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Framed and on the wall
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Wren with Cocked Tail on a Green Stem, Hand Colored Bird Print, Morris, 1896
$115 (£90, €105)
Period original, not a reproduction.
Shipped from the Netherlands, flat or rolled, insured and tracked, worldwide. Returns accepted within 14 days.
- Date
- 1896
- Technique
- Wood Engraving
- Coloring
- Hand colored
- Condition
- Good. Even age toning. Handling soiling along the bottom, left and top edges. Scattered light foxing in the margin. Slight wear at the bottom right and top left corners. Minor edge wear, shallow nicks along the right.
- Period
- Late 19th century
- Artist or book
- F. O. Morris
- Section
- Birds
- Reference
- BG-11586-53
What the condition grades mean
- Excellent
- Bright and clean, with no faults worth mentioning.
- Very good
- Only light signs of age, such as faint toning.
- Good
- Normal signs of age for a sheet of this period: toning, some foxing, small marks or neat old repairs.
- Fair
- Clear faults such as staining, tears or repairs, priced to match.
Every fault we see is written in the condition note, and the whole sheet is shown uncropped in the photos.
This is an original wood engraved bird plate, colored by hand, captioned "WREN." A single wren grips a slender green stem at the left, its body pitched forward and down with the bill pointing to the right and the short barred tail cocked sharply upward. The plumage is entirely in browns: the crown and back are warm brown, the wings and tail closely barred in darker brown, and a pale buff eyebrow runs above the eye. The throat and breast are a lighter buff brown, finely barred on the flanks. Toothed compound leaves spring from the stem above the tail and spread below the bird.
The engraved caption below the picture reads "WREN." with a full stop. There is no plate number above the picture and no engraver's credit on the sheet. The wren shown here is Troglodytes troglodytes, and the cocked tail is the attitude the species is known for.
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.
Condition: Even age toning. Handling soiling along the bottom, left and top edges. Scattered light foxing in the margin. Slight wear at the bottom right and top left corners. Minor edge wear, shallow nicks along the right.
This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed. Any framed or interior images are shown for presentation and inspiration only, unless the listing explicitly states that the item is sold framed.
