William Lewin
The Birds of Great Britain, with their eggs, accurately figured. London: for the author, sold by Leigh and Sotheby, 1789-1794. 7 volumes, large 4° (335 x 258mm). 322 Original body-colour paintings by Lewin, occasionally heightened with gum-arabic, 270 of
Found at
Christies,
London
Natural History, Lot 141
8. Nov - 8. Nov 2000
Natural History, Lot 141
8. Nov - 8. Nov 2000
Estimate: XX.XXX
Price realised: XX.XXX
Price realised: XX.XXX
Description
William Lewin (1747-1795)
The Birds of Great Britain, with their eggs, accurately figured. London: for the author, sold by Leigh and Sotheby, 1789-1794. 7 volumes, large 4° (335 x 258mm). 322 Original body-colour paintings by Lewin, occasionally heightened with gum-arabic, 270 of birds, 52 of their eggs. (23 plates in vol. I with stamps erased from lower margins, light soiling to plate number 73, slight discolouration to plates 123, 125, 202, slight offsetting of text onto plates in vols. VI and VII.) Contemporary English red straight-grained morocco gilt, covers with outer triple fillet border with inner anthemion roll, spine gilt in seven compartments with double-raised bands, titled in the second compartment, volumes numbered in the third, bands outlined in gilt, gilt turn-ins, marbled endpapers, gilt edges (light scuffing to extremities).
A HANDSOME COPY OF THE FIRST EDITION OF ONE OF THE RAREST OF ALL BIRD BOOKS. The whole edition is traditionally limited to 60 (or 66?) sets and is Lewin's masterpiece. The deleted stamps in volume I and the consistently high quality of the paintings would seem to indicate that this is one of the earlier sets to be completed (Lewin's enthusiam for the project appears to have waned towards the end of this mammoth project which involved the production of over 19,000 paintings.) Lewin was born in Stepney, London and in his mid-twenties he seems to have been making his living as a designer of textile patterns, by his mid-thirties he was describing himself as a "painter". In the early or mid-1780s Lewin painted a few copies of the watercolour catalogue of the dowager Duchess of Portland's collection of birds' eggs, but his main work, to which he devoted the last six years of his life was The Birds of Great Britain. Fine Bird Books p.91; Lowndes II, p.1351; Mullens & Swann pp.349-351; Nissen
The Birds of Great Britain, with their eggs, accurately figured. London: for the author, sold by Leigh and Sotheby, 1789-1794. 7 volumes, large 4° (335 x 258mm). 322 Original body-colour paintings by Lewin, occasionally heightened with gum-arabic, 270 of birds, 52 of their eggs. (23 plates in vol. I with stamps erased from lower margins, light soiling to plate number 73, slight discolouration to plates 123, 125, 202, slight offsetting of text onto plates in vols. VI and VII.) Contemporary English red straight-grained morocco gilt, covers with outer triple fillet border with inner anthemion roll, spine gilt in seven compartments with double-raised bands, titled in the second compartment, volumes numbered in the third, bands outlined in gilt, gilt turn-ins, marbled endpapers, gilt edges (light scuffing to extremities).
A HANDSOME COPY OF THE FIRST EDITION OF ONE OF THE RAREST OF ALL BIRD BOOKS. The whole edition is traditionally limited to 60 (or 66?) sets and is Lewin's masterpiece. The deleted stamps in volume I and the consistently high quality of the paintings would seem to indicate that this is one of the earlier sets to be completed (Lewin's enthusiam for the project appears to have waned towards the end of this mammoth project which involved the production of over 19,000 paintings.) Lewin was born in Stepney, London and in his mid-twenties he seems to have been making his living as a designer of textile patterns, by his mid-thirties he was describing himself as a "painter". In the early or mid-1780s Lewin painted a few copies of the watercolour catalogue of the dowager Duchess of Portland's collection of birds' eggs, but his main work, to which he devoted the last six years of his life was The Birds of Great Britain. Fine Bird Books p.91; Lowndes II, p.1351; Mullens & Swann pp.349-351; Nissen
A top price for William Lewin - as previously expected
In November 2000 Christies in London held the auction Natural History, which included the work The Birds of Great Britain, with their eggs, accurately figured. London: for the author, sold by Leigh and Sotheby, 1789-1794. 7 volumes, large 4° (335 x 258mm). 322 Original body-colour paintings by Lewin, occasionally heightened with gum-arabic, 270 of by William Lewin. The price achieved of GBP 41,125.00 (€ 67,217.19) was within expectations - the estimate range had previously been set by the auction house as GBP 35,000.00 – 45,000.00. Even if this result could not surprise positively, The Birds of Great Britain, with their eggs, accurately figured. London: for the author, sold by Leigh and Sotheby, 1789-1794. 7 volumes, large 4° (335 x 258mm). 322 Original body-colour paintings by Lewin, occasionally heightened with gum-arabic, 270 of is the most expensive artwork by William Lewin that we have observed at auctions so far.
Ein Spitzenpreis mit Ansage
Im November 2000 führte Christies in London die Auktion Natural History durch, in der auch die Arbeit The Birds of Great Britain, with their eggs, accurately figured. London: for the author, sold by Leigh and Sotheby, 1789-1794. 7 volumes, large 4° (335 x 258mm). 322 Original body-colour paintings by Lewin, occasionally heightened with gum-arabic, 270 of von William Lewin zur Versteigerung kam. Der dabei erzielte Preis von GBP 41.125,00 (€ 67.217,19) lag im Rahmen der Erwartungen – die Schätzpreisspanne war von dem Auktionshaus zuvor mit GBP 35.000,00 – 45.000,00 angegeben worden. Auch wenn das Ergebnis damit nicht positiv überraschen konnte, ist The Birds of Great Britain, with their eggs, accurately figured. London: for the author, sold by Leigh and Sotheby, 1789-1794. 7 volumes, large 4° (335 x 258mm). 322 Original body-colour paintings by Lewin, occasionally heightened with gum-arabic, 270 of das teuerste Kunstwerk von William Lewin, das wir bisher bei Auktionen
William Lewin - Auction history
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