A | Soffer Ornithology Collection

Soffer Ornithology Collection Notes (alphabetical by author)

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A

Adamyan, M. (Birds of Armenia passerines).

Africa, Birds of, Academic Press. The birds of Africa.

Albin, Eleazer. A natural history of birds illustrated ....

Albin, E. A natural history of English song-birds

Alexander, W(ilfred) B(ackhouse) (1885-1965). Birds of the ocean....

Alexander, W., ..Birds of Oxfordshire
Ali, Salim (1896-1987). The birds of Sikkim.Ali, Salim (1896-1987). The book of Indian birds first printing.

Ali, Salim (1896-1987).The book of Indian birds.first printing with dust jacket

Ali, Salim (1896-1987). The book of Indian birds eighth edition.

Ali, Salim (1896-1987). Field Guide to the birds of the eastern Himalayas.

Ali, Salim (1896-1987). Indian hill birds.

Allen, Arthur A(ugustus)(1885-1964). American bird biographies....

Allen, Arthur A.(ugustus) (1885-1964). The golden plover and other birds.

Allen & Ginter Song birds of the world

Allen & Ginter Birds of the tropics

Allen, Elsa Guerdrum. The history of American ornithology.

Allen, Glover M(orrill). A list of the birds of New Hampshire.

Allen, Robert Porter (1905-). The whooping crane.

Allen, R. P. The roseate spoonbill

Allen, R. P. The flamingos: their life history and survival with special reference to the American or West Indian flamingo

Allouse (Allüs), Bashir E. Birds of Iraq.

Alphéraky, Sergius (Alferaki, Sergei Nikolaevich)(1850-1918). The geese of Europe ....

Amadon, Dean (1912-2003). Avian systematics and evolution....

Amadon, Dean (1912-2003). The Hawaiian honeycreepers....

Amuchástegui, Axel (1921-). Pájaros del mundo.

(Amuchástegui, Axel [1921-], artist). Pájaros Sudamericanos. Limited edition.

Amuchástegui, Axel (1921-)(text by Helmut Sick [1910-]). Pájaros Sudamericanos.

Amuchástegui, Axel (1921-). Some birds and mammals of North America.

Amuchástegui, Axel (1921-). Some birds and mammals of South America.

Amuchástegui, Axel (1921-) (text by Hilary Hook). Some birds and mammals of Africa.

Amuchástegui, Axel (1921-)(text by Helmut Sick [1910-]). Studies of birds and mammals of South America.

Anderson, Walter (Inglis) (1903-1965). Birds.

(Anderson, John[1833-1900]). Aves....

Andersson, C. J. (1827-1867)(Arranged and edited by J. H. Gurney [1819-1890]). Notes on the birds of Damara Land....

Andrade, Carlos Selva (Translated by Clark, Herbert M., illustrations by Amuchastegui, Axel [1921-]). Love Life of the Birds.

André, E. A naturalist in the Guianas.

Andrews, Charles W.(illiam)(1866-1924) (ornithology by Sharpe, R.[ichard]Bowdler[1842-1909]). A monograph of Christmas Island.

Anker, Jean (1892-1957). Bird books and bird art....

Anonymous (Morris, Francis Orpen [1810-1893]). Scripture birds....

Anonymous. Among the birds. Selections from the standard poets... de luxe(?) edition 1905(1900)

Anonymous, Among the birds Selections from the standard poets Trade edition, 1905(1900)

Anonymous (British Land Birds, Religious Tract Society). British land birds.

Anonymous. The natural history of birds....

Anonymous (Travies)Alphabet illustré..

Anonymous (Frederick Warne & Co.) The natural history album

Anonymous Wonders of the animal kingdom

Anstett, Dr. J. Ph. Historia natural popular descripçao....

Anthon, Henning and Boëtius, Jan. Nordiske fugle spurvefugle.

Anthon, Henning Faglar från hav, insjö och myr

Antinori, O(razio)(1811-1882), Salvadori, T(ommaso)(1835-1923). Viaggio dei Signori....

American Ornithologists' Union (Coues, Elliott). The code of nomenclature....

American Ornithologists' Union. Fifty years' progress....

Aplin, O., Birds of Oxfordshire

Aramata, H(iroshi)(1947- ). Birds of the world....

Archer, G., Godman, E. M. The birds of British Somaliland and the Gulf of Aden....

Arnold, E(ward) C(arleton)(1869-1949). British Waders illustrated in water-colour....

Arp, Walter (1927-). Alas de mi tierra y de mi alma.

Arp, Walter (1927-). Avifauna Venezolana.

Atherton, Loren G. (1883-), Nora M. Atherton. Dakota birds....

Audebert, Jean Baptiste (1759-1800). Le Jacamar.

Audouin, J. V., Explication sommaire des planches..

(Audubon, J. J.) North American Review. The North American Review / Vol. XXXIV....

Audubon, John James (1785-1851). The birds of America from drawings made in the United States and their territories No. 30.

Audubon, John James (1785-1851). The birds of America from drawings made in the United States and their territories No. 59.

Audubon Society (Brooks, Allan [1869-1945]). Audubon bird cards Fifty winter (spring, summer) birds of eastern North America.

Audubon, John James (1785-1851) (Irmscher, Christoph, compiler and editor). John James Audubon writings and drawings.

Audubon, John James (1785-1851)(Forkner, B. editor) The John James Audubon portfolio

Audubon, John James (1785-1851)(introduction by Marshall B. Davidson). The original water-color paintings by John James Audubon for The birds of America.

Audubon, John James (Laforest)(1785-1851). The birds of America, from drawings made in the United States and their territories.

Audubon, John James (1785-1851). My style of drawing birds.

Audubon, John James (Laforest(1785-1851). A synopsis of the bird of North America.

(Audubon, John James [1785-1851]). Grande pie grieche grise buff...

Audubon, M. R. Audubon and his journals by Maria R. Audubon with zoölogical and other notes by Elliott Coues.

Averill, C.(harles) K. Jr. List of birds found in the vicinity of Bridgeport Conn...

Aves, J. H. De grasparkiet.

Adams, H(enry)G(ardiner)(1811-1881), Adams, H(enry) B.

The / smaller / British birds / with / descriptions of their nests, eggs, habits / etc,, etc., etc. 26.0 x 17.5 cm. [A]²B-2I⁴2K²[$1 signed]; 128 ll. Pp. [i-iii]iv[1]2-252. Publisher’s blue cloth with gilt and black decorations on upper cover and spine, gilt swallow design on upper cover and gilt lettering to spine. TEG. Black endpapers. London, Gibbings & Co. Limited, 1894.

i, Title in red and black; ii, blank; iii, contents; 1, introduction; 3, species accounts (99), great tit-kingfisher; 252, printer designation: B. Fawcett & Co., Driffield. Contains chromoxylographic plates 1-16 of birds and 1-16 of their eggs i. e. a total of 32 colored plates.

This attractive book describes almost 100 species, almost all Passerines, in words and pictures. Essays are provided for each family and each of the species in that family. These essays are written in easy-going prose but do transmit considerable information as regards distribution and particularly life histories and even aviculture. The plates are color-printed wood engravings, drawn by A. F. Lydon and printed superbly by Benjamin Fawcett’s establishment.

The first edition of this book was issued in 1874 by George Bell and Sons. Other than the imprint, I think it was similar or identical to this one.

Wood, p. 179(1874 edition); Zimmer, p.2(1874 edition). AMNH, Harvard and Yale list the 1894 edition, Trinity, that of 1874. Unlisted by Cornell.

Adamyan, M. (Adamian, Martin S.)

(Birds of Armenia passerines) 16.3 x 12.9 cm. Pp. [1-7]8-191[192]; 96 ll. Original publisher's pictorial boards, title and author printed in black (in Armenian) on upper cover and spine. Decorated end papers. Yerevan, Armenia, 1988.

1, Title with uncolored vignette; 2, ISBN 5-8077-0029-5; summary of book (and its preceding volume[?]); 3, introduction; 7, systematic text; 174, attracting birds; 188, index; 192, publication data. Contains colored text figures I-II in introduction, colored text figures I-IX in the section on attracting birds, and 42 unnumbered colored plates depicting 127 species printed in half-tone with consecutive text on obverse and included in pagination.

This little work is printed entirely in Armenian save for the Latin names which are printed with the Roman alphabet. The book covers 127 species, to each of which a colored illustration and a full page of text are devoted. The book is printed on mat paper and the colored illustrations are printed in half-tone.

This volume is the second of a two-volume set. This first volume was published in 1985 and covered 153 non-passerine species. I've been unable to locate a copy of either in any of the major libraries although there is a contemporary standard type of bird guide for Armenia written in English

Africa, Birds of, Academic Press

The / birds of / Africa. Seven volumes 30.9 x 23.6 cm. Publisher's brown cloth with gilt-lettered circular design on upper cover, gilt lettering to spine. Pictorial dust jackets. Academic Press. Several signed manuscript letters and cards from Martin Woodcock laid loosely into various volumes.

