A set of five George III embossed paper and gouache painted pictures of birds circa 1764, by Isaac Spackman

each painted with a bird amongst foliage withing a parcel-gilt black-japanned frame; one with partial paper label to backboard printed LONG-TAIL...RRAKEET / Native of the... and was the Pro-perty of the Lady.... Sir C. Wager...  Not examined out of frames.

Overall good condition; the background with yellowing and discoloration in each some very minor chips to paint; frames appear to be later.
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The present lot is comprised of the 'Black-headed Indian Icterus;' the 'Touraco;' the 'Blue Jay;' the 'West Indian Long-tail Parkeet' (?); and a parrot.

Isaac Spackman, a painter specialising in ornithological subjects, worked from premises in Islington London, between 1750 and 1771. Little is know of him save for a mention by Horace Walpole in his Anecdotes of Painting that 'Isaac Spackman of Islington, painter of birds, died January 7, 1771.'  Nevertheless, he produced a good quality imitation of Dixon's work.  During the period he produced three sets of twelve embossed bird pictures, the first set in 1754, the second in 1764 and the last in 1769. Like his contemporary, Samuel Dixon, Spackman based much of his work on George Edwards' Natural History of Uncommon Birds (1743-51) and Gleanings from Natural History of 1764.  Though Spackman used the same embossing technique as Dixon and used many of the same plates from Edward's works as Dixon, he maintained his own painterly style, often staying truer to Edward's compositions and using some of Edward's plates which Dixon did not.

Examples of Spackman's work sold Christie's London, January 29, 1984, lot 20 and November 19, 1992, lot 6. Another example, formerly in the collection of Mrs Robert Tritton at Godmersham Park, sold Christie's, June 6-9, 1983, lot 248. A set of five bird pictures by Spackman sold in these room, November 18, 1994, lot 11. Other works by Spackman are illustrated in 'More about Samuel Dixon and his Imitators,' The Quarterly Bulletin of the Irish Georgian Society, June 1980.