Located in Downingtown, PA
George Edwards prints of parrots with decoupage frames, The engraver Georg Dionysius Ehret, Set of six, circa 1745-1750 The George Edwards engra...
Paper
18th Century George Edwards Engravings of a Woodpecker
By George Edwards
Located in Downingtown, PA
George Edwards engravings of a bird, Woodpecker, Picus Bengalensis, #82, 1745 A George Edwards hand-colored engraving of a Woodpecker in a d...
Paper
George Edwards Engravings of Birds, a Set of Six
By George Edwards
Located in Downingtown, PA
George Edwards engravings of birds- A set of Six The George Edwards engravings of six different birds in their natural environment are now mounted in a decoupage frame. Dimens...
Paper
George Edwards Prints of Parrots with Decoupage Frames
By George Edwards
Located in Downingtown, PA
George Edwards prints of parrots with decoupage frames, The Engraver Georg Dionysius Ehret, Circa 1745-50 The George Edwards engravings of twelve...
Paper
George Edwards Engravings of Birds, Set of Twelve, circa 1740-1760
By George Edwards
Located in Downingtown, PA
George Edwards engravings of birds, Set of twelve, circa 1740-1760. Twelve different bird engravings within handmade decoupage frames with original hand colouring. The follow...
Paper
George Edwards Set of Twelve Bird Engravings, circa 1740
By George Edwards
Located in Downingtown, PA
George Edwards set of twelve bird engravings, within modern decoupage frames, from a natural history of uncommon birds, circa 1740. Dimensions: 16 3/8 inches high x 13 5/8 inch...
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