Volume I / Leslie H. Brown / Emil K. Urban / Kenneth Newman / illustrated by / Martin Woodcock and Peter Hayman / / advisory editorial board / C. H. Fry G. S. Keith / K. Curry-Lindahl A. C. Kemp G. J. Morel D. W. Snow G. E. Watson London and New York, 1982 Pp. [i-iv]v-xiii(1)1-521(1); i, half-title; ii, blank; iii, title; iv, copyright 1982; text filmset by Northumberland Press Ltd, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear and printed by Fletcher and Son Ltd, Norwich; color originated and printed by W. S. Cowell Ltd, Ipswich; ISBN 0-12-137301-0; v, foreword by Philip, H. R. H. The Duke of Edinburgh; vi, blank; vii, preface; viii, blank; ix, acknowledgements; x, advisory editorial board; xi, contents; xiii, list of plates; 1, introduction; 32, specific accounts, Struthionidae-Falconidae, comprising about 256 species; 479, bibliography (about 1700 entries); 509, indexes including: 509, generic and specific names; 517, English names; 520, French names. Contains: plates 1-32 by Hayman and Woodcock (28 colored), enumerated in list of plates and facing letter-press; printed in half-tone on both sides of 16 leaves not included in pagination, with facing letter-press on adjacent paginated text leaves; many unnumbered text line drawings of birds, mostly by Willis; uncolored text line distribution map for each species; text line figures 1-9 including three maps in introduction; two page spread of line diagrams depicting the parts of African birds.

Volume II / edited by / Emil K. Urban (1934-) / C. Hilary Fry (1937-) / Stuart Keith (1931-) / colour plates by Martin Woodcock / line drawings by Ian Willis / acoustic references by Claude Chappius London and Orlando, 1986 Pp. [i-iv]v-xvi1-552; i, half-title; ii, blank; iii, title; iv, copyright 1986; production services by Fisher Duncan Ltd, London; printed in Hong Kong by Imago Publishing Ltd; ISBN 0-12-137302-9; v, acknowledgements; vii, contents with authorship(about 20 authors including editors); ix, list of plates; x, blank; xi, introduction; 1, specific accounts, Phasianidae-Columbidae comprising about 291 species described by various contributing authors; 498, bibliography (around 2000 entries) and acoustic references; 538, errata, volume I; 539, indexes. Contains: plates 1-32 (28 colored); many unnumbered text line drawings mostly by Willis; distribution maps; text line maps (figures 1 and 2) in introduction. The facing paginated letter-press for the plates, starting in this volume, contains full identifying traces of each figure on the plate. Specific groups amongst them are highlighted by shading.

Volume III / edited by / C. Hilary Fry / Stuart Keith / Emil K. Urban / colour plates by Martin Woodcock / line drawings by Ian Willis / acoustic references by Claude Chappius London and San Diego,1988 Pp. [i-iv]v-xvi1-611(1); i half-title; ii, blank; iii, title; iv, copyright 1988; credits as volume II; ISBN 0-12-137303-7; v, acknowledgements; viii, blank; ix, contents with authorship (17 authors including editors); x, blank; xi, list of plates; xii, blank; xiii, introduction; 1, specific accounts, Psittacidae-Picidae comprising about 316 species described by various contributing authors; 557, bibliography (around 1800 entries) and acoustic references; 591, errata for preceding volumes; 593, indexes. Contains: colored plates 1-32; many unnumbered text drawings; distribution maps; three text line maps (figures 1-3) in introduction.

Volume IV / edited by / Stuart Keith / Emil K. Urban / C. Hilary Fry / colour plates by Martin Woodcock / line drawings by Ian Willis / acoustic references by Claude Chappius London and San Diego, (1992) Pp. [i-iv]v-xiii[xiv-xv](1)1-609(1); i, half-title; ii, blank; iii, title; iv, copyright 1992; editorial and production services by Fisher Duncan Ltd, London; colour plates printed in UK by George Over Ltd, Rugby; printed and bound in UK by Mackays of Chatham PLC, Chatham, Kent; ISBN 0-12-137304-5 v, acknowledgements; vii, contents; viii, authors' contributions to shared families (13 authors including editors); ix, list of plates; x, introduction; 1, specific accounts, Eurylaimidae-Turdidae describing about 337 species and illustrating an additional four that are treated in a later volume; 557, bibliography (about 1750 entries) and acoustic references; 590, errata for preceding volumes; 591, indexes. Contains: colored plates 1-32; unnumbered text drawings; distribution maps; figures 1-3 (line maps) in introduction; two-page uncolored half-tone figures depicting topography of African Passerine birds.

Volume V / edited by / Emil K. Urban / C. Hilary Fry / Stuart Keith / colour plates by Martin Woodcock / line drawings by Ian Willis / acoustic references by Claude Chappius / bibliography and index by Lois L. Urban San Diego and London, (1997) Pp. [i-iv]v-xix(1)1-669(1); i, half-title; ii, blank; iii, title; iv, copyright 1997; printed on acid-free paper; first printing; editorial and production services by Moira Fisher, Ringwood, Hampshire; maps produced by Hardlines, Charbury, Oxford; typeset by Phoenix Photosetting, Chatham, Kent; colour plates printed in UK by George Over Ltd, Rugby; printed and bound by Mackays of Chatham PLC; ISBN 0-12-137305-3; v, acknowledgements; vii, contents; vi, authorship by family (12 authors including editors); x, blank; xi, list of plates; xii, introduction; 1, specific accounts, Turdidae-Platysteiridae comprising about 307 species; 607, bibliography (about 1850 entries) and acoustic references; 643, errata to previous volumes; 645, indexes. Contains: colored plates 1-32; unnumbered text drawings; distribution maps here partly printed in red for the first time; figures 1-5 (maps) in introduction, one partly printed in red.

Volume VI / C. Hilary Fry Stuart Keith / Adrian J. K. F. Craig Llewellyn Grimes / Michael P. S. Irwin David J. Pearson / Emil K. Urban David Wiggins Roger Wilkinson / edited by / C. Hilary Fry executive editor Stuart Keith / Emil K. Urban/ colour plates by Martin Woodcock / line drawings by Ian Willis / discography by Claude Chappius London and San Diego, (2000) Pp. [i-iv]v-xvii(1)1-724; i, half-title, here printed in red for the first time; ii, dedication; recommended form of citation for this volume; iii, title, here printed in red for first time; iv, copyright 2000; printed on acid-free paper; first printing; editorial and production services by Gray Publishing, Turnbridge, Wells, Kent; typeset by Gray Publishing; colour plates printed by Bright Art, Hong Kong; printed and bound in Singapore by Imago; ISBN 0-12-137306-1; v, contents; vi, list of plates; vii, authorship; viii, acknowledgements; xi, introduction; 1, specific accounts, Picathartidae-Buphagidae comprising about 325 species; 669, bibliography (about 2150 entries) and acoustic references; 711, indexes. Contains: colored plates 1-36; unnumbered text drawings; distribution maps partly printed in red; figures 1-5 in introduction including two uncolored maps, representative distribution map partly printed in red, colored vegetation zone map and figure depicting color variants of Telophorus bush shrikes and their distribution. The identifying figures on facing letter-press for plates are here printed in half-tone for the first time and specific groups among them are highlighted in pink.

Volume VII / C. Hilary Fry Stuart Keith / Elsie C. Collias Nicholas E. Collias Adrian J. F. K. Craig / Christopher J. H. Hines David Moyer / Dieter Oschadleus Robert B. Pane / David J. Pearson Thomas B. Smith Emil K. Urban / Series Editors / C. Hillary Fry (Executive Editor) Stuart Keith / Emil K. Urban / Color Plates by Martin Woodcock / Line Drawings by Ian Willis and C. Hilary Fry / Discography by Claude Chappuis / Princeton and Oxford, Princeton University Press (2004). Pp. [i-iv]v-xxi(1)1-666. i, half-title printed in red; ii, dedication, recommended citations; iii, title printed in red; iv, copyright 2004; first printing; typeset and designed by Gray Publishing, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, UK; Printed in China by Midas Printing International Ltd on behalf of Compass Press; ISBN 0-691-11952-X; v, contents; vi, list of plates; vii, authorship; viii, acknowledgements; xii, brief titular summary of entire seven-volume series; xiii, introduction; specific accounts, Passer-Plectrophenax comprising about 309 species; 603, bibliography (more than 2000 entries); 651, acoustic references; 653, errata, volume VI; 655, generic and specific index; 662, English names; 664, French names. Contains: colored plates 1-36; numerous unnumbered text drawings; distribution maps for all species partly printed in red; figures 1-4 in Introduction, all partly colored maps. The identifying figures on facing letter-press for plates are printed as in volume VI.

Safford, Roger and Hawkins, Frank (Plumage descriptions by David J. Pearson, colour plates by John Gale and Brian Small

The birds of Africal / Volume VIII / the Malagasy region 30.4 x 23.4 cm. Pp. [1-7]8-1024. Original publisher’s Brown cloth with gilt printing on upper cover and spine. Color pictorial dust jacket. Pink endpapers. London, Christopher Helm (an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing), 2013, first printing.

