The Family of Parrots: Illustrations by Edward Lear
8vo. pp. 64. illustrated. hardcover cloth. dw. San Francisco: Pomegranate in association with The American Museum of Natural History, New York, [1997].
First Edition.
New.
ISBN-10: 0764903365 / ISBN-13: 9780764903366
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Edward Lear (1812-1888) learned to draw from an older sister & sold sketches in the streets. His first bird drawing was published in 1830. At age 16, Lear embarked on an ambitious project to draw all the known parrot species. The Zoological Society gave Lear permission to use the birds in the Gardens as models. His 12-part folio, Illustrations of the Family of Psittacidae, or Parrots (1830-1832) was the first British publication on a single family of birds. The excellence of Lear s paintings gained him a membership in the Linnaean Society. This beautiful volume reproduces in all their glory the 42 plates from the original Parrots.