Wikipedia talk:Featured article candidates/Illustrations of the Family of Psittacidae, or Parrots/archive1
Illustrations of the Family of Psittacidae, or Parrots is an 1832 book containing 42 hand-coloured plates by Edward Lear, who produced 175 copies for sale to subscribers in 14 parts, later bound as a book. Lear started painting parrots when aged 18, and studied live birds at the London Zoo and in private collections. The latter included those of the Earl of Derby's, who had a menagerie at Knowsley Hall, and the taxidermist Benjamin Leadbeater. Lear drew onto stone plates for printing by Charles Joseph Hullmandel. The book was a financial failure, but it established Lear as one of the best natural history artists of his time, finding him work with John Gould, Stanley and others. Parrots was a forerunner to the major volumes of bird paintings by Gould, and Lear's work has influenced children's illustrators such as Beatrix Potteras well as bird specialists like Elizabeth Butterworth. Lear continued with nature painting until about 1835, when he became concerned about his eyesight, and concentrated on his nonsense works and landscapes.