1, Half-title; 2, dedication; 3, title; 4, text and illustrations separately copyright, 2013; ISBN 9780-7136-6532-1; printed in China by C&C Offset Printing Co Ltd; 5, contents; 8, plate lsit; 9, authorship; 11, acknowledgements; 13, the Malagasy region; 15, physical geography, climate and vegetation; 35, bird species across the region; 52, organization of the book; 58, colour plates (plates 1-48); 107, systematic text; 917, vagrant color plates (plates 49-63; 932, references of original scientific descriptions (about 350); 940, bibliography (more than 2500 references); 1004, scientific index; 1016, English index. Contains plates 1-63 printed in color half-tone on both sides of the leaves and included in pagination. Also, text maps 1-8 as well as distribution maps for all species. There are a few unnumbered diagrammatic text line drawings as well.

This monumental work covers 487 species of which 135 are considered “vagrants”.

This entire work was inspired by the Birds of the Western Palearctic (BWP,1977-1994). Although Africa offers three times as many species as the western palearctic, there is far less literature concerning them and many fewer potential authors with the requisite experience amongst whom to choose. Leslie Brown, the original inspiring spirit, died before the appearance of the first volume. After his death, a committee approach was necessitated and progress was slow.

The work is much more attractive than BWP, in my view for three reasons: first, a single artist, Martin Woodcock, was responsible for all the colored plates after the first volume; second, all plates subsequent to those in the first volume have white backgrounds; third, despite the use of different firms in their production, the plates are unusually well printed. In volume III, Woodcock remarks (p. xiv) on the difficulty of designing plates with the constraints imposed by having to figure so many individuals in such a small space. He writes "Overall, I have aimed for plates which are aesthetically pleasing." He has succeeded, whereas aesthetic quality seems not to have been a consideration for the plates in BWP.

The text of this work is, of necessity, not nearly so comprehensive as that in BWP. A shocking omission amongst the many measurements provided for each species is that of simple length. Of course, this can be gleaned from the colored illustration, all of which are referenced to a length standard shown with the facing letter-press.

Volume VIII was produced by a different group of authors, artists and craftspeople almost a decade after volume VII and is somewhat more detailed.

Albin, Eleazer

A Natural History of Birds Illustrated With a Hundred and one (104, 101) Copper Plates, Curiously Engraven from the Life. Published by the Author Eleazer Albin, and carefully colour’d by his Daughter and Self, from the Originals, drawn from the live Birds Three volumes. 4to. 28 x 23 cm. Later (19th century) half tan calf with red morocco lettering pieces on spine. London, printed for the author and sold by William Innys, John Clarke and John Brindley. Contains 306 plates drawn and colored by Albin and his daughter, Elizabeth and engraved by Henry Fletcher and others. This copy also contains, as a frontispiece for each volume, three hand-colored impressions of a plate entitled “Mites” engraved by J. Scotin from Albin’s Natural History of Spiders (1736) that shows Albin on horseback surrounded by various insects. That frontispiece for volume III is signed “Eleazer Albin 1739” directly under the portrait. It is interesting that Christine Jackson, in her book, Bird Etchings (1985), reproduces this very picture (page 64). Her example, taken from the work in which it originally appeared, is also signed, but as “ E Albin” ,and in the lower right hand corner of the plate rather than under the portrait.

(Vol. I.), 1731. Blank, A⁴B-2C² blank[$1 signed]; 54 ll and two blanks: pp. Blank (8)1-96[97-100]blank. A1r, title; A2r-A2v , dedication;A3r-A3v, to the reader; A4r-A4v, names of subscribers; 1-96, species accounts; [97], Dr. Derham’s observations; [98], errata; [99], index.

Vol. II., 1734. Blank a⁴ B-2A² 2B² (-2B2) blank[$1 signed]; 51 ll and two blanks: pp. Blank (8)1-92[93-94] blank. A1r , title; A2r-A2v, dedication; A3r-A3v , to the reader; A4r-A4v , names of subscribers; 1-92, species accounts; [93-94], index.

Vol. III., 1738. Blank A⁴-N⁴[$1,2 signed]; 52 ll and two blanks: pp. Blank (8)1-95[96] blank. A1r, title; A2r-A2V , dedication; A3r-A3v preface to reader;A4r-A4v , names of subscribers; 1-95, species accounts; [96], catalogue of the birds.

This is the first ornithological book containing colored plates in the entire edition rather than for a few special copies. It was published at just about the same time as Catesby’s work on North America so the two are generally considered the first ornithological color plate books although, of course, specially colored copies of Belon and Gessner had been prepared for important recipients as early as the middle of the 16th century.

This copy is an example of the rare first issue distinguished by the dates 1731 and 1734 on the first two volumes; by the listing of his daughter as colorist on the title page in all three volumes; by the absence of Derham’s name on the title page of all three volumes and by the inked conversion of II to III in volume III. The first volume lists only 86 subscribers accounting for 89 copies. The first two volumes of the later issue are dated 1838 and the third either 1838 or 1840.

The work describes and illustrates both British and exotic birds, the single criterion seeming to be that Albin could get an example to draw. The artistry and engraving is quite poor in this work although Elizabeth Albin’s plates are not too bad and far superior to those by her father. Albin seems to have accepted anything that was told to him about these birds and it is easy to understand why the much more serious George Edwards referred to this work with such exasperation.

This work is of little ornithological or artistic merit but is a pleasure to possess!

Mengel, #33; Trinity, p. 12; Wood, p. 184; Yale, p. 5; Zimmer, p. 3. Only Mengel lists the first issue. The other four collections contain only the later one.

Albin, Eleazar (fl. 1713-1759)

A / Natural History / of / English Song-Birds, / and / such of the Foreign as are usually / brought over and esteemed for / their Singing. / To which are added / Figures of the Cock, Hen, and Egg of / each Species, exactly copied from Nature, / by Mr. Eleazar Albin, / And curiously engraven on Copper / also / A particular Account how to order the Ca-/ nary-Birds in Breeding; likewise their Dis- / eases and Cure. 17. 3 x 10.6 cm. Laid paper. 8o. Catchwords. [A]²B-N⁴O²[$1, 2 signed]; 52 ll. Pp. (4)[1]2-96[97-100]. Contemporary polished brown calf with outer and inner triple blind-ruled panels and blind decorations in corners of both. Rebacked to style in 20th century with five raised bands enclosed by double blind rules. Gilt lettering in second and fourth compartments, decorative gilt tool in others. Later endpapers with colored floral motif. The Second Edition. London; printed for R. Ware, 1741.

A1r, Title; A1v, blank; A2r-A2v, " to the reader"; 1, text; 97, index; 100, advertisements for books sold by R. Ware. Contains uncolored engraved allegorical frontispiece remargined and backed, and 23 unnumbered, uncolored engraved plates. Also contains wood cut head-piece and wood cut decorated initial letter.

The first edition of this book was published in 1737. In addition to this second edition, at least five more were published after 1750 and at least one of those was pirated and anonymous. Although most copies are uncolored, colored examples of the various editions are occasionally seen.

The work describes the habits, song and best ways of securing and maintaining various song birds not all of which were native to England. The pictures and descriptions are different from those in Albin's quarto, three volume colored work,"A Natural History of Birds" (1731-1738).

Although it is quite a stretch, this book, based on the title, might be considered a precursor for the two important classes of later ornithological works, the monograph and the regional treatise.

Mengel, #37. This edition unlisted by AMNH, Cornell, Wood, Yale, Zimmer. Listed by Harvard, Trinity.

Alexander, W(ilfred)B(ackhouse)(1885-1965)

Birds of the Ocean / A Handbook for Voyagers / containing descriptions of all the sea-birds / of the world, with notes on their habits / and guides to their identification 17.4 x 10.0 cm. Pp. [i-ii]iii-xxiii(1)[1-2]3-428(4, publisher's advertisements); 228 ll. Original blue cloth, gilt design of frigate birds on upper cover, gilt lettering on upper cover and spine. Pictorial jacket with white pelican. Red edges. New York, London, G. P. Putnam's Sons, the Knickerbocker Press, 1928. First printing with year on title page.

i, Title; ii, copyright; iii, preface; ix, contents; xi, illustrations; 1, half-title; 2, blank; 3, systematic text; 334, north Atlantic; 346, north Pacific; 356, tropical seas; 378, southern oceans; 397, systematic list; 419, index. Contains uncolored plates 1-88, 39 of which have two illustrations ("Fig. 1, Fig 2").

This book is a classic and one that was extraordinarily innovative for its time. It combines the elements of a field guide and a handbook in a pocket-sized work on a subject that had heretofore not been cohesively assembled. The systematic text presents overviews of the various families, keys to identification of the species, and distributions and descriptions including measurements of the individual species. There are also annotations concerning life histories. The pictures are mainly fine photographs selected from the oeuvre of various outstanding ornithological photographers of the era. However, there are also 11 plates after drawings by the author who was a competent artist. The selection of what families of birds to include is debatable. The author decided to list and describe every member of the families that he selected.

The title page states "With 140 Illustrations". It is not clear how the publishers arrived at this figure.

This book was reprinted many times and a second edition was published in 1954. The book is listed by Wood, p. 185, and by AMNH, Cornell, Harvard, Trinity and Yale although most or all of these listings are later printings save that of Wood. The first printing is uncommon, particularly with the jacket.

