Nest & Eggs

This rare and striking hand-colored oology engraving is from Adam Ludwig Wirsing’s Sammlung von Nestern und Eyern verschiedener Vögel or Collection of nests and eggs of various birds. The work was published in Nuremberg by Wirsing between 1767 and 1786. The original hand-coloring is truly remarkable and fresh.

Adam Ludwig Wirsing (1734-1798) was a German engraver, publisher, and art dealer. He had a special interest in natural history. In addition to his owl work, he helped engrave plates for Trew’s Hortus Nitidissimus and Schaeffer’s Fungorum…