Shaw & Nodder, On Vellum - Australian: Ground Parrot

Shaw & Nodder, On Vellum - Australian: Ground Parrot
This rare engraving printed on vellum is from George Shaw & Frederick Nodder's The Naturalist's Miscellany. The work was published in London between 1789 and 1813. The engraving features beautiful, original hand-coloring. The original descriptive text will be included when available.

This is an exceptionally rare presentation of the engraving on vellum. Vellum has a longer shelf life than paper (up to 5000 years) and was used for important documents, but was typically more costly to use. Subscribers were given a choice to have the plates printed to vellum as noted by USI's David L. Rice Library "the nobility and gentry, who may wish to have the plates taken on vellum .. are requested to signify their pleasure to Mr. Nodder." It's likely very few chose to print to vellum at the time given that this is the first we've seen in 30+ years in this business. The colors are more vibrant and did not soak into the paper as much and thus extra care was certainly taken to create these plates.

The Naturalist's Miscellany was a monumental 24-volume work, known for its wide range of birds, reptiles, insects, quadrupeds, sea life, and botanicals. These prints are highly sought after by collectors for their extremely decorative and whimsical nature. George Shaw authored the work, providing details for the over 1000 species described therein. Fredrick Nodder was the engraver for most of the work. After his death in 1800, however, his son took over the position. The work was published in London from 1789 to 1813.

George Shaw (1751-1813) was a doctor, Fellow of the Royal Society, co-founder of the Linnean Society, and a zoologist of the British Museum. He was also the first to publish a scientific description of the platypus which was done in his noted work with Frederick Nodder, The Naturalist’s Miscellany.

Frederick Nodder (1770-1801) was an English illustrator, engraver, painter, and publisher. He also contributed to Joseph Banks's Florilegium and Thomas Martyn's Flora Rustica. He illustrated quite a bit of Australian flora and fauna early on including converting some of Sydney Parkinson's sketches from the Endeavor expedition.


Paper Size: ~ 5 1/2" by 9"


Paper Type or Special Features: Originally Hand-colored Engraving on Vellum

The work is in good to excellent condition overall. The vellum causes natural rippling to the paper, inherent to the paper and printing process, and can be seen to varying degrees to plates from this work. There may be a few minor marks or imperfections to be expected with age. Please review the image carefully for condition and contact us with any questions.