Alexander, W.(ilfred)B.(ackhouse)(1885-1965)

A revised list / of the / birds of Oxfordshire 21.2 x 13.8 cm. Pp.[1]2-36. Original printed gray wrappers. Oxford, printed for the Oxford Ornithological Society at the Holywell, Press, 1947. Signed in ink and dated (31 Aug. 1949) by the author on the upper cover.

1, systematic text, Colymbus stellatus-Coccothraustes coccothraustes; 36, printer designation; Holywell Press, Alfred Street, Oxford.

A brief summary of the local status of 251 enumerated species. The list is a revision of one that he first published in 1939. This copy contains many penciled annotations by a knowledgeable hand.

OCLC locates three copies.

Ali, Salim (1896-1987)

The birds / of / Sikkim 24.8 x 16.7 cm. [A]⁸B⁸[1]⁸2-26⁸(including terminal blank)[$1 signed]; 224 ll. Pp. [I-v]vi-xxx[xxxi](1)[1]2-414(2, blank). Original publisher's blue-gray cloth with blue printing on spine. Blue-gray endpapers. Blue-gray dust jacket with blue printing on upper cover and spine. Madras, John Brown, Oxford University Press, 1962.

i, Half-title; ii, books by Ali; iii title; iv, copyright; acknowledgement; credits: text printed at Diocesan Press, Madras; plates at Times of India Press, Bombay; publisher designation; John Brown; v, contents; xvii, list of plates; xxiii, introduction; xxiv, vegetation; xxviii, migration; xxix, some important literature; further acknowledgements; xxxi, parts and topography of a bird; 1, systematic text, Mergus merganser orientalis-Mycerobas affinis, comprising almost 500 species; 393, species (almost 100) requiring confirmation; 399, index of English and Latin names. Contains: half-tone plates 1-26 printed on both sides and not included in pagination; of these 9-25 colored after Paul Barruel (6), Robert Scholz (6) and David M. Reid-Henry (5); 1-8 and 26 photographic mostly of habitat; 41 unnumbered uncolored text line drawings including one full-page, mostly by Reid-Henry but at least one (full-page) by Walter Ahrens.

Although Himalayan birds were often treated as part of expedition reports, this is the first comprehensive work specifically devoted to them since Gould's first folio (1830-1833) and thus represents an important ornithological contribution. Ali, the first Indian ornithologist of international status, had previously written a fine little book on Indian Hill Birds (1949) beautifully illustrated by David Reid-Henry's father, G. M. Henry. The present work may be considered a small handbook of Himalayan ornithology. The accounts of the various species include: original citation; field characters; status and habitat; distribution in Sikkim; general habits; nesting; racial characteristics and measurements. Almost 500 species are described with brief mention of nearly 100 others. The birds are all referenced to "FBI" (Fauna of British India, presumably the eight-volume edition by Baker [1922-1930]). The 17 very good colored plates depict about 150 species.

Ali was later to write, with S. Dillon Ripley, the definitive Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan.

This work is listed by AMNH, Cornell, Harvard, Trinity, Yale.

Ali, Salim (1896-1987)

The Book / of / Indian Birds 18.4 x12.5 cm. Pp. [i-ii]iii-xxxv1-395xxxvii(sic)-xxxix[xl]; 217 ll (page designation xxxvi absent due to printer's error). Original blue cloth with gilt lettering on spine, gilt design of great hornbill on upper cover. Bombay, Bombay Natural History Society, 1941.

i, title; ii, blank; iii, preface; vii, contents; ix, introduction; xix, descriptive terminology; xxiii, how to recognize birds in the field; 1, descriptions and color plates; 92, nests and nesting behavior; 105, descriptions and color plates; 190, bird migration; 201, descriptions and color plates; 289, usefulness of birds; 297, descriptions and color plates; 390, bird watching; xxxvii, index; xl, printer's designation: H. W. Smith at The Times of India Press. Contains an uncolored folding map between pp. 195 and 196 not included in pagination. Also contains 19 uncolored photographic plates, three full-page uncolored diagrams and 173 colored plates all on leaves printed on both sides and included in the pagination with numerical designations corresponding to their pagination.

This is the most significant popular work on Indian ornithology of the 20^th century and represents to that field what the Peterson guide represents to North American ornithology. The work began with five charts depicting 181 common Indian birds prepared by the Bombay Society of Natural History in 1928. In the mid 1930s, these charts were cut up and the plates corresponding to the various species were mounted in an album and distributed as such without text. An example of the album is in my collection. Ali was then recruited to write the text. He covered size, field characters, distribution, habits and nesting for the 181 species as well as contributing essays on various aspects of ornithology as indicated in the description above.

Ali subsequently became a prolific author and the leading figure of Indian ornithology. In the preface to this work, he laments what he considers the poor quality of the illustrations which he attributes to the fact that the artists, H. N. Wandrekkar and K. B. Sawedekar, were not acquainted with natural history. He selected his own illustrators for the numerous later editions. The book is comparable in its influence not only to the Peterson guide (1934) but also to Neville Cayley's What Bird is That? (1931) and Austin Roberts's Birds of South Africa (1940). All these books have gone through numerous editions and impressions and have remained in print for many years. Each had a relatively small initial press run, probably between one and two thousand, so that original editions such as this example are very uncommon. The 13^th edition of this work was published in 2002.

All major libraries have various editions of Ali's Book of Indian Birds, however, this first edition is not present in the those of Cornell, Harvard, Trinity and Yale. I did find it listed for the libraries of LSU and the AMNH.

Ali, Salim (1896-1987)

I bought this second copy of the rare first printing because it retained its original dust jacket.

Ali subsequently became a prolific author and the leading figure of Indian ornithology. In the preface to this work, he laments what he considers the poor quality of the illustrations which he attributes to the fact that the artists, H. N. Wandrekkar and K. B. Sawedekar, were not acquainted with natural history. He selected his own illustrators for the numerous later editions. The work remained in print long after his death, the 13^th edition appearing in 2002. The book is comparable in its influence not only to the Peterson guide (1934) but also to Neville Cayley's What Bird is That? (1931) and Austin Roberts's Birds of South Africa (1940). All these books have gone through numerous editions and impressions and have remained in print for many years. Each had a relatively small initial press run, probably between one and two thousand, so that original editions such as this example are very uncommon.

Ali, Salim (1896-1987)

The book / of / Indian birds / eighth edition / revised 18.4 x 12.5 cm. Pp. [i-iv]v-xlvi1-162xlvii-lx(1). Original maroon cloth with gilt great hornbill logo of Bombay Natural History Society on upper cover, gilt lettering on spine. End paper maps, the upper one color-printed by a non-photomechanical technique. Pictorial dust jacket with original price of Rs 25.00 on upper flap. Bombay, Bombay Natural History Society, (1968).

i, Half-title; ii, list of books by Ali; iii, title with hornbill logo; iv, list of previous editions and printings; printer designation: The Leaders Press Private Ltd., Bombay; v, preface; vii, new sequence of orders and families; x, blank; xi, contents; list of black and white plates, diagrams and maps; xiii, introduction; xxiv, topography of a bird, line diagram; xxv, anatomical terms; xxvi-xxvii, line diagrams of heads and feet; xxviii, keys to recognizing birds in the field; 1, species accounts 1-264, Corvus splendens-Rhynchops albicollis, species 1-264; 133, some nests and nesting behavior; 140, flight; 152, usefulness of birds; xlvii, index of English names. Contains 88 plates (1-64, 64A, 64B, 65-86), printed in half-tone (66 colored) on both sides of 44 leaves. The uncolored plates are mostly photographs after the author, Loke Wan Tho, Bates and Lowther. Also contains three full-pages of anatomical line diagrams and end paper maps.

It was never Ali's intention to make this work an all inclusive field guide. Rather, it is a kind of layman's handbook of common Indian birds. The original edition of 1941 described and illustrated 181 species. More were included with subsequent editions and colored plates were completely redone and continually added. In the original edition, Ali started with crows and ended with grebes, the standard classification sequence at the time. New species were added at the end in later editions and the sequence was no longer completely systematic. Standard classification became reversed (grebes-crows) shortly before the present edition and Ali paid lip service to this by listing the new sequence in the preliminaries but maintaining the old one in the text. He apparently wasn't ready to reorganize the book completely.

This book has been in print for well over half a century now and has reached its deserved status as a classic and important contribution to Indian ornithology. Although it deals with a limited number of species, it provides comprehensive accounts for each. The illustrations evolved over the years and those for this edition by J. Pirani and J. Scholz are nicely done and well produced.

All collections of ornithological books contain at least one edition of this work.

