Naturalist’s Library. Birds of Great Britain & Ireland – Jardine – 1839 | 1st Ed., 32 Color Plates, Ornithology

The first edition of Ornithology. Vol. X. Birds of Great Britain and Ireland. Part II. Incessores. This work is the second part of the tenth ornithological volume in William Jardine’s famed natural history series, The Naturalist’s Library. Printed in Edinburgh by W.H. Lizars, this 1839 edition covers insect-eating songbirds found across the British Isles. The book includes 32 hand-colored illustrations, with species like the chimney swallow, blue titmouse, waxwing chatterer, rose-colored pastor, and green woodpecker. The plates were engraved and hand-colored by the Lizars workshop in Edinburgh, known for producing high-quality illustrated books. Each bird entry is paired with a matching plate and short natural history notes, designed for readers who wanted to learn about native wildlife.

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Naturalist’s Library. Ornithology. Vol. X. Birds of Great Britain and Ireland. Part II. Incessores. Illustrated by Thirty-Two Plates, with Memoir and Portrait of William Smellie.
• Author: William Jardine
• Publisher: Edinburgh: W.H. Lizars; London: S. Highley; Dublin: W. Curry.
• Edition: First Edition, 1839.
• Format: Octavo, single volume
• Binding: Brown cloth
• Size: ~ 7.25 in x 4.5 in (18 cm x 12 cm)
• Collation: xii, 17-409 pp
  • Note: Engraved title page erroneously reads “Vol. XI” instead of “Vol. X”.
• Illustrations: 32 colored plates, including the portrait frontispiece and engraved title page
• Contents Include:
  • Bird profiles such as chimney swallow, rose-colored pastor, green woodpecker, blue titmouse, waxwing chatterer, bullfinch, and wren
  • Observations on behavior and habitat

• Reference(s): Freeman 1844

Condition:

Very Good. Binding in original brown cloth, slightly faded with minor shelfwear. Gilt-lettered spine modestly dulled. Hinges secure, text block tight. Mild foxing to prelims, otherwise internally clean. Complete with all 32 hand-colored plates and portrait, showing minimal signs of foxing and the color is strong.

Why Collect This?

• Original 1839 printing from Jardine’s widely collected ornithology series
• Features complete set of 32 hand-colored ornithological plates
• First edition in the original Lizars publication series
• Misnumbered title page indicates early issue point
• Highly respected Victorian-era natural history printing
• Suitable for collectors of early British field guides and 19th-century bird books
• Appeals to collectors of 19th-century zoological illustration