Shaw & Nodder — V Rare Vellum Birds Suite of Three Plates, Naturalist's Miscellany, c.1791-1799

A curated suite of three original hand-coloured engravings on genuine vellum from George Shaw and Frederick Polydore Nodder's The Naturalist's Miscellany, published in London between approximately 1791 and 1799.

This is the rare deluxe vellum issue of the Naturalist's Miscellany. The original subscription notice invited "the nobility and gentry, who may wish to have the plates taken on vellum, are requested to signify their pleasure to Mr. Nodder." Very few subscribers chose this premium option, and surviving vellum impressions are essentially unobtainable on the modern market.

The three plates in this suite:

• Purple-Throated Flycatcher (1792) — A pinkish-grey passerine bird perched on a delicate branch
• Red-Shouldered Tanager (1793) — A black bird with vivid red shoulder and yellow wing accents
• Malimbic Bee-Eater (1799) — The black African bee-eater (Merops malimbicus) with crimson throat patch

All three plates retain their original hand colouring with the saturation that vellum permits. Accompanying descriptive text leaves on standard paper are included as was the convention for the deluxe vellum issue.

George Shaw (1751-1813) was Fellow of the Royal Society, co-founder of the Linnean Society, and zoologist of the British Museum. Frederick Polydore Nodder (1770-1801) was an English illustrator, engraver, painter, and publisher.

Format: Three engravings on vellum with separate text leaves, approximately 5.5 by 9 inches each
Date: c.1791-1799
Place of Publication: London (F. P. Nodder, 15 Brewer Street)
Condition: Good to excellent. Vellum causes natural rippling inherent to the medium.