Ali, Salim (1896-1987)

Field Guide / to the birds of the / Eastern Himalayas 18.2 x 12.3 cm. Pp. [i-v]vi-xvi[1]2-265(1). Original publisher's blue cloth with gilt lettering to spine. Endpaper maps. Pictorial dust jacket. Delhi, R. Dayal, Oxford University Press, 1977.

i, Half-title; ii blank; iii, title; iv, copyright; printer designation: Aroon Purie at the Thomson Press Limited, Faridabad; publisher designation: R. Dayal; v, preface; vii, contents; ix, list of colored plates; xi, introduction; xv, bird parts and bird topography; xvi, legend for plate 1; 1, systematic text, species 1-536, Phalacrocorax carbo-Melphus lathami; 253, index of English and Latin names. Contains plates 1-37 printed in color half-tone, all save one printed on both sides of leaf and not included in pagination. Facing letter-press is included in pagination and has text printed on its obverse. Of the plates, 16 by Barruel, Scholz and Reid-Henry are reproduced from Ali's Birds of Sikkim (1962). The remaining 21 are after J. P. Irani (11), Winston Creado (6) and K. P. Jadav (4).

This book is a sort of synopsis of Ali's Birds of Sikkim (1962). The area covered is increased to include Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh which are the components of the "Eastern Himalayas", a bio-geographical unit. The abbreviated accounts for 536 species encompass size, field characters, status, habitat, food and call. Of the colored plates, 21 were created by talented Indian artists for this volume. The other 16 were published previously in Birds of Sikkim. The figures of plate 14 of this work were excised from plate 25 of the Birds of Sikkim and placed on a gray instead of cinnamon background. This was carelessly done so each figure has at least a partial incongruous cinnamon outline.

This work is listed by AMNH, Cornell, Harvard, Trinity and Yale.

Ali, Salim (1896-1987)

Indian / hill birds 17.9 x 12.2 cm. [1]⁴2-30⁴[$1 signed]; 120 ll. Pp. [i-iv]v-lii1-188. Original ochre cloth-covered flexible boards with black lettering to spine. Edges dyed ochre. Endpaper maps printed in blue (upper) and henna (lower). Bombay, Geoffrey Cumberlege, Oxford University Press, 1949.

i, Half-title; ii, blank; iii, title; iv, "first published 1949"; printer designation: W. S. Cowell Ltd., Ipswich, London; publisher designation: Geoffrey Cumberlege; v, preface; viii, blank; ix, concerning hill birds; xv, tabular distribution (Ghats, Western Himalayas, Eastern Himalayas, etc) of 287 species of hill birds; xxx, tabular key on how to recognize birds in the field; xlix, list of plates; 1-183(1), systematic text, Corvus macrorhynchus-Scolopax rusticola, for almost 200 species with mention of nearly 100 others; 185, index of English names. Contains color half-tone plates 1-64 after G. M. Henry illustrating 117 species and uncolored half-tone photographic plates 65-72 comprising 12 images by the author, W. T. Loke and S. P. Bates. All plates printed on both sides, not included in pagination.

This is one of Ali's early works and certainly amongst his best. The distribution table includes 13 elevated areas which can be regarded as islands and the relationship of their avifaunas is of considerable interest. The accounts for each species include: size; a detailed discussion of field characters; distribution, both Indian and general; habits; food; and nesting. The sections on habits are often quite extensive and filled with personal lore.

The illustrations by G.(eorge) M.(orrison) (1891-) Henry are not only superb, they are very well printed on matt paper. Henry was an entomologist at the Columbo Museum in Ceylon who also had an interest in birds and is well known for his coloured plates of the birds of Ceylon (1927-1935) and his Guide to the birds of Ceylon (1955). He was the father of David Morrison Reid-Henry, also a fine artist and illustrator of birds.

This work was reprinted in 1979.

The work is listed by Cornell, Harvard, Trinity and Yale. AMNH lists the reprint.

Allen, Arthur A.(ugustus)(1885-1964) (plates and drawings by George Miksch Sutton [1898-1982])

American / bird biographies / containing the complete life-histories of / familiar birds / written in autobiographical form 24.1 x 16.7 cm. Pp. [i-iv]v-ix(1)[1-2]3-238[239-240]; Publisher's brown cloth with gilt vignette of kingfisher on upper cover, gilt lettering on upper cover and spine. Pictorial endpapers by Sutton; Ithaca, New York, Comstock Publishing Company, Inc., (1934).

i, Half-title; ii, blank; iii, title; iv, copyright 1934; v, introduction; ix, contents; 1-2, half-title leaf; 3, te xt containing life-histories of 20 species; 225, questions on the life-histories of North American birds; 239, blank; 240, printer designation: The Lakeside Press R. H. Donnelley & Sons Company, Chicago. Contains 20 plates (10 colored), 17.9 x 11.5 cm, printed in half-tone on gray background with obverse blank and not included in pagination. Also contains uncolored half-tone text photographic figures 1-189 by Allen.

Arthur A. Allen, of Cornell University, was the first American Professor of Ornithology and a major figure in advancing the cause of ornithological education. He was an accomplished photographer and wrote numerous popular works on birds including contributions to the National Geographic Society magazine. The present work and its successor, The golden plover and other birds (1939), were written for children in the voice of the birds as first person. This volume contains 20 painlessly informative life-histories of common North American birds with a set of questions concerning them at the end. The appealing pictures by Sutton are much less cerebral than those done later in his career and appear to have been much influenced by the contemporary work of Walter A. Weber.

This book is listed by AMNH, Cornell, Trinity and Yale. Not listed by Harvard.

Allen, Arthur A.(ugustus)(1885-1964) (color plates by George Miksch Sutton [1898-1984])

The / golden plover / and other birds 24.1 x 16.7 cm. Pp. [i-iv]v-xiii)(1)[1-2]3-324. Publisher's green cloth with gilt lettering on upper cover and spine. Pictorial endpapers by Sutton. Pictorial dust jacket with printed price of $3.00 on upper flap. "AMERICAN BIRD BIOGRAPHIES / second series" printed in gilt on upper cover and spine. Ithaca, New York, Comstock Publishing Company Inc., 1939.

i, Half-title; ii blank; iii, title; iv, copyright 1939; printed in the United States of America; v, introduction; x, blank; xi, contents; xii, blank; xiii, list of color plates; 1-2, half-title leaf; 3, accounts of 27 species; 305 questions on the life-histories of North American birds. Contains seven unnumbered colored plates by Sutton printed in half-tone on one side only and not included in pagination. Also contains about 240 unnumbered, uncolored, half-tone photographic text illustrations by Allen.

This volume was designed for the instruction of children and maintains the rather pedantic style of its predecessor, American bird biographies (1934). Life histories of 27 species, most of them common, are presented through the voice of the bird as first person. A list of questions on these life-histories is supplied at the end. One might suppose from these two books that Allen was an elementary school teacher. Actually, he was a leader in ornithological education and established the first Department of Ornithology in the United States at Cornell where he was Professor of Ornithology.

Listed by AMNH, Cornell, Harvard, Trinity and Yale.

Allen & Ginter

Song birds / of the world 22.5 x 15.4 cm. Unpaginated. Ten chromolithographed leaves, printed on one side only, of thick, stock. Original publisher’s pictorial chromolithographed card covers, string-bound. Richmond, Allen & Ginter, late 19th century.

Allen & Ginter was a tobacco company that pioneered the use of illustrated cards as an advertising vehicle and gimmick. They were amongst the first to issue colored baseball cards. Their success led to their takeover by the American Tobacco Company. The present remarkable period piece is an advertisement for their cigarettes. The decorative advertising material is printed in sepia, probably by lithography, on the obverse of the upper and lower covers. The 10 enclosed chromolithographed leaves each depict from four to six birds in framed boxes that are superimposed on an attractive colored pictorial landscape. Each also has a few lines of poetry that are printed in sepia and blue. The depicted birds include a few North American and many exotic species. The images are very colorful but, not surprisingly, the chromolithography is not of the highest order.

OCLC locates eight copies.

Allen & Ginter

Birds / of the / tropics 15.3 x 22.9 cm. Pp. Ten unnumbered leaves printed on recto only, each containing four to six individual chromolithographed bird portraits in colorful habitat and one larger colored depiction of an interesting background or activity. Chromolithographed pictorial covers with title and publisher (Allen & Ginter) in blue on recto of upper cover. String binding. Richmond, Allen & Ginter, ca 1880s.

The internal sides of the covers contain elaborate vignettes printed in green as well as much printed advertising for the cigarettes produced by Allen & Ginter.

The lithography was done by George S. Harris of Philadelphia, New York and Chicago according to a small designation at the bottom of the recto of the lower cover. The format of the book is similar to that of “Song birds of the world” also published by Allen and Ginter

OCLC locates only five copies.

Allen, Elsa Guerdrum.

The history of American ornithology / before Audubon 30.0 x 23.4 cm Pp. [385-386]387-591(1). Original printed tan wrappers with repeated title page on upper cover, list of publications on lower cover, printer designation (Lancaster Press Inc., Lancaster, Pa inside upper cover). Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, New Series-Volume 41, Part 3. Philadelphia, American Philosophical Society, 1951.

385, Title; 386, frontispiece (Fig. 1); 387, preface; 389, contents; 390, introduction; 392, ancient bird lore; 393, Aristotle's studies and the middle ages; 401, continental bird lore and the encyclopedists; 414, early bird lore in England; 426, early bird lore in the western world; 443, early colonial bird observation in America; 454, mid-seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries; 463, Mark Catesby, founder of American ornithology; 478, American ornithology under European compilers; 501, bird observation resumed in America; 511, early observations around Hudson Bay and other boreal regions; 524, bird lists of the latter eighteenth century; 536, Bartram, Abbot and Vieillot; 552, Alexander Wilson, father of American ornithology; 570, bibliography (around 830 entries); 584, index. Contains uncolored half-tone figures 1-55 (four full-page).

