Pl 57 "The long tail'd Titmouse/ The Crested Titmouse" with oak leaves and acorns

A Natural History of Birds Curiously Engraved from the Life, and Exactly Coloured by the Author   London, 1731-38.

Eleazer Albin (d. 1741) was a watercolorist with a special interest in natural history. His earliest drawings are in the British Museum. He knew and had the financial support of many socially and scientifically important people of the day. Sir Hans Sloan encouraged his work and had Albin paint some of the natural history specimens he had collected. Mary Somerset, Dowager Duchess of Beaufort, employed him for a similar purpose and the physician in ordinary to George II provided him with the backing for the 3rd volume of this work. The great Carolus Linnaeus took three descriptions of African birds from his work.

Albin’s A Natural History of Birds… was illustrated with 306 copperplate engravings. His usual formula was to present a single bird on a plate with a minimalist landscape background.  The plates are charming in their simplicity and geometrical patterning of the feathers. It is one of the earliest of all comprehensive bird books and the first British book to have colored plates. (see Jackson, Bird Engravings, p. 67)

11 ¼ x 9 ¼ inches, sheet.
Copperplate engravings with original coloring.
Excellent condition.
Framed to museum specifications to 18 x 16 inches overall. 

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