EDWARD LEAR'S BIRDS. [Introduction by Philip Hofer.]

UK,slim Folio HB+dwdj,1st edn. FINE/FINE. No owner inscrptn and no price-clip to dw/dj - absence of publisher's price.These are generally believed to be export editions, issued/distributed before the trade release in the country of its origin.Bright,crisp,clean,glossy,wrap-around white background with a colour pictorial artwork illustration by Edward Lear,of a pair of Culmenated Toucans illustrated front panel of dw/dj,with capitalised black-lettered title, black-lettered author name and introduction credit, spine/backstrip with similarly coloured+lettered title+ author name and publisher's name at foot of same,rear panel with a thumbnail coloured Runcible Bird illustration at its centre. Negligible shelf-wear,bumping,creasing to edges and corners - no major tears or splits present and any inevitable or age-acquired scoring/indents are minor, minimal and superficial without penetration to boards beneath.ath.Top+fore-edges bright and clean without foxing/spotting; contents bright,tight,clean,solid and sound - pristine - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corner tips,appears unread,other than my own collation.Publisher's bright,crisp,clean,sharp-cornered, original plain grey cloth boards with slight sunned strips along front+rear,top+lower edges and bright,crisp,blocked gilt lettered spine/backstrip,a white headband,and immaculate plain pale grey endpapers. UK,slim Folio HB+ dw/dj,1st edn,6-96pp [paginated] includes author's Acknowledgements,List of colour plates,an Introduction by Philip Hofer,Edward Lear's Birds section which includes b/w illus,sketches,single+double page colour illustrations of birds with accompanying text (20 colour + 50 b/w illus), a Chronology,a Bibliography,Picture Sources,and an Index; plus [unpaginated] half-title with blank verso,title page with b/w illustration by Lear with a dedication to its reverse,and Contents list/table with author's acknowledgements to its reverse,a Contents list/table with blank verso,and to the rear 4pp blanks. Visually the exterior appearance is exceptional,and even internally,the book is also in an exceptional condition/state of preservation and presentation for a book of its age. It really is an exceptional,exemplary copy for its cleanliness and brightness. Edward Lear is known throughout the world as the author of the best limericks and Nonsense rhymes in English literature.Yet the earliest years of his career were devoted to a quite different creative enterprise: a series of extraordinary bird paintings of a quality and style to rival the work of even the great John James Audubon.This new study by art historian Susan Hyman rperoduces the best of Lear's plates,each of which embodies the sense of movement,colour and design that led Sir Sacheverell Sitwell to call Lear 'perhaps the best of bird painters'. Toucans,parrots,eagles,ducks,owls: however exotic or familiar the subject,these magnificent portraits capture not just the characteristics of a species but the character of the individual bird. Lear's ornithological work was innovatory in several important ways.Unlike previous bird artists,he drew whenever possible from life - to the extent of sketching inside Regent's Park Zoo aviary where he attracted almost as much attention as the birds themselves. He also employed the relatively new medium of lithography which,by dispensing with the need for professional engravers,allowed him to retain complete artistic control over all stages of his work.To illustrate his methods,several of his preliminary sketches and colour notes are included,and they provide a fascinating insight into the way Lear was able to combine anatomical accuracy and subtlety of detail with the pose and expression of the living,moving bird. A complex,frequently unhappy man,Lear often caricatured himself as an owl,and found solace and delight in the company of birds until his death in 1888 at the age of seventy-five.By that time,most of his contemporaries had forgotten his youthful achievement,for he abandoned bird painting in his mid-twenties because of failing eyesight and a lack of financial success.Yet,as Susan Hyman shows,he continued to draw on his ornithological ability for his most enduringly popular creations,his Nonsense.Many of his illustrations to rhymes and limericks are reproduced here,together with portraits of Lear and several of his self-caricatures. This study is not intended to be a complete survey of Lear's life and work (although its extensive bibliography will be invaluable to general readers and art historians alike). it is,however,the first fully illustrated appreciation to relate this much neglected aspect of his genius to the talents that have made him known and loved throughout the world.As leading Lear scholar Philip Hofer says in his Introduction,'Edward Lear's Birds' will be 'the standard work on Lear as an ornithologist for a long time'. Please contact seller,because of the heavier weight of this item - nearly 1.5Kg unpackaged - extra shipping required - for correct shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page! ** N.B. All buyers please note,the stock's actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded,after the order's receipt and before the order's desptach,especialy if the item(s) are offered either P+p included/FREE. ** N.B. 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