Edward Lear. Pale-headed Parakeet. Postcard

Parrots by Edward Lear. No. 19 of 42. Pale-headed Parakeet. Platycercus palliceps. All 42 images used here for this postcard collection were originally drawn and painted by Edward Lear. With the help of innovative lithographer Charles Mandell, the images were compiled and published in 1832; the book’s title was ‘ILLUSTRATIONS of THE FAMILY OF PSITTACIDÆ, or PARROTS’. The book also had a lengthy sub-title which I won’t copy here, and thankfully the book did also come to be known by the shortened title ‘Parrots by Edward Lear’. Showing an entrepreneurial streak, Lear limited the print run of this book to just 175 copies; this was in the hope it would very quickly become a collector’s item and thus result in an increase in its value. Although Lear was of course to become better known as an author, with his nonsense verses being his most notable work, he was indeed also a very fine illustrator. Sady, this was a part of his career which eventually had to be cut short due to failing eyesight, making finely detailed sketching no longer possible. Lear did carry on painting, but mainly landscapes and scenes which did not require such a degree of detail. Some of Lear’s spelling (or that of his editor perhaps) is now considered archaic and has been updated for this postcard collection. Finally, the images here are copied from a totally copyright free edition well and totally in the public domain, worldwide. There are later editions, which may or may not be out of copyright, in which the illustrations have been cleaned up further and filled out with more colour. Regarding this postcard collection: If the perhaps faded and tarnished shades, and the blemishes and the look of the aged paper and sparcity of the surrounds of each image here (trees, flowers, bushes logs, leaves etc, usually left in pencil or charcoal by Lear but coloured by later artists) are not what you are looking for, then do search the ‘net for these later editions; these may or may not be in the public domain, so do check first just to be sure.