This work assembles a great deal of information that is usually fragmented and difficult to find. Much of the early original ornithological literature concerning American birds is not well known because it can be easily overlooked in the travel narratives and historical accounts of which it may form a minor part. A good example is the important list of birds that is found in Jeremy Belknap's History of New Hampshire (1784). Mrs. Allen brings this type of material together and supplies biographies of some of the early visitors and American (native-born and naturalized) naturalists such as William Barton, John Abbot and Benjamin Smith Barton. The bibliography, while not descriptive, is none-the-less useful for its comprehensive coverage of an arcane subject.

The work was reprinted in 1969 and 1979.

Listed by Cornell, Harvard, Trinity, Yale (1969 reprint). Not listed by AMNH.

Allen, Glover M(orrill)

A List of the Birds / of / New Hampshire 23.0 x 15.6 cm. π²3-14⁸[15]⁴; 102 ll. Pp. Two preliminary leaves (title, contents, versos blank)[23]24-222; Original gray printed wrappers. Manchester, published by the Institute, Nature Study Press, 1903. Comprises Vol. IV, Part One of the Proceedings of the Manchester Institute of Arts and Scences.

Pages 1-22 (including upper wrapper) are concerned with the Institute. 23, Introduction; 25 literature; 36, faunal areas; 38, life zones; 54, migration; 62, annotated list (254 species); 187, introduced species (three); 188, postscript (additional 29 species); 194, references; 205, index.

This is the first comprehensive review of New Hampshire birds. In the literature section, Allen reprints Jeremy Belknap's original annotated list of seven pages comprising 130 species and published in the third volume (1792) of his History of New Hampshire. I was unaware of Belknap's list which was carefully done and must rank as amongst the earliest important contributions to ornithology printed in America. Allen's list was the first covering the entire state since Belknap's.

Allen covers the distribution and status of 286 species and is well written and authoritative. There are numerous very knowledgeable penciled marginalia in this copy, most of which are attributed to "Albert M^cGowan, in litt" with dates from ca. 1920-1930. This copy may have belonged to M^cGowan.

A catalog from the late 1930s of the Boston Bird Book Company states that only 300 copies of this list were printed.

Mengel, #52; Trinity, p. 14; Wood, p. 186; Zimmer, p. 4. Not in Ripley-Scribner.

Allen, Robert Porter (1905-)

The / Whooping Crane 26.5 x 20.0 cm. Pp. 2PLi-xxvi(2, blank)1-246; 139 ll. Original printed gray wrappers with whooping crane design on upper cover. Research Report No. 3 of the National Audubon Society, New York, National Audubon Society, June 1952.

PL1r, half-title; PL1v, blank; PL2r, title; PL2v, copyright and printer's designation: Roy Press, New York, N. Y.; i, foreword by John H. Baker, president, NAS; iii, preface; v, acknowledgments; xi, contents; xv, list of illustrations; xix, introduction including brief account of each species of crane; 1, distribution; 64, abundance; 87, migration; 105, food habits; 125, winter life; 169, breeding cycle; 197, molts, plumages, anatomy; 203, protection and conservation; 221, appendix; 227, bibliography; 240, index. Contains colored photographic frontispiece and seven leaves of unnumbered, uncolored plates including six that are printed on both sides for a total of 13 plates not included in pagination. Also contains 47 unnumbered text figures including maps, graphs and sketches.

This was the third of the NAS Research Reports on birds considered to be in danger of extinction. The preceding reports were by James Tanner on the Ivory-billed Woodpecker and by Allen on the Roseate Spoonbill. The fate of the Whooping Crane since that era, still rare but increasing, fortunately resembles more closely that of the now common Spoonbill than that of the probably extinct Woodpecker. These Research Reports were meticulous works of scholarship and of field investigation. They drew national attention to the plights of the species they described and to the field of conservation in general. This book was written before the discovery of the principal breeding ground of the Whooping Crane in Wood Buffalo Park, northern Alberta.

Trinity, p. 14. Present in all major libraries and collections.

Allen, Robert Porter (1905-1963)

The / roseate spoonbill / research report No. 2 / of the / National Audubon Society 26.3 x 19.6 cm. Pp. (4)I-XVIII1-142. Binder’s blue-green buckram with gilt lettering to spine. TEG. Original printed gray wrappers bound at rear. New York, National Audubon Society, December, 1942.

First preliminary leaf: recto, half-title; verso, list of antecedent research report; second preliminary leaf: recto, title; verso, copyright 1942; Mack Printing Company, Easton, Pa. I, foreword by John H. Baker; III, preface by Allen; V, acknowledgments; VII, contents; X, blank; XI, list of illustrations; XIV, blank; XV, introduction; 1, part I, distribution; 15, part II, abundance; 37, part III, migration and postnuptial wandering; 49, part IV, limiting factors; 71, part V, breeding cycle behavior; 91, part VI, food and feeding habits; 119, part VII, plumages and molts; 129, part VIII, the future; 131, appendix including local and foreign names for spoonbill and scientific names for mentioned plants and animals; 135, bibliography (almost 200 references); 139, index. Contains color half-tone frontispiece after Roger Tory Peterson and uncolored half-tone photographic plates 1-20 printed on both sides of eight glossy, unpaginated leaves. Also contains text figures 1-44, mostly sketches by the author and maps.

The situation for the spoonbill was not nearly so dire as those for other species (ivory-billed woodpecker, whooping crane, California condor) that were the subjects of these scholarly monographs sponsored and published by the Society around mid-century. There was, however, considerable concern that the spoonbill might not survive in Florida. It has increased substantially in that state since this report was written.

Listed by AMNH, Cornell, Harvard, Yale and Trinity.

Allen, Robert Porter (1905-1963)

The flamingos: their life / history and survival / with special reference to the American or West Indian flamingo 26.6 x 20.0 cm. Pp. [i-iv]v-xv(1)1-285(1). Original publisher’s printed gray card wrappers. New York, National Audubon Society, 1956. Research Report No. 5 of the National Audubon Society

i, Half-title; ii, blank; iii, title; copyright 1956, National Audubon Society; Dartmouth Printing Company, Hanover, New Hampshire; v, foreword by John H. Baker; vi, preface by Arthur S. Vernay; viii, acknowledgments; ix, table of contents; xiii, list of illustrations; xv, list of tables; 1, introduction; 20, distribution and migration; 64, numbers; 76, food, habits and ecology; 115, the breeding cycle; 193, conservation: limiting factors and the protection problem; 239, bibliography (more than 600 references); 261 appendices; 265, index. Contains 14 unnumbered glossy plates, five in color half-tone, printed on 13 pages (12 leaves) not included in pagination. One color plate is a fine depiction in color by Roger Tory Peterson of all six species. The other plates are photographs. Also contains about 49 unnumbered, uncolored text illustrations.

This is the last of the Audubon Society’s “Research reports”. The best known of these is the first, James Tanner’s “The ivory-billed woodpecker” (1942). Others were Allen’s works on the whooping crane and roseate spoonbill and Koford’s treatise on the California condor.

The work encompasses extensive information on all six species of Flamingo with special emphasis on the American, Phoenicopterus ruber.

OCLC locates about 137 copies.

Allouse (Allüs), Bashir E.

Birds of Iraq Three parts bound in one volume. 22.8 x 16.5 cm. 142, 152 and 143 ll (total 436=872 pp) in volumes I, II, III. Binder's blue buckram with computer-generated labels in English on upper cover and spine. Baghdad, Ar-Rabitta Press, 1960, 1961 and 1962. Contains colored plates I-XXI printed on one side only and not included in pagination. Contains 828 uncolored text illustrations numbered in Arabic, some full-page.

This is an important work since it is the first, and still only significant comprehensive national ornithology (exclusive perhaps of Egypt) written in Arabic. The author, obviously highly knowledgeable and internationally connected, was Professor of Zoology and Director of the Iraq Natural History Institute at the University of Baghdad.

What an effort the production of this book must have been! The colored plates were adapted from Peterson's Field Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe . Nine were printed by the Ar-Rabitta Press while the other twelve were done in England and the difference is marked. The paper is very thin and of low quality, and the text illustrations are very poorly printed. Some of them are from the Peterson Guide, others are from Dresser's Birds of Europe of which the University must have possessed a copy, and many others are line sketches which indicate that their artist was familiar with the species. The work contains a fairly extensive introduction to general ornithology and then a systematic treatment of more than 300 species, most of which are illustrated.

The three parts are bound in the usual western order, i. e. I, II, III left to right. However, the pagination in each is Arabic i. e. right to left save for the English sections of each, which are at the end (i. e. the left) but which are themselves bound left to right. These English sections comprise four leaves in volume I (foreword, acknowledgments, note about plates, table of contents); two leaves in volume two (acknowledgments, contents, list of colored plates) and 17 pages (15 paginated in English) for volume III as follows: (2, title, blank); 1, preface; 3, contents, systematic list; 4, list of colored plates; 5, bibliography; 8, index of English names; 12, index of scientific names.

