THOMAS BEWICK. 



239 



transposing the position of the last two vignettes, the matter is compressed, 

 and another page gained, there being thus a difference of two pages in the 

 volumes, the 1824 being the smaller. 



Of the Birds the fifth edition was published in 1821, containing the same 

 engravings as the fourth (18 16) edition. It was published in demy 8vo, 

 £1 us. ; royal 8vo,^"2 2s. ; and in imperial 8vo, with the Supplement, £3 3s. 



The Supplement was published separately, and in the above three sizes, at 

 6s., 8s., and 12s. The Land Birds Supplement contains in its 50 pages 21 

 figures of birds and 22 vignettes; the Water Birds 49 pages, with 21 figures 

 and 18 vignettes. Several of the prints are fine, but many fall short of those 

 in the first edition ; the backgrounds are more mannered, and in several 

 cases are sadly lacking in texture, while occasionally the bird seems uncon- 

 nected with the remainder of the design. The finest are, among the Land 

 Birds, the Rough-Legged Falcon, Snowy Owl, Mountain Linnet, Lesser 

 Field Lark, Spotted Flycatcher, Pratincole, Grey Plover; and among the 

 Water Birds, the Little Bittern, Godwit, Pigmy Sandpiper, Young Kitti- 

 wake, Cravat Goose. The vignettes in both parts are mostly feeble, the best 

 being the Water Spaniels ; and there is another version of "Waiting for 

 Death." The fourteen foreign birds which appeared first in the 1800 

 volume of engravings of Birds are also introduced. 



The sixth edition of both volumes of the Birds was published in 1826, in 

 demy, royal, and imperial octavo. All the figures in the 182 1 Supple- 

 ment are incorporated, the British birds being inserted at their proper places 

 throughout the book, thus greatly altering the appearance of the work. 

 Besides these, there are thirteen new figures of birds added to the first 

 volume, and twelve to the second. The Cirl Bunting and the Snow Bunting 

 are the finest of these additions in the first volume ; but the Black Wood- 

 pecker, the Bee Eater, the Carrion Crow, and the Ash-coloured Falcon are 

 not good. In the second volume the Forked-tailed Petrel and the Red 

 Phalarope are poor, while the Little White Heron is a carefully finished print. 



