George Edwards (Born 1694) was born in Essex, England. He is best known for his two major publications: Gleanings of Natural History and A Natural History of Uncommon Birds. Edwards studied art in Holland, but it was not until he travelled to Norway in 1718 that he found his true vocation. In Norway, he studied the birds that lived in precipices and on the rocks, and with the materials he had collected, Edwards applied himself to the study of natural history, and made colored drawings of animals and birds, and continued his studies in Holland. Edwards held numerous positions as a scientist and scholar and made considerable contributions to the study of birds. He also mastered etching with the assistance of Mark Catesby, a leading 18th Century British natural history artist.
In 1733, Edwards was appointed at the Royal College of Physicians as Librarian. He also served as secretary to Sir Hans Sloane, who was president of the college and of the Royal Society and had a private museum. He was honored by Royal Society and awarded with the Gold Medal and was also elected a Fellow. Edward’s pictures and descriptions of birds provided reference material for Carolus Linnaeus, the renowned Swedish who gave scientific names to 350 bird species described by Edwards. Even though his main subject was birds, some of his prints incorporated other animals, such as insects, fluttering butterflies, mammals or reptiles. He was primarily an ornithologist, but he also depicted other animals. The most notable of his mammal studies are monkeys and lemurs.