Trinity, p. 15. Also listed by Harvard, Cornell, AMNH.

Alphéraky, Sergius (Alferaki, Sergei Nikolaevich)(1850-1918)

The Geese of Europe / and Asia / Being a description of most of the / old world species 33.6 x 26.3 cm. π[A]⁴B-2C⁴[$1 signed]; 105 ll. Pp. [i-iv]v-ix(1)[1]2-198[199](1). Original publisher's green cloth with gilt double horizontal rules at top and bottom of upper cover, gilt lettering to upper cover and spine. TEG. London, Rowland Ward, 1905.

i, Half-title; ii, blank; iii, title; iv, blank; v, preface (for English edition); vii, contents; ix, list of plates; 1, introduction; 7, keys to genera, species, subspecies; 12, specific accounts covering 22 forms; 185, appendix I, G. F. Göbel on eggs of Russian geese; 191, appendix II, diary by S. A. Buturlin of a visit to Kolguev; 197-198, index; 198, printer designation: R. & R. Clarke, Limited, Edinburgh. Corrigenda slip inserted at iv/v. Contains chromolithographed frontispiece after P. Sushkin and chromolithographic plates 1-24 (21 of birds, three of bills) after F. W. Frohawk bound at end. All plates printed by J. N. Kusnerev of Moscow and mounted on guards. Also contains six unnumbered text figures diagramming 16 bills with indicated measurements.

This book is a translation by John Marshall from the original Russian Gusi Rossi published in 1904. It characterizes European geese in a very detailed and meticulous manner. Accounts of forms include: Latin, English, Russian, Russian dialect and Samoyed (where appropriate), French and German names; synonymy/ bibliography; description of every plumage stage; a series of measurements; a section on bill and teeth; geographical distribution; nesting and habits with egg measurements.

The illustrations are very attractive. Sushkin's frontispiece tableau of many geese in a Siberian setting projects a special ambiance and Frohawk's more detailed pictures also provide enough background to make them more than just portraits. The chromolithography by the Moscow firm of Kusnerev has its own pleasing character.

Alpheraky also wrote a monograph on Eurasian ducks that was published (ca.1902) in Russian only. The complete work contained 24 plates and is one of the rarest of ornithological books

Wood, p. 188. Zimmer, p. 6. Also listed by AMNH, Cornell, Harvard, Trinity, Yale

Amadon, Dean (1912-2003)

Avian Systematics and Evolution / in the Gulf of Guinea / The J. G. Correia Collection 27.0 x 19.6 cm. Pp. [393-396]397-451(1); 30 ll. Original printed blue wrappers with black lettering on upper cover. New York, American Museum of Natural History, 1953. Bulleting of the American Museum of Natural History, Volume 100, article 3, issued January 20, 1953.

303, Half-title; 394, blank; 395, title; 396, journal citation; 397, contents; 398, blank; 399, introduction; 401, Gulf of Guinea islands; 404, systematic notes; 437, lists of birds for the four islands; 440, zoogeography; 442, some evolutionary factors; 449, summary; 449, literature cited. Contains uncolored photoplates 1-4, text figure 1.

The islands of Fernando Po, Principe, Saô Tomé and Annobon are volcanic peaks that are a linear continuation of the range containing Mt. Cameroon on the mainland. Correia collected on the first three of these islands during 1928-29 and Amadon here describes and analyzes the collection publicly for the first time. He supplements the information with additional material from the literature concerning Annobon, the smallest, and much the least significant of the islands ornithologically. There is quite a high degree of avian endemicity on these islands, particularly Principe and Saô tomé, even including four endemic genera. The present work is an excellent overview and synthesis of a very interesting isolated avifauna.

This article appeared in the Bulleting of the American Museum of Natural History and its presence in a library is usually determined by whether the library subscribes to the Bulletin. I believe that the format of the Bulletin was changed from "octavo" to the present "quarto" or "large octavo" slightly before this article was published. The print run was also increased around this time.

Amadon, Dean (1912-2003)

The Hawaiian Honeycreepers / (Aves, Drepaniidae) 27.0 x 19.5 cm. Pp. [151-154]155-262; 56 ll. Original printed blue-gray wrappers. New York, American Museum of Natural History. 1950. Bulletin of the AMNH, Vol. 95, art. 4, issued Dec. 11, 1950. Original listed price, $1.75.

151, Half-title; 152, blank; 153, title; 154, bulletin designation; 155, contents; 157, introduction; 160, Hawaiian environment; 163, systematics, distribution; 178, analysis of measurements; 193, molts, plumages; 197, color, color pattern; 199, feeding; 206, song, nesting, locomotion; 209, parasites, disease, extinction; 213, comparative anatomy; 231, phylogeny; 234, speciation; 241, macroevolution; 251, summary; 254, appendix 1, native land and fresh water birds; 253, appendix 2, explanation of diagrams; 260, literature. Contains uncolored text figures 1-23, uncolored half-tone photoplates 9-15 and tables 1-15. Inscribed on half-title to Robert Storer and signed by author.

The Hawaiian Honeycreepers provide the best example of evolution in an isolated environment but are often overlooked in this regard. The present important work of scholarship represents the first systematic treatment devoted solely to this exceptionally interesting group.

Amadon served in the Hawaiian Islands during World War II when he did the field work for this monograph which was submitted as his thesis for the Ph. D. degree at Cornell. He spent his entire career at the American Museum of Natural History where he eventually became Curator of Ornithology.

This work appeared in the Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History and is not usually listed by libraries as an individual publication even though the articles making up the various volumes were issued separately. The Bulletin had a notoriously small print run until shortly after World War II at around the time of this publication.

Amuchastegui, Axel (1921-)

Pajaros del Mundo 31 x 21.0 Hand-made paper in quarto configuration. Three volumes. Buckram-backed pictorial boards, patterned endpapers. Buenos Aires, Codex S. A., 1957

Each volume with the same eccentric pagination i. e. 53 ll as follows: (viii)13-106[107-109(110). i, half-title; iii, title; iv, copyright and publication data; v, editorial note; vii, contents; 13, text; 109, publication data. Each volume contains colored plates (Láminas) I-XXIV printed on recto only with both sides included in pagination. Volume I has the general title printed in blue and has the volume title Pájaros de Sudamérica; volume II has the general title printed in red and the volume title Pájaros y el amor; volume III has the general title printed in green and the volume title Pájaros y el hogar. Volume III in this copy has a duplicate of plate XXIV and thus one more leaf than the other volumes. Volume I is inscribed on the title page to Frank A. James and signed by Amuchastegui.

This is an unusual, rare and beautiful book. The illustrations for the first volume appeared originally in Pájaros Sudaméricanos by Gollan published by Codex in 1949. Those for volume II in Selva Andrade's Love Life of the Birds published by Codex in 1952. The texts in the present volumes are entirely different from those which previously accompanied the colored plates. The material in volume III is all entirely new.

The plates are exceptionally beautiful and show Amuchastegui's development as an artist. Those in the first volume are devoted exclusively to neotropical birds and demonstrate a great influence of Descourtilz in the composition of the birds amongst colorful plants. The pictures in the second and third volumes exhibit more attention to the shapes of the birds and a more complex and interesting background. Although many of the plates were published before, their reproduction here was somewhat different. For example, in comparing the plates of volume I with those in Pájaros Sudaméricanos I noted the following: Amuchastegui's signature could be discerned only on the later plates; the style of lettering of the plate legends, and the legends themselves, are not identical; the colored figures are glossier, the reds are more intense, and the blues contain more green in the later book.

The text comprises a very brief description and life history and summarizes the distribution of each species. It is not clear whether it was written by Amuchastegui or by an anonymous author hired by the publisher.

This three-volume set is extremely rare. I found a copy only after looking for 17 years. Laid loosely into volume I is a letter I received from a bookseller in Buenos Aires from whom I solicited either a copy or information about it. After considerable search, he concluded "I do not believe that this book exists…". There is a copy in the Rare Book Collection of the American Museum of Natural History. OCLC locates four copies.

(Amuchastegui, Axel [1921-], artist)(text by Jose Santos Gollan, Rogelio B. Lopez; series under the directorship of Adolfo Holmberg)

Pajaros / Sudamericanos 31.3 x 22.9 cm. Pp. [1-6]7-147[148-149](1). Publisher's red cloth with gilt line ornithological design on upper cover, gilt lettering to spine. Red endpapers with white line ornithological design as on cover. Contained in slipcase of red patterned boards together with red cloth portfolio holding loose extra suite of (23 of 24, lacks manakins) colored plates from the book. Buenos Aires, Editorial Codex Sarandi, (1947).

1-2, blank save manuscript gift note on 2; 3, series title: Biblioteca de Ornitologia americana, printed in red; 4, blank; 5, title printed in red; 6, copyright 1947; printed in Argentine; 7, prologo by Holmberg; 10, blank; 11, introduccion; 13, half-title printed in red; 14, topography of a bird with line diagram printed in red; 15, text and plates; 137, section title: indices; 139, list of plates; 140, index of names in Spanish and Latin; 149, colophon: limitation statement, this set #119 of 130 (25-154, "Edicion Especial") containing an extra suite of plates (standard edition 155-3154). Contains 24 unnumbered colored plates depicting 64 species printed in half-tone on recto only with tissue guards and included in pagination. Also contains about 13 decorative initial letters, three printed in red.

