About Seligmann

Johann Michael Seligmann (1720-1762), an outstanding artist, engraver and art dealer from Nuremberg, Germany, issued a European Edition of the birds from Mark Catesby's The Natural History of Carolina in parts beginning in 1749. It was combined with bird engravings by George Edwards and intended for the European market. Seligmann re-etched most of the bird engravings, often adding quaint scenes. This edition was issued in a slightly smaller folio format with the plate mark measuring 8 1/2 x 11 1/2 inches and the laid paper sheets 9 1/2 x 15 1/2. Catesby is credited with being the artist in each plate, and the bird names are given in German, French and Latin. These prints, now around 250 years old, are quite beautiful and a fraction of the cost of the English Edition. These lovely copies of Catesby's work were beautifully hand colored and are becoming more prized by collectors of original antique art depicting America's birds. This work is considered one of the most beautiful of the ornithological books issued in Europe in the 18th century.
Seligmann began issuing his ambitious series just a few years after Edwards and Catesby published their works. The text was translated into German, and Seligmann produced all new plates based on the images of the two Englishmen. In bringing these masterworks to the continental audience, Seligmann has earned himself a place in natural history circles, and his charming prints, reflecting well on their sources, stand as another respected source for 18th-century natural history documentation.