Blue-Headed Bee Eater original antique engraving. George Shaw c1808

by Shaw, George

Wonderful antique print of a beautiful Bee Eater.

Original copperplate engraving by Edward Heath for Zoological Lectures at the Royal Institution, with plates from the first authorities and most select specimens by George Shaw, M.D.,F.R.S., &c..Printed in Fleet Street, London and published by George Kearsley c1808 (with later hand-colour).

George Shaw (1751-1813), qualified as a doctor in 1772, but changed careers in 1786 to become assistant lecturer in Botany at Oxford University. Co-founding the Linnaean Society in 1788, Shaw was made a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1789. Assistant Keeper of the Zoological Department at the British Museum from 1791 and Keeper from 1807, Shaw gave lectures at the Royal Institution and wrote books.

Page size 215mm x 130mm ( 8.5inches x 5inches).