Set of 25 Color Plates from "Illustrations of British Birds"

Very Good. Disbound. Set of 25 hand-colored stone lithographic plates from "Illustrations of British Birds" by Henry L. Meyer, published by Longman's & Co. From 1835 to 1841. Plates measure about 14 ½ x 10 ¼ inches. All are in very good condition. Each is mounted with tape to a cardstock board and topped with a cardstock frame and clear plastic cover. Most have minor toning and some have very mild soiling. A few have a slightly rough edge on one side where they were bound. Meyer's name followed by a date (1839-1841) appears on some of the plates. Henry L. Meyer (1797-1865) and his wife Mary Ann produced "Illustrations of British Birds" in 79 parts with over 300 hand-colored lithographic plates between 1835 and 1841. Meyer is an obscure figure with Mullens and Swann's "A Bibliography of British Ornithology…" noting that the authors were unable to find a published account of Meyer, instead using interviews with his daughter to inform their bibliography. Regardless, Mullens and Swann called the book, "One of our most valuable illustrated works on ornithology". Each plate includes the bird's common and scientific name as well as a couple facts about diet, size, and egg laying habits. Birds included in the set are as follows: Arctic Tern, Gull-Billed Tern, Black Tern, Pomarine Skua, Cinereous Petrel, Great Auk, Richardson's Skua, Sabine's Snipe, Black Noddy, Sanderling, Knot, Common Thick-Knee, Eider Duck, Caspian Tern, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Little Auk, Stricklands Petrel, Ortolan Bunting, Black Throated Diver, Surf Scoter, Sabine's Gull, Sclavonian Grebe, Hoopoe, Common Skua, and Cream Coloured Courser. .