Illustrations of the Family of the Psittacidae, or Parrots

Illustrations of the Family of the Psittacidae, or Parrots contains 42 lithographs with original hand painted colour by Edward Lear.

Lear started painting parrots in 1830 when he was 18 years old, and by 1832 he had published 42 paintings of parrots as lithographic plates bound together as a book. A total of 175 books were made of which about 100 survive today. He painted live parrots at the London Zoo and some in private collections. The quality of his paintings of parrots established his reputation as one of the best natural history artists of his time.