Whinchat on a Conifer Twig, Hand Colored Wood Engraving, Morris, 1896

An original wood engraved bird plate, colored by hand, captioned "WHINCHAT." A single bird perches on a curving conifer twig with tufts of fine needles, its orange breast toward the left and its head turned to the right in profile, while the tail hangs to the lower right. A broad white stripe runs over the eye above a black cheek patch, the throat and breast are orange buff, and the back and wings are brown with dark scalloping and a white wing patch. The tail is dark, with white at its base. The twig is washed green and curves down to the lower left.

The caption is engraved in spaced capitals below the picture: "WHINCHAT." There is no number or other lettering above the picture, and no engraver's credit within it. The Whinchat is Saxicola rubetra.

This 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, who wrote the text. The edition was issued in six volumes by John C. Nimmo of London, and this 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.