Thomas Bewick sketchbook returns to region

The book has been bought by collector David Bolam

The only known surviving sketchbook by engraver and naturalist Thomas Bewick has been returned to his native North East.

The volume was discovered by English dealers who bought if for a collector at a fair in San Francisco in 2013.

The 230-year-old book had not been in seen in public for almost 100 years.

It is on display at the Newcastle Literary and Philosophical Society ahead of it being given to its new owner, Bewick collector David Bolam.

Bewick was a long-standing member of the society from 1799 and the Bewick swan was named after him.

He was best known for his A History of British Birds and his pioneering engraving techniques.

The book was created in the 1790s

It contains numerous sketches of animals, most notably horses

It has been reproduced in a new book after being found at the fair in San Francisco by Anthony Smithson of Keel Row Books in North Shields

Bewick was renowned for his sketches and engravings of animals

The Bewick swan was named after Thomas Bewick