Missel Thrush or Mistle Thrush with a Berry, Morris Bird Print, 1896

An original wood engraved bird plate, colored by hand, captioned "MISSEL THRUSH." A single thrush perches on a diagonal green branch, the body angled toward the right and the head raised up and to the right, holding a small pinkish red berry at the tip of the bill. The crown and back are gray brown, the rump paler buff, the wings and tail darker brown. The underparts are creamy white, closely marked with dark arrowhead spots.

The caption "MISSEL THRUSH." is engraved in capitals below the picture, with a full stop. No plate number or engraver's credit appears on the plate. Missel Thrush is the older spelling of the Mistle Thrush, Turdus viscivorus.

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.