Stock Dove Perched on a Forked Bough, Antique Bird Print, Morris, 1896

This is an original wood engraved bird plate, colored by hand, captioned "STOCK DOVE." A pigeon perches in profile facing right on a pale, rough barked bough tinted green, with the body held level and the head raised. A bare, forked twig rises from the bough behind the bird. The plumage is blue gray throughout, with darker patches on the wing and a dark tip to the tail. The throat and breast are a warm pinkish fawn, and the side of the neck shows iridescent green and rose. The bill is yellow with a red base and the visible foot coral red.

The engraved caption below the picture reads "STOCK DOVE." with a full stop. There is no plate number above the picture and no engraver's credit on the sheet. The stock dove is Columba oenas.

A History of British Birds was written by the Reverend Francis Orpen Morris (1810 to 1893), rector of Nunburnholme in Yorkshire. The wood blocks for the plates of the work were engraved by Benjamin Fawcett (1808 to 1893) of Driffield in Yorkshire. This fourth edition was issued in six volumes by John C. Nimmo, London, and this plate comes from the third volume, whose title page is dated 1896 and states that the plates are colored by hand. 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.