The bustard drawing I’m sharing with you today comes from the 8th edition of a work by John Lawrence (1753-1839) that was published in 1842. The book, A practical treatise on breeding, rearing, and fattening all kinds of domestic poultry, pheasants, pigeons, and rabbits : also, the management of swine, milch cows, and bees, with instructions for the private brewery on cider, perry, and British wine making is full of wonderful bird and animal illustrations. Lawrence did not identify an illustrator or engraver.
This bustard drawing appears to have been an engraving. I’ve taken the liberty of cleaning up the image for you by removing the bleed-through of the page printed on the back-side and the foxing and other signs that the book it came form is over 160 years old. The bustard is the largest land bird in Europe. The males, of the species drawn here, can weigh 25 to 27 pounds and the females are generally half their size. They were hunted to almost extinction in the 1800s in England. And the great bustard remains on the endangered species list as vulnerable.
These long-legged birds live primarily on their ground. They make their nests on the ground which makes both them and their eggs vulnerable to predators. No danger to them here on Reusable Art. We simply enjoy wonderful bird illustrations like this one and celebrate them by sharing them with new generations of art lovers.
This image is copyright free and in the public domain anywhere that extends copyrights 70 years after death or at least 120 years after publication when the original illustrator is unknown.
