Thomas Bewick, 1753-1828, was born at Cherryburn in Northumberland into a farming family. He was locally educated and had no formal training in art, and after school was apprenticed to a metal engraver in Newcastle. He worked there for most of his life, apart from a walking trip round Scotland (1776) followed by a brief spell in London. He is credited with reinventing the art of wood engraving and reinvigorating British book illustration, and became an influential figure internationally during the latter part of his life. In 1827 he was visited by John Audubon, who had travelled to Europe to seek a publisher for Birds of America, and both said fine things about each other. Audubon's book was eventually printed in London.
The illustration above comes from one of his most famous works, Fables of Aesop, published in 1818. In the same year he was elected a member of the Society of Dilettanti of Edinburgh.
Edinburgh University Library has several books cataloguing and describing Bewick's work, the quality of which is much higher than website images can easily convey. His Memoir, an autobiography, is also there. Look in section .7162 on the fourth floor of the Main Library (George Square).
The following are interesting sources of information which include some further images:
The Edmonton Art Gallery (Canada)
Cushing Library (Texas)
The WebMuseum has no Bewick but lots of other fine things