The Sketchbook Of 1792-1799: Edited With An Introduction & Commentary By Nigel Tattersfield Bewick, Thomas

Limited edition facsimile of 200 copies only signed by the Editor. Oblong quarto, pp. 173. Illustrated throughout including frontispiece portrait in colour of Bewick from a watercolour on ivory by D. B. Murphy, and colour facsimile of the complete sketchbook page-by-page including covers (over 40 sketchbook images, plus an additional four illustrations to commentary, and a map). Cloth spine over thread-sewn marbled paper-covered boards. Gilt titles to spine. With Publishers' prospectus laid-in. A facsimile of the only sketchbook used by wood engraver Thomas Bewick (1753-1828), with detailed notes by Nigel Tattersfield, the leading authority on Bewick and his work. Bewick is known for making his sketches on scraps of paper, so this is a remarkable survival of his work in progress; subject matter includes detailed sketches of farm animals, birds and buildings together with notes on his travel and expenses. Some of the forty illustrations are thumbnail preparatory sketched for Bewick's The History of British Birds and the animal sketches for "agricultural gentlemen" were eventually used for the 1800 Fourth Edition of Quadrupeds.