Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 18.djvu/23

 OKNITHOLOGY 13 been issued, with text by some unnamed author, the scheme was brought within practicable limits, and the writing of the letterpress was entrusted to VIETLLOT, who, proceeding on a systematic plan, performed his task very creditably, completing the Avork, which forms two quarto volumes, in 1825, the original text and fifty-seven plates being relegated to the end of the second volume as a supple ment. His portion is illustrated by two hundred and ninety-nine coloured plates that, wretched as they are, have been continually reproduced in various text-books a fact possibly due to their subjects having been judiciously selected. It is a tradition that, this work not being favour ably regarded by the authorities of the Paris Museum, its draughtsman and author were refused closer access to the specimens required, and had to draw and describe them through the glass as they stood on the shelves of the cases. In 1825 JARDINE and SELBY began a scries of Illustra- tions of Ornithology, the several parts of which appeared at long and irregular intervals, so that it was not until 1839 that three volumes containing one hundred and fifty plates were completed. Then they set about a Second Series, which, forming a single volume with fifty- three plates, was finished in 1843. These authors, being zealous amateur artists, were their own draughtsmen to the extent even of lithographing the figures. In 1828 JAMES WILSON (author of the article ORNITHOLOGY in the 7th and 8th editions of the present work) began, under the title of Illus trations of Zoology, the publication of a series of his own drawings (which he did not, however, himself engrave) with corresponding letterpress. Of the thirty- six plates illustrating this volume, a small folio, twenty are devoted to Ornithology, and contain figures, which, it must be allowed, are not very successful, of several species rare at the time. Though the three works last mentioned fairly come under the same category as the Planches Enluminees and the Planches Coloriees, no one of them can be properly deemed their rightful heirs. The claim to that succession was made in 1845 by DES MURS for his Iconographie Ornithologique, which, containing seventy-two plates by Pre vot and Oudart a (the latter of whom had marvellously improved in his drawings since he worked with Vieillot), was completed in 1849. Simultaneously with this Du Bus began a work on a plan precisely similar, the Esquisses OrnitJioloyiques, illustrated by Severeyns, which, however, stopped short in 1849 with its thirty-seventh plate, while the letterpress unfortunately does not go beyond that belonging to the twentieth. In 1866 the succession was again taken up by the Exotic Ornithology of Messrs SCLATER and SALVIN, containing one hundred plates, representing one hundred and four species, all from Central or South America, which are neatly executed by Mr Smit. The accompanying letterpress is in some places copious, and useful lists of the species of various genera are occasionally subjoined, adding to the definite value of the work, which, forming one volume, was completed in 1869. Lastly here must be mentioned ROWLEY S Ornithological Miscellany in three quarto volumes, profusely illustrated, which appeared between 1875 and 1878. The contents are as varied as the authorship, and, most of the leading English ornithologists having contributed to the work, some of the papers are extremely good, while in the plates, which are in Mr Keulemans s best manner, many rare species of Birds are figured, some of them for the first time. All the works lately named have been purposely treated at some length, since being very costly they are not easily accessible. The few next to be mentioned, being of smaller size (octavo), may be within reach of more persons, and 1 On the title page credit is given to the latter alone, but only to- thirds of the plates (from pi, 25 to the end) bear his name. therefore can be passed over in a briefer fashion without detriment. In many ways, however, they are nearly as important. SWAINSON S Zoological Illustrations in three Sw;dnson. volumes, containing one hundred and eighty-two plates, whereof seventy represent Birds, appeared between 1820 and 1821, and in 1829 a Second Series of the same was begun by him, which, extending to another three volumes, contained forty-eight more plates of Birds out of one hundred and thirty six, and was completed in 1833. All the figures were drawn by the author, who as an ornitho logical artist had no rival in his time. Every plate is not beyond criticism, but his worst drawings shew more know ledge of bird-life than do the best of his English or French contemporaries. A work of somewhat similar character, but one in which the letterpress is of greater value, is the Centime Zooloyi jue of LESSON, a single volume that, Lesson, though bearing the date 1830 on its title page, is believed to have been begun in 1829, 2 and was certainly not finished until 1831. It received the benefit of Isidore Geoffroy St-Hilaire s assistance. Notwithstanding its name it only contains eighty plates, but of them forty-two, all by Pretre and in his usual stiff style, represent Birds. Concurrently with this volume appeared Lesson s Traite d Ornitholoyie, which is dated 1831, and may perhaps be here most conveniently mentioned. Its professedly system atic form strictly relegates it to another group of works, but the presence of an &quot; Atlas &quot; (also in octavo) of one hundred and nineteen plates to some extent justifies its notice in this place. Between 1831 and 1834 the same author brought out, in continuation of his Centime, his Illustrations de Zooloyie with sixty plates, twenty of which represent Birds. In 1832 KITTLITZ began to publish some Kupfertafeln zur Kittlitz. Naturyeschichte der Voyel, in which many new species are figured ; but the work carne to an end with its thirty-sixth plate in the following year. In 1845 REICHENBACH com- Reichen- menced with his Praktische Naturyeschichte der Vijyel the kach. extraordinary series of illustrated publications which, under titles far too numerous here to repeat, ended in or about 1855, and are commonly known collectively as his Voll- stdndiyste Naturyeschichte der Vogel? Herein are contained more than nine hundred coloured and more than one hundred uncoloured plates, which are crowded with the figures of Birds, a large proportion of them reduced copies from other works, and especially those of Gould. It now behoves us to turn to general and particularly systematic works in which plates, if they exist at all, form but an accessory to the text. These need not detain us for long, since, however well some of them may have been executed, regard being had to their epoch, and whatever repute some of them may have achieved, they are, so far as general information and especially classification is concerned, wholly obsolete, and most of them almost useless except as matters of antiquarian interest. It will be enough merely to name DUMERIL S Zooloyie Analytique(l806) and GRAVENHORST S Veryleich- ende Uebersicht des linneischen und einiyer neuern zooloyischen Systeme (1807); nor need we linger over SHAW S General shaw and Zoology, a pretentious compilation continued by STEPHENS. Stephens. The last seven of its fourteen volumes include the Class Aves, and the first part of them appeared in 1809, but, the original author dying in 1815, when only two volumes of Birds were published, the remainder was brought to an end in 1826 by his successor, who afterwards became well known as an entomologist. The engravings which these volumes contain are mostly bad copies, often of bad figures, In 1828 he had brought out, under the title of Manuel d Orni- thologie, two handy duodecimos which are very good of their kind. 3 Technically speaking they are in quarto, but their size is so small that they may be well spoken of here. In 1870 Dr A. B. Meyer brought out an Index to them.