Birds have always fascinated humans for their mastery of the sky. This blog presents a flock of feathered creatures who have come to roost on the shelves of College Library since the 19th century.
Domestic Duck
Thomas Bewick, A history of British birds, vol. II, containing the history and description of water birds, Newcastle: Edward Walker for T. Bewick, 1804
Thomas Bewick’s technical innovations to the woodcut process in the late 18th/early 19th century helped to revive printmaking as a creative rather than merely reproductive medium. His work has lasting appeal, especially for his delicate representations of animals and birds, such as this domestic duck in the first edition of the second volume, but also for the charm of the decorative tail-pieces.
European Goldfinch
Thomas Bewick, A history of British birds, vol. I, containing the history and description of land birds, Newcastle: T. Bewick, 1826
In addition to hand-colouring many of the birds, a previous owner of this copy of a later edition of Bewick has also painted in depictions of their eggs, for example this European Goldfinch. Once uncommon in towns, goldfinches are now some of the most common visitors to bird feeders.
Seagull
Llewelyn Powys, Glory of life, London: Golden Cockerel Press, 1934
Powys has been described as ‘a philosophical poet relating the pleasures of his senses in the purest prose of his time.’ This epicurean essay celebrating life in all its forms is strikingly illustrated with woodcuts by Robert Gibbings inspired by the animal kingdom, including the unforgettable seagull.
[Image reproduced by kind permission of the Estate of Robert Gibbings and the Heather Chalcroft Literary Agency]
Albatross
Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The rime of the ancient mariner, [Birmingham]: City of Birmingham School of Printing, 1940
‘“God save thee, ancient Mariner!
From the fiends, that plague thee thus!—
Why look’st thou so?”—With my cross-bow
I shot the ALBATROSS.’
Coleridge’s longest major poem features one of the best-known birds in English literature. A sailor describes how he was cursed for superstitiously shooting an albatross while becalmed at sea, and redeemed in telling his tale. This copy is in a striking designer binding by Kathleen G. Stubbs, featuring a stylised albatross in white leather on a green goatskin background with abstract waves.
Common Blackbird
R.S. Thomas, A blackbird singing, Newton, Powys: Gwasg Gregynog, 1989
Birdsong is one of the most evocative signs of spring and early summer. This poem by the modern Welsh poet R.S. Thomas, first published in 1958, contrasts the richness of the Eurasian Blackbird song with its sombre plumage. The facing image is an intricate wood engraving by Christopher Wormell, published as one of the ‘Gregynog Poets’ series of twelve illustrated pamphlet poems.
[R.S. Thomas poem © Elodie Thomas; image reproduced by kind permission of Chris Wormell]
Grey Heron
A selection of poems on the theme of water, Oldham: Incline Press, 2008
Produced as the text block for a competition of designer bookbinders, this collection includes poems in different languages illustrated by original prints created in respond to the chosen theme of water, including this multi-coloured woodcut by Rigby Graham featuring a heron in Aylestone Meadows.
[Image reproduced by kind permission of Goldmarkart]
Common Cuckoo
Colin See-Paynton, Of a feather: avian collective nouns & terms of assembly, group names & associated terms, Newton, Powys: Gwasg Gregynog, 2008
Sumer is icumen in
Lhud sing cuccu
Summer has arrived,
Loudly sings the cuckoo
The author and illustrator of this modern private press book is one of the finest wood-engravers working today. The text and images draw on his lifelong interest in nature and the poetry of the words used to describe. The collective term for the cuckoo illustrated here, ‘An Abandonment of Cuckoos’, refers to its practice of laying eggs in other birds’ nests. The bird’s distinctive call has a long cultural resonance as a sign of spring.
[Image reproduced by kind permission of Colin See-Paynton]
Tawny Owl
Jonathan Franklin, Two owls at Eton, London: Putnam, 1960; new revised edition, London: Metro, 2016
The story of an Eton boy who smuggled two orphaned tawny owls chicks into the school and raised them there with his house master’s permission. The birds, known throughout the school as ‘Dum’ and ‘Dee’, trashed his room and ruled his daily life, but were successfully reintroduced into the wild. The charming line illustrations are by an Eton friend of the author’s.
Stephie Coane, Deputy Librarian
