An interesting and unusual mid 18th century map of the British Isles and Western Europe which was etched by George Edwards published in his A Natural History of Uncommon Birds  (London:1746).

The map is distinct for its depiction of a large broken-off beak of a bird at the top; two finely drawn stag beetles in the centre; and a bird perched on a tree branch in the bottom right. Edwards explains in the accompanying text that the beak is that of an Egyptian Ibis; the beetles, male and female, are from Borneo, and are of natural size, whilst the perched bird is the Least Humming Bird from Jamaica. The bird’s natural size is only 1½ inches / 4 centimetres from beak to tail and weighs a mere 0.7 ounces / 20 grams. The egg, as shown, is life size and is only ¼inch / 6 millimetres long.

George Edward (1694 – 1773) A gifted amateur scientist and ornithologist, Edwards became library keeper of the Royal College of Physicians. He was also both a Fellow of the Royal Society and a Fellowof the Society of Antiquaries. His four-volume work A Natural History of Uncommon Birds, published between 1743 and 1751, contains over 200 outstanding plates of birds, alletched by Edwards based on his original drawings. The plates are often delicately coloured by hand. A successor publication, Gleanings of Natural History, was published between 1758 and 1764.

Source: Printed Maps of the British Isles 1650 – 1750 by Rodney W. Shirley; Map Collector Society / The British Library (1988), page 55.

• This is an original etching with original hand colour
• The approximate size of the printed area is 21cms by 25.9cms
• The map is in very good condition. The left margin is close, as issued. Click on image for a better view.
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• Guaranteed to be over 270 years old.