Thomas Pennant

A finely bound copy Zoologia Britannica.

• Thomas Pennant (English).
• Etched by P. Mazell after P. Paillou and others.
• Zoologia Britannica tabvlis aeneis CXXXII illvstrata.
• Augsburg: Johan Jacob Haid und Sohn, 1771.
• Large folio.
• 132 hand-colored etched plates (11 of mammals, 121 of birds).
• Title and text in Latin and German.
• Uncut in contemporary calf-backed marbled boards.

The first colored illustrations of birds in a book which attempted to list and portray all of the British species, many of them life-size. The birds are divided into land birds and water birds, and under each species some synonyms and references to the literature are given, to which are added a brief description and remarks on the habit of the bird. The English edition was published 1761-1766.