William Hayes
Red Winged Oriole

About the Item

Hand-colored engravings after bird illustration by William Hayes (1735-1802) from "Portraits of the Rare and Curious Exotic Birds, with their descriptions, from Menagery of Osterly Park". Published posthumously by his family and printed by William Bulmer and Co., London, 1817; engravers and colorists include Emily Hayes, Matilda Hayes, & Anne Hayes. The first edition of "Rare and Curious" published 1794-1799, was written and illustrated by Hayes. Commissioned by Robert and Sarah Child, the owners of Osterley, this series of prints of exotic bird species was the first published systematic record of a single private collection of live birds. A self-taught artist, Hayes employed his large family - which included no fewer than seven of his children - in the printing, coloring, assembling, and at times even the drawing of some of the illustrations of his publications. When book orders needed to be fulfilled, the scene often became what was described as "a production line of unrivalled chaos" so that it was not uncommon for the contents of each book to vary, depending on what prints were available at the time. Descriptive page from "Portraits" accompanies print.

Creator:

William Hayes (1735 - 1802)

Dimensions:

Height: 12 in (30.48 cm)Width: 9.25 in (23.5 cm)

Medium:

Engraving

Period:

19th Century

Framing:

Framing Options Available

Condition:

Generally very good condition with the usual overall light toning, wear, occasional foxing.