Variegated Warbler, 1803

A rare edition of Lewin’s illustrations

Art not Science

Lewin’s Birds of New South Wales is the first illustrated book published in the Colony. The etchings of the birds are hand coloured.

Natural history artist John William Lewin (1770–1819) came to the Colony in 1800 because he wanted to work on Australian natural history books on location rather than in a studio in England. In 1813, he published Birds of New South Wales. Only thirteen copies are extant.

Lewin was an artist rather than a scientist. His text is basic, almost naive. His strength was his ability to observe and depict his new environment, which he did not see as threatening or alienating: indeed, in 1812 he described the Colony as the finest country in the world! His beautifully observed and composed illustrations located their subjects in the clearly recognisable foliage of their own habitats.
Display item Variegated Warbler, 1803

 

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