June Online Antique & Art Auction
An original hand-colored copperplate engraving on heavy wove paper by English artist Prideaux John Selby (1788-1867) titled "Scaup Pochard, Female" (Plate LXVI, 66), c. 1880. Engraved by Scottish artist William Home Lizars (1788-1859). Comes from Selby’s "Illustrations of British Ornithology, Vol. 2 Water Birds" portfolio, originally published in Edinburgh, Scotland, 1821-1834 on J. Whatman paper. Our example here is a later edition from the original plate, c. 1880. Provenance: private collection – Saint Charles Avenue, New Orleans, LA. Sheet size: 22" x 28". Image size/platemark: 15.75" x 22". Toning to paper, light water staining in margins, and some minor edge wear including one small tear left margin associated with age. In otherwise generally good condition with strong colors. Will be a handsome piece once framed.The common pochard (Aythya ferina) is a medium-sized diving duck. The scientific name is derived from Greek Lithuania an unidentified seabird mentioned by authors including Hesychius and Aristotle, and Latin ferina, "wild game", from ferus, "wild".Prideaux John Selby FRSE FLS (23 July 1788 – 27 March 1867) was an English ornithologist, botanist, and natural history artist. Selby was born in Bondgate Street in Alnwick in Northumberland, the eldest son of George Selby of Beal and Twizell (d.1804), and his wife, Margaret Cook. He was educated at Durham School. He studied at University College, Oxford. He succeeded in 1804 to the family estates at Beal and added to the landholdings there at a cost of some £14000 in about 1840. In 1810 he married Lewis Tabitha Mitford (1782-1859) daughter of Bertram Osbaldeston Mitford (1748-1800) of Dennet’s Hall in Leicester. They had three daughters. He sold the Beal estate amounting to 1,450 acres (590 ha) in 1850 for £47000 (£5,063,000 at today’s prices). He died at Twizell House and was buried in Bamburgh churchyard.Selby is best known for his "Illustrations of British Ornithology" (1821–1834), the first set of life-sized illustrations of British birds. He also wrote Illustrations of Ornithology with William Jardine and A History of British Forest trees (1842). Many of the illustrations in his works were drawn from specimens in his collection. In addition to the above works, he contributed to Jardine’s Naturalist’s Library the volumes on the pigeons (1835) and the parrots (1836), the latter illustrated by Edward Lear. He was for some time one of the editors of the Magazine of Zoology and Botany. His collections were sold in 1885 and became dispersed. The South African birds collected by Andrew Smith went to the Zoology Museum of the University of Cambridge. The standard author abbreviation P.Selby is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name.William Home Lizars (1788-March 30th, 1859) was a Scottish painter and engraver. Please check out Lot #’s 0482 & 0483 The Callcott and the Shayer original art, These are important original antique paintings .
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