Primary Artist

J.W. Lewin (1770–1819)

Title

Birds of New South Wales with their natural history.

Physical description

A bound book of 18 etchings and 18 leaves of descriptive text

Source

Lewin, John. Birds of New South Wales with their natural history. Sydney: G. Howe, 1813

Page or Plate number

collection record

Date made

1813

Place made

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia View on map Close map

Category

Illustrated book

Print types

intaglio | relief

Matrix size

28.0 x 21.4 cm (page)

State

published state

Edition information

print run unknown

Collection

State Library of Victoria

Accession number

RARELTF 598.29944 L58 (1813)

Accession method

Purchase

Provenance

'The Book of the Public Library of Victoria' records that a man asked the librarian to look at an old battered book 'used as a picture book by the children of the man who submitted it'. None of the library staff had ever seen a copy, so as the book was incomplete he was 'offered pounds 5 which was gladly accepted'. Purchased 1918, (date stamped 14 Oct 1918).

David Allan
Signed 'David Allan' on verso of front binders blank; 'D Allan' on verso back binders blank.
Perhaps David Allan (1780 - 1852) who arrived in Sydney on board the Fortune in June 1813 to take up the newly created position of deputy-commissary-general - a position he held until January 1819 returning to England soon after. He is not known to have been interested in natural history or a book collector. Lewin may have given him a copy due to his position in the Colony.

M.A.Gray
Perhaps related to the English zoologist John Edward Gray (1800-1875) who wrote extensively on Australian natural history. His wife Maria Emma was a conchologist who published etchings of molluscans.

Subject categories

Australia, Book arts: Illustrated book | Australia, Art period: Colonial, New South Wales | Australia, Animal: Bird

Country of context

Australia

Notes

Plate 14 "Warty face honeysucker" and plate 18 "Mountain bee-eater" are later water colour facsimiles on Whatman paper with a watermark date of 1913. The corresponding letterpress leaves are original.

Creators

Lewin, J.W. | (1770–1819) Australian | English | Male | artist

Last Updated

12 Nov 2024