Dufresne’s Amazon Parrot

This alluring woodblock engraving of a parrot with hand-finished coloring is from W. T. Greene’s Parrots in Captivity. George Bell & Sons published the work in London in 1884. Benjamin Fawcett is credited for creating the prints after drawings by A. F. Lydon. The work featured comprehensive text on the feeding and rearing of each bird kept in captivity. Parrots in Captivity was expansive in material featuring vibrant illustrations of macaws, cockatoos, lories, parrots, parakeets, and lovebirds. Greene’s work inspired many to attempt raising the parrots as pets, resulting in the steep decline in wild populations of many of the species featured to endangered levels or even extinction.