'The Dwarf Mouse', viewed in profile, facing to the left of the image. Wood-engraving print on laid paper. Illustration featured in 'A General History of Quadrupeds' (first published 1790). Engraved by Thomas Bewick. Newcastle upon Tyne, England.

A mouse with two black lines running along its back, viewed in profile, facing to the left of the image.

This engraving featured in Thomas Bewick's first major independent publication, A General History of Quadrupeds, first printed and published in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1790. The publication contains illustrations of animals, alongside brief descriptions of their appearance, habits and habitats, accompanied by a number of illustrative vignettes, used mainly as tailpieces. This is possibly the second state of this design which first appeared in the second (1791) edition.

The text accompanying the illustration (in the publication) reads as follows:

'THE DWARF MOUSE
is a native of the Cape of Good Hope, where it was discovered, and first described, by Sparrman. - It is distinguished from every other species of the genus by four black lines along its back, from the head to the tail.
It is supposed to be the most diminutive quadruped in the world, being scarcely two inches in length. In the annexed representation it is drawn the natural size, and forms a striking contrast with those gigantic animals which inhabit that quarter of the world.'

Taken from: Beilby, Ralph and Bewick, Thomas. A General History of Quadrupeds. Newcastle upon Tyne. Third Edition, 1792.

Historical significance: Thomas Bewick was the first engraver to exploit fully the advantages of end-grain wood (the wood is cut across, rather than along, the grain). Once it had been proved that the technique could rival the fine effects of metal engraving, the advantages of wood engraving to the book trade were quickly recognised. Allowing both text and illustration to be printed in one operation, it ousted the intaglio process as the favourite for book illustration and was only superseded at the end of the nineteenth century when methods of photomechanical reproduction were developed.

Thomas Bewick's A General History of Quadrupeds was first published in 1790. This is possibly the second state of this design which first appeared in the second (1791) edition.

CIRC.576-1964