Caw! Caw! or The Chronicle of Crows (ca. 1848)

Sep 8, 2015



A rather sad tale, told in rhyme, of a group of crows who lose some of their family members due to a farmer who decides to rid himself of the birds. The title page of the book only gives the author's initials as R. M., and the illustrator as J.B. We've little information on the author, but the illustrations are most likely the work of the Scottish artist Jemima Blackburn (1823-1909). Jemima, also known as Mrs Hugh Blackburn, was a friend of the Victorian artist Sir Edwin Landseer who was known for his paintings of animals and who admired Blackburn's talents. She became particularly known for her bird illustrations and in the 1860s published Birds Drawn from Nature which received much praise. Her work was said to be second only to Thomas Bewick's (1753-1828) engravings in A History of British Birds, published in two volumes in 1797 and 1804.