Discounted Australian Pygmy Possum, Petaurus pygmaeus. Lizars engraving c1841

by Lizars, William Home

Nocturnal Wrist-winged Glider, Flying Sugar Glider antique print of small Australian marsupial.

Original fine hand-coloured steel engraving c1841 by William Home Lizars (1788-1859) for Marsupialia or Pouched Animals by George Waterhouse (1789-1856) for Mammalia in Sir William Jardine's The Naturalist's Library series of fauna engraved and published by W.H. Lizars. Between 1833 and 1843 Lizars engraved, published and supervised the individual hand-colouring of between 30 and 40 small portraits of different species of 40 families of wildlife.

William studied at the Trustees’ Academy, and then exhibited portraits and genre at the Edinburgh Academy. When his father, Daniel Lizars died, William assumed responsibility, and considerablly expanded, his father’s Edinburgh printing and publishing business. Lizars was elected an Associate Engraver of the Royal Scottish Academy in 1827, and was producing very large bird engravings for John James Audubon's The Birds of America  - until Sir William Jardine commissioned him to produce The Naturalist's Library.

Page size 105 x 170mm (4 1/8 x 6 5/8 inches). This gorgeous engraving has slight damage at centre top, tiny tear at centre right and lower right corner missing - none of which should show once framed.