William. British Fresh-Water Fishes.

by HOUGHTON

£2,000 · Offered by Henry Sotheran Ltd

A classic of xylographic illustration HOUGHTON, William. British Fresh-Water Fishes. London: William MacKenzie. [1879]. Two vols, folio. Original brick-red cloth, blocked in gilt and black with piscatorial emblems, top edges gilt; pp. I: xvi, 92; II: [5], 94-204; with 41 fine xylographed plates of fishes by A.F. Lydon after Benjamin Fawcett, coloured from woodblocks and finished by hand, text illustrations; a little scuffing to rear board of vol 1, very good. First edition. This work features beautiful plates produced through a process known as xylography. This process was the particular speciality of A.F. Lydon who went on to illustrate William Greene's Parrots in Captivity and David Wooster's Alpine Plants , amongst others. This work could not have been more generously produced, with its lavish backgrounds to the river banks, and the substantial and detailed illustrations. Westwood Satchell (supplement) p. 11; Nissen ZBI 2009. SKU: 2120494

• Binding: Hardcover

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