Prideaux John Selby

Prideaux John Selby ( born July 23, 1788 in Alnwick, † March 27, 1867 in Bamburgh ) was an English ornithologist, botanist and artist.

Selby's name is associated particularly with his work, Illustrations of British Ornithology (1821-1834); it was the first publication in which the birds described were displayed in life-size. He was also involved in the Illustrations of Ornithology (1825-1843) and published A History of British Forest -trees (1842 ). Together with William Jahrdine and George Johnston 1837 he founded the "Magazine of Zoology and Botany ."

Many of his published illustrations show examples from his extensive collection. In addition to the above works, he was involved with the publication of books on pigeons and parrots at Jardines Naturalist's Library (1835, 1836), the latter containing drawings by Edward Lear. Selby's collections were sold in 1885 and thus torn apart; The information gathered by the zoologist Andrew Smith Birds of South Africa went to the Museum of the University of Cambridge.

John Selby was the eldest son of George Selby of Beal and Twizell, the head of the family a branch of the Northumberland widespread and influential English family Selby. Selby studied from 1806 at University College, University of Oxford. He left the university after some time without qualifications and then lived in Twizell House, the residence of his family in Addestone; his father had died in 1804. Selby cared mainly about this land and sold the estate in Beal in 1850. He was married to Lewis Tabitha Mitford and had with her three daughters.