Credit: © The Royal Society
Image number: RS.10006
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‘The Man of War Bird, the Chinese Fish, &c.’
Date
1758
Creator
George Edwards (1694 - 1773, British) , Ornithologist
Object type
Library reference
38029
Material
Technique
Dimensions
height (print): 288mm
width (print): 220mm
width (print): 220mm
Subject
Content object
Description
Zoological studies of the Frigate bird, possibly Fregata magnificens, the main figure represented perched on a rock by water with a Chinese carp or goldfish below and a specimen of red sea weed behind. Supplementary details of the bird’s head, foot and feathers are also given.
Plate 309 from chapter 99 of Gleanings of natural history, exhibiting figures of quadrupeds, birds, insects, plants, &c..., by George Edwards, volume 2 (London, for the author, 1760). The author describes the specimens within the text: “The Chinese fish I have kept alive twenty months in a bason of water: it is drawn from life, of its natural size...The Red sea-wrack, or Weed...was given to me by my much-esteemed friend, the late worthy and curious Mr. Arthur Pond F.R.S. who received it, with other Corallines, fro the Cape of Good Hope...The bird described in this plate was presented to me, well preserved dry, by my obliging friend Isaac Romilly, Esq; F.R.S. They are found only in warm countries ...”
The plate is inscribed: “The Man of War-bird and the Chinese Fish, &c all etched on the copper plate from life, by George Edwards, July the first, AD 1758.”
Plate 309 from chapter 99 of Gleanings of natural history, exhibiting figures of quadrupeds, birds, insects, plants, &c..., by George Edwards, volume 2 (London, for the author, 1760). The author describes the specimens within the text: “The Chinese fish I have kept alive twenty months in a bason of water: it is drawn from life, of its natural size...The Red sea-wrack, or Weed...was given to me by my much-esteemed friend, the late worthy and curious Mr. Arthur Pond F.R.S. who received it, with other Corallines, fro the Cape of Good Hope...The bird described in this plate was presented to me, well preserved dry, by my obliging friend Isaac Romilly, Esq; F.R.S. They are found only in warm countries ...”
The plate is inscribed: “The Man of War-bird and the Chinese Fish, &c all etched on the copper plate from life, by George Edwards, July the first, AD 1758.”