Morris - History of British Birds - 1870

A splendid ornithological plate book of the Victorian era with 358 hand-coloured bird illustrations, which to this day ranks among the finest classics of British bird literature.

Publisher: London, George Bell and Sons, 1870, Second Edition (Vol. 2 in the 5th edition of 1903). 6 volumes. With 358 hand-coloured plates. Original cloth bindings with decorative gold embossing, 26 x 18 cm, 9 kg

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Francis Orpen Morris (1810–1893) created with his History of British Birds one of the most successful and popular ornithological works of the 19th century. The series, first published 1851–1857, was reissued several times due to high demand and remains among the best-known English bird books. The present second edition combines scientific reliability with an exceptionally attractive presentation and is aimed equally at naturalists, collectors and lovers of classic book illustration.

Particularly appealing are the 358 finely hand-coloured plates, which reproduce virtually all British bird species in characteristic poses and with great attention to detail. The illustrations blend scientific precision with the decorative charm of Victorian book art and made the work a standard in many natural history libraries even at the time of its creation.

In addition to the detailed species descriptions, Morris covers distribution, lifestyle, breeding behavior and observations of the individual species. The work thus conveys a lively picture of British avifauna of the 19th century and to this day belongs to the sought-after ornithological classics with high bibliophilic and decorative appeal.
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Overall well preserved; occasional light signs of wear as well as occasional minor foxing, book blocks brittle – all pages remain firmly bound. The hand-coloured plates are fresh and vividly colored. Overall an attractive and complete exemplar of this classic ornithological splendid work.