Linnaeus Birds - Great Auk - Extinct Can Cooler

This wonderful image depicts the extinct Great Auk in the 18th century style of ornithological illustration. We have a suite of similar bird images under the title Linnaeus Birds in our store. The images presented here are cleaned and enhanced versions of the illustrations prepared for the work 'A Genuine and Universal Natural History' a multi-volume work published between 1794 and 1810. This very rare and highly sought after work is a posthumous, revised and expanded English translation of the 13th edition of "Systema Naturae' by Carl Linnaeus (Carl von Linné). This edition is sought after for both its scientific value and for the superb hand-coloured plates. The vibrant hand-colouring is of a very high quality, and we have made great efforts to ensure that our reworked images are faithful to the originals. The principal author is recorded as 'The Late Sir Charles Linnaeus'. Other authors noted are J. Frid Gmelin and Ebenezer Sibly. Most of the ornithological images in this work are based on earlier illustrations, notably from 'A Natural History of Uncommon Birds/Gleanings of Natural History' by George Edwards (publ. 1743-64), and 'Deliciae Naturae Selectae' by George Wolfgang Knorr (publ. 1766-67).