Beschreibung:

Peacock].
Pencil and watercolor drawing of a peacock on a limb, ca. 1830, on card, (222 x 175 mm)., mounted in a Gwilt family friendship album, 150 leaves with numerous poems, songs, dedicationss, etc., illustrated with original drawings, watercolors by various amateur artists, most hand-colored and extra-illustrated with a selection of mounted engravings and mezzotints. 4to (240 x 185 mm.) Early 19th century olive straight grain morocco, covers elaborately tooled in gilt and blind around a central ruled panel with corner pieces and gilt-titled "G. M. Gwilt," within gilt floral device, spine gilt-tooled in six compartments and decorated with gilt rose and ship devices, inner dentelles in gilt and blind, all edges gilt. Condition: spine ends and corners slightly rubbed; old repair to hinges. Provenance: George Gwilt (1775-1856), an architect of note from a family well-known for the profession. a whimsical bird drawing by lear in an album of great additional interest. As often seen in these keepsake albums, herein is a variety of original art, much more accomplished than ususally found. Included are attractive watercolors of Blenheim Palace, the Temple of Erechtheion and an "Ancient Font in Holdenfurst Church," plus a finely-detailed pencil sketch of unknown ruins as well as the usual nature studies, leaf-tracings and small vignettes. A sketch of St. Saviour's Ladye Chapel, Southwark Cathedral is also present, the restoration of which, was overseen by George Gwilt.; the album also includes : hair and signatures from the visit of conjoined twins chang and eng. Chang and Eng were born in Siam in 1811 (thus the genesis of the term "Siamese twins") and arrived in the United States in 1824. Four years later they began touring the world with PT Barnum, eventually graduating from a mere circus attraction to entertainers who were able to leave show business by 1840, purchasing a tobacco plantation in North Carolina. Interestingly, they shared none of the same organs and could easily have been separated using even the techniques available to 19th. century physicians. At the time the present entry was made in the album (1830) the twins were in the midst of a world tour. They left their hosts the Gwilts a lock of hair (identified in an unknown hand as "Presented by our friends the Siamese Youths/20th of April 1830") and signed the album "Chang Eng" next to their wax seal.