Zoological illustrations ...

William Swainson was an ornithologist, entomologist, conchologist and most notably an artist: 'one of the greatest depictors of birds ever'. He was a prolific producer of works on zoology in the early 19^th century and was one of the first to see the advantages of the new process of lithography for the production of these works. Though capable of showing the fine detail required for insects, lithography was best suited for larger animals which lacked the delicate features of the former. Lithography was also capable of reproducing the soft tones of the larger shells. All of these, birds, shells and insects are described in Swainson's Zoological illustrations... 1820-1833.

Swainson was born in London in 1789, and his formal education was halted when he was 14 because of a speech impediment. His studies continued however. His father had been one of the earliest members of the Linnean Society and a cousin was the amateur botanist Isaac Swainson for whom the Sturt Desert Pea is named.

William followed his father and grandfather into the Customs Service, later joining the Army Commissariat. Deployed to Malta and Sicily he was able to make collections of fish and other natural history specimens. William joined the Linnean Society in 1815 and the following year travelled in Brazil and amassed a collection of over 20,000 insects, 760 bird skins and other specimens. On his return he was elected a member of the Royal Society.

Swainson's Zoological illustrations ...was published on a subscription basis between 1820-1833, and in 1831 he also illustrated Fauna Boreali-Americana co-authored with Sir John Richardson. This was the first illustrated zoological work to be part funded by the government. He produced a number of other zoological works and in 1841 migrated to New Zealand after falling out of favour because of his outspoken support for the Quinarian system of botanical classification.

In 1852 Swainson was asked by Governor LaTrobe to undertake a botanical survey of Victoria. The results of this, by an untrained botanist, were derided by botanists of the caliber of William Hooker, Joseph Maiden and Ferdinand von Mueller. Swainson died in New Zealand in 1855. Eight species of birds are named for him including the Swainson's Warbler Limnothlypis swainsonii by John James Audubon.

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