Edward Lear (1812-88) is famous for his nonsense verse, limericks, amusing stories and songs such as the Owl and the Pussy-cat, but he was also one of the most talented illustrators of birds in the first half of the 19th Century. His father lost his fortune through speculating and the young Edward was brought up by his eldest sister. He had to work from the age of 15 preparing posters, leaflets and advertisements for businesses and was largely self-taught. At the age of eighteen he began the 42 illustrations for the Illustrations of the family of the Psittacidae or Parrots, which was completed in 1832. From 1832 to 1837 Lear worked at Knowsley near Liverpool for Lord Stanley, who became the 17th Earl of Derby in 1834, and was President of the Zoological Society of London .After 1837 he spent most of the rest of his life - some 50 years - in the warmer climate of southern Europe and died aged 75 in 1888 in San Remo in Italy. He worked as illustrator for many of the book publishers at the time, most particularly John Gould, with whom he worked on The Birds of Europe, published 1832-7, the Monograph of the Ramphistidae, or Family of Toucans, published 1834 and 1835, and finally the Monograph of the Trogonidae, or Family of Trogons, published in 1838.

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