David Low's
The Breeds of the Domestic Animals of the British Islands

David Low. Prints from The Breeds of the Domestic Animals of the British Islands. London: Longman, Orme, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1842. Folio. Lithographs with original hand coloring. From drawings by W. Nicholson. Full margins. Very good condition.

A series of bold and charming portraits of award winning British domestic animals. The finely turned out horses, sheep, cows, hogs, etc. are posing in splendid profile against a cheerful English landscape. Each breed is carefully drawn, looking thoroughly contented and proud, with shiny coats, snouts, fetlocks, horns and other distinctive body parts shown to advantage. The drawings on stone were actually done from original paintings, executed for the Museum of the University of Edinburgh. They appear here with captions naming the breeds and crediting their owners. These jovial prints are a fine tribute to the sophistication of nineteenth-century animal husbandry in Britain. They are also, for their subjects, scale, and skillful drawing and coloring, some of the more endearing and distinctive animals prints ever done.

OXEN