A history of
the birds of Europe including all the species inhabiting the Western
Palaearctic region, by Henry E. Dresser. Volume 3. London: Published by the
author; 1871-1887.
Due to popular demand, more
remarkable plates from this work will be on display throughout the year!
Balfour Library shelf mark: qKZ.4 (1)
The book is open at: Plate 144, Oriolus galbula (Golden oriole). This plate is a hand coloured
lithograph produced by J. G. Keulemans, a renowned ornithological illustrator,
and depicts a male and a female oriole perching on a branch. The yellow
feathers of the male are particularly striking, and the detail in the fine hand
colouring, especially on the breast of the female, is also very impressive. As
always with Keulemans’ lithographs, the treatment of the eyes of the birds
really brings them to life on the page.
Henry Eeles Dresser (1838-1915) was born in Thirsk. After
his schooling in Bromley, Kent and at a German school near Hamburg he entered
his father’s timber-merchant business and travelled extensively in northern
Europe from 1834 to 1862. From his time at school in Germany he began to
systematically collect the eggs and bird skins of Palaearctic birds. He
deposited some 12,000 items at the Manchester Museum from 1899 onwards.
Dresser left England with a cargo for Texas in 1863 and
spent over a year collecting there. Shortly after his return to England he
published his first scientific paper, Notes
on the birds of southern Texas, in Ibis
in 1865. He continued to contribute to Ibis
from then until 1909; and also joined the British Ornithologist’s Union in the
same year. He was also a member and fellow of the Linnean Society and
Zoological Society of London, and was an honorary fellow of the American Ornithologist’s
Union. He was an authority on the birds of Europe and the author of several
important works, including A history of the birds of Europe. Eight quarto volumes of this were published
between 1871 and 1881, which were illustrated with 633 hand coloured plates,
mainly prepared from drawings by Joseph Wolf, J. G. Keulemans and E. Neale.
After returning from Texas,
Dresser started work in the iron trade in London but continued to travel
extensively throughout the whole of his life.
John Gerrard
Keulemans (1842-1912) provided the plate on display here. He was a Dutch bird
illustrator who worked in London from 1868 and regularly provided illustrations
for Ibis and The Proceedings of the Zoological Society, and many important bird
books such as A history of the birds of
Europe. His illustrations were produced through traditional lithography [a
method for printing using a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate
with a completely smooth surface], allowing for a finished product that depicts
a vivid, life-like figure through depth and tone.
Professor
Alfred Newton subscribed to A History of
the Birds of Europe as it was published in its parts. He has made a note
inside the first volume of the number of subscribers (374), the top three of
whom are “His Majesty the King of Italy, H.R.H. The Duke of Edinburgh K.G., H.
H. Duleep Singh, Elveden Hall, Thetford”, in that order. Interestingly, the
Newton family lived on the Elveden Estate on the Norfolk-Suffolk border until
Newton’s father died in 1863.
According to
the RSPB the elusive Golden oriole mainly arrives in May and stays until
August. The best place to find them is at Lakenheath Fen; try finding them by
listening for their call in May to July.
Sources:
RSPB http://www.rspb.org.uk/
