Gold Vented Thrush on a Branch, Antique Hand Colored Bird Print, 1896

An original wood engraved bird plate, colored by hand, captioned "GOLD-VENTED THRUSH." A single bird perches in left profile on a diagonal branch washed tan, gripping it with black legs and feet, the tail held straight out to the right. A broken stub, washed tan with a pale green top, rises behind the shoulders, and a thin forked twig projects to the left from the lower branch. The head is dark slate gray, the body smoky gray brown with darker wings and tail, and a yellow olive wash covers the lower belly and vent.

The caption "GOLD-VENTED THRUSH." is engraved in capitals below the picture, with a full stop. No plate number or engraver's credit appears on the plate. The yellow wash beneath the tail is the feature the old name refers to.

The plate comes from the fourth edition of A History of British Birds by the Reverend Francis Orpen Morris (1810 to 1893), rector of Nunburnholme in Yorkshire. This edition was issued in six volumes by John C. Nimmo, London, and the plate belongs to the third volume, whose title page is dated 1896 and states that the plates are colored by hand. The wood blocks for the plates of the work were engraved by Benjamin Fawcett (1808 to 1893) of Driffield in Yorkshire. Each plate combines an engraved black key block with a printed gray tint, finished by hand in watercolor.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed.