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Short-Tailed Field-Mouse

Wood-Engraving Print
1824 (printed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

'Short-Tailed Field-Mouse'. Mouse viewed in profile, facing to the right of the image, with some grasses visible behind it.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleShort-Tailed Field-Mouse
Materials and techniques
Wood-engraving print on paper
Brief description
'Short-Tailed Field-Mouse'. Mouse viewed in profile, facing to the right of the image. Wood-engraving print on paper. Illustration from the eighth edition (1824) of 'A General History of Quadrupeds' (first published 1790). Engraved by Thomas Bewick. Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
Physical description
'Short-Tailed Field-Mouse'. Mouse viewed in profile, facing to the right of the image, with some grasses visible behind it.
Dimensions
  • Of sheet (approx) height: 8.5cm
  • Of sheet (approx) width: 13.2cm
Measured by DH 03/09/2010 NB: Edges of sheet are slightly irregular.
Object history
This engraving is from the eighth edition (1824) of Thomas Bewick's first major independent publication, A General History of Quadrupeds, that was first printed and published in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1790. The volume contains illustrations of animals, alongside brief descriptions of their appearance, habits and habitats, accompanied by a number of illustrative vignettes, used mainly as tailpieces.

Historical significance: The first engraver to exploit fully the advantages of end-grain wood (the wood is cut across, rather than along, the grain) was Thomas Bewick. 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to be printed in one operation, it ousted the intaglio process as the favourite for book illustration and was only superseded at the end of the nineteenth century when methods of photomechanical reproduction were developed.
Production
This print is from the eighth edition (1824) of Thomas Bewick's A General History of Quadrupeds, that was first published in 1790.
Subject depicted
Literary referenceBeilby, Ralph and Bewick, Thomas. <u>A General History of Quadrupeds</u> (8th Edition). Newcastle upon Tyne. 1824.
Associated object
Bibliographic reference
Taken from Departmental Circulation Register 1965
Other number
C.8986 - Previous number
Collection
Accession number
CIRC.543-1965

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Record createdJuly 1, 2009
Record URL
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