Phalangista Cookii. Australian Ring-tailed Possum antique print c1841

by Lizars, William Home

Ringtail opossum, marsupial or 'pouched' mammal. Lizars engraving.

Fine original hand-coloured engraving by Willliam Home Lizars for The Naturalist's Library, Mammalia, Marsupialia or Pouched Animals by George Waterhouse (1789-1856). Published in Edinburgh in 1841 - also by W.H. Lizars - for Sir William Jardine. Between 1833 and 1843 Lizars engraved between 30 and 40 small portraits of different species of 40 familiies of fauna from the drawings of eminent naturalists in each field.

William Home Lizars (1788-1859) studied at the Trustees’ Academy from 1804 to 1808, and exhibited portraits and genre at the Edinburgh Academy until his father, Daniel Lizars died. William then assumed responsibility for his father’s Edinburgh printing and publishing business, which he considerably expanded. William’s engraving skill was recognized by John James Audubon for whom he was doing large bird engravings when Sir William Jardine commissioned him to engrave and publish 40 small books for The Naturalist's Library. Lizars was elected an Associate Engraver of the Royal Scottish Academy in 1827.

Page size 105 x 170mm (4 1/8 x 6 5/8 inches)