A COLLECTION OF THREE VOLUMES ON DUCKS

i. Eyton, T.C. A monograph of the anatidae, or duck tribe. London: Longman and others and Shrewsbury: Eddowes, 1838, FIRST EDITION, 4to (300 x 230mm.), 18 lithographed anatomical plates, 6 hand-coloured lithographed plates of ducks AFTER EDWARD LEAR, original cloth, [Anker 139; Nissen IVB 307], rebacked retaining original spine  ii. Jardine, William. Illustrations of the duck tribe. Jardine Hall, Lockerby, Dumfries: privately printed at the expense of the author, [c.1839], FIRST EDITION, 4to (300 x 238mm.), 9 engraved plates after P.J. Selby (4), W. Jardine (1), and Edward Lear (3), unbound, preserved in a collector’s green half morocco clamshell case, [Nissen IVB 470; Zimmer, p.329], final plate final plate mounted with slight wear iii. “Monograph of the anatidae”, a volume so titled on spine containing plates and original drawings of ducks including TWO BY EDWARD LEAR (see note), 4to (310 x 233mm.), contemporary half calf

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
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The third item is a fascinating collection of illustrations of the duck family, containing 98 original watercolours by Edward Lear (2, including the original for plate 24 from Eyton’s Duck tribe), Eliza Harriet Slaney (3), H. Smith (15, generally dated 1838, including one which would appear to be the model for Swainson’s illustration of the Baikal teal in Gray’s later Fasciculus of the birds of China); the remainder may be supposed to include examples by Eyton himself, including one of the tree duck that bears his name. Also included are 55 plates, mostly coloured, from works by Buffon, Seligmann, Oudart and others.