This was Amuchastegui's first significant contribution to ornithological illustration. The brightly colored birds include tanagers, cotingas, cardinals and some spectacular flycatchers as well as woodpeckers and a kingfisher. The placement amongst decorative accompanying plants is reminiscent of the work of Descourtilz. The accompanying text seems to comprise a description with distribution and life history. There is also a general discussion of the families represented.

The work is supposed to be part of a series about South American birds but I haven't seen or heard of any other books from the series.

This is a special edition with an extra suite of plates. The standard edition is listed by AMNH, Cornell, Harvard, Trinity and Yale.

Amuchástegui, Axel (1921-)(text by Line, Les)

Some birds / and mammals / of North America 53.2 x 35.3 cm. Contains 40 unpaginated leaves including 16 colored plates (eight birds, eight mammals) as described below. Quarter blue morocco and marbled boards. Artist's gilt monogram on leather of upper cover. Gilt lettering to spine. TEG. Housed in publisher's plain blue cloth slipcase. London, the Tryon Gallery in association with George Rainbird, (1971).

Leaf 1; recto-verso, blank.

Leaf 2, recto: half-title; verso blank.

Leaf 3, recto: title printed in red; verso: copyright 1971; credits: printing and color printing by the Curwen Press, London; binding by Zaehnsdorf; design by George Rainbird; limitation statement signed with artist's monogram: 500 copies for distribution, this copy being No. 313.

Leaf 4, recto: publisher's note by A. D. T. (Aylmer Tryon); verso, blank.

Leaf 5; recto: list of plates I-XV; verso, blank.

Leaf 6: recto: half-title; verso, blank.

Leaves 7-39, plates I-XVI, with descriptive text, the plates themselves unnumbered, unlettered, guarded by thin tissue sheets, and printed on recto only.

Leaf 40; recto-verso, blank.

This is the second of Amuchástegui's large folios. The plates are printed on matte paper in color half-tone with some possible areas of gravure. The birds depicted include: Turkey; Wood Duck; Ivory-billed Woodpecker; Bald Eagle; Mountain Quail; Blue Jay; Boat-tailed Grackle; and Cardinal. It is quite impossible to do complete justice to the Jay and Cardinal, two archetypal North American birds, but these pictures come as close as any.

Listed by AMNH. Not listed by Cornell, Harvard, Trinity, Yale.

Amuchástegui, Axel (1921-)(descriptive text by Hook, Hilary)

Some birds / and mammals / of Africa 53.0 x 35.0 cm. Contains 38 unpaginated leaves including 14 colored plates (five birds, nine mammals) as described below. Quarter blue morocco, marbled boards. Artist's gilt monogram on leather of upper cover. Gilt lettering to spine. TEG. Housed in publisher's plain blue cloth slipcase. London, The Tryon Gallery, (1979).

Leaf 1; recto-verso, blank.

Leaf 2: recto, half-title; verso, blank.

Leaf 3: recto, title printed in green; verso: copyright; credits: color printing and printing by the Curwen Press, London; binding by Zaehnsdorf of London; designer unidentified; limitation statement signed with artist's monogram, this copy being #160/500 for distribution.

Leaf 4: recto, publisher's note by A. D. T. (Aylmer Tryon); verso, blank.

Leaf 5: recto, list of plates I-XIV; verso, blank.

Leaf 6: recto, half-title; verso, blank.

Leaves 7-36, plates I-XIV with descriptive letter-press, the plates, themselves, unnumbered, unlettered, guarded by substantial tissue leaves, and printed on one side only.

Leaves 37-38, blank.

This is the last of three matching large folios by Amuchástegui. The plates are printed somewhat differently from the previous volumes in color half-tone on semi-glossy paper. The birds depicted include; Verreaux's Eagle; Spoonbill; Ross' Touraco; White-headed Buffalo Weaver; and Golden-breasted Starling.

The paintings of Amuchástegui are often characterized by incredibly meticulous detail with elements such as tree trunks, rocks, even blades of grass, painted as though entire landscapes, and with much attention directed at light and shadow. One of my favorites is the spoonbill in this volume. The entire large surface is replete with detail, the bill of the bird in this case painted as though a whole landscape. Blades of marsh grass cast shadows on those below them. Amuchástegui was also a master at projecting texture and one can feel the plumage of the spoonbill in this picture. In the plate showing the white-headed buffalo weavers, the nests are so closely rendered that one wonders how long he must have spent in creating them.

Artists specializing in natural history rarely have the luxury of publishing works that contain pictures done solely as works of art. Two outstanding examples that come to mind are Joseph Wolf's Zoological Sketches ((1861-1867) and Edouard Traviès' Les Oiseaux les plus remarquables..(ca. 1855). I feel that Amuchágui's works are artistically comparable to those although plates printed in color half-tone suffer by comparison with lithographs colored or finished by hand. It is interesting that Amuchastegui's three large folio volumes were not immediately purchased by the major libraries and, although at least the first two were out of print, did not fetch high auction prices at the end of the 20^th century.

Listed by AMNH. Not listed by Cornell, Harvard, Trinity, Yale.

Amuchástegui, Axel (1921-), (text by Andrade, Carlos Selva, introduction by Sitwell, Sacheverell)

Some birds / and mammals / of South America 52.8 x 35.3 cm. Contains 40 unpaginated leaves including 17 colored plates (11 of birds, six of mammals) as described below. Quarter blue morocco and marbled boards with artist's monogram in gilt on leather of upper cover. Gilt lettering to spine. TEG. Housed in publisher's plain blue cloth slipcase. London, The Tryon Gallery in association with George Rainbird, (1966).

Leaf 1: recto, colored frontispiece; verso, blank.

Leaf 2: recto, half-title; verso, blank.

Leaf 3: recto, title printed in blue; verso; copyright 1966; credits: color printing by L. van Leer & Company, Amsterdam; printing by the Curwen Press, London; binding by Zaehnsdorf, London; design by George Rainbird; limitation statement, this copy being #177/300 signed with artist's monogram.

Leaf 4: recto, publisher's note by Aylmer Tryon; verso blank.

Leaf 5: recto, plates listed in numerical (frontispiece, I-XVI) order; verso, blank.

Leaf 6: recto-verso, introduction Sitwell;

Leaf 7: recto, half-title, verso, blank.

Leaves 8-39 encompass plates I-XVI. In the case of each, a leaf containing the title of the plate on its recto and the number and letter-press for the plate on its verso, is followed by a second leaf with the plate, itself unnumbered and untitled, printed on recto only. There is a thin tissue guard for each plate.

Leaf 40; recto, list of plates alphabetically referenced to English names; verso, blank.

This is the first of three large folios that were designed to showcase the beautiful pictures by this Argentine artist. The plates are printed on matte paper in color half-tone with what seem to be occasional small areas of gravure for the lighter colors. The first 50 of the 300 copies of this work that were printed for distribution contained an original watercolor by Amuchástegui and 24 of these were reproduced for a smaller trade volume (30.1 cm), entitled Studies of Birds and Mammals of South America(1967) so there is no overlap between that book and this one.

The plates in this work, unlike those in the two subsequent folios, were printed by van Leer and figured subjects and foliage from the artist's native continent. These factors render this one, in my view, the most attractive of the three. The depicted birds are: Argentine Eagle; Rosy-bill; Bay-winged Cowbird; Blue-and-yellow Macaw; Urraca Jay; Andean Cock-of-the-rock; Toco Toucan; Ornate Hawk eagle; Red-headed Black Woodpecker; Blue-and-yellow Tanager; Black-necked Swan.

This folio edition unlisted by AMNH, Cornell, Harvard, Trinity, Yale.

Amuchástegui, Axel (1921-)(text by Helmut Sick [1910-])

Studies of / birds and mammals / of South America 30.5 x 23.0 cm. Pp. [1-6]7-63(1). Publisher's blue-gray cloth with silver lettering to upper cover and spine. Pictorial dust jacket with price of $15.00 printed on upper flap. Princeton, D. Van Nostrand Company, Inc in association with the Tryon Gallery London, 1967.

1, Half-title; 2, blank; 3, title; 4, copyright 1967; designed and produced by George Rainbird Ltd, London; printed by L. Van Leer & Co. N. V., Amsterdam; 5, contents; 7, introduction by Sir Solly Zuckerman; 11, plates and accompanying text; 61, index of names in English, Latin and Spanish. Contains 24 unnumbered colored plates (16 birds, eight mammals) printed in half-tone on recto with versos of all save last containing explanatory text for next plate. All plates included in pagination.

This is the trade edition of a volume intended primarily as an affordable showcase for Amuchástegui's fine portraits. Helmut Sick, a leading authority on Brazilian birds, has provided interesting and informative accompanying essays. The limited quarto edition of this work differed by its quarter-morocco binding and by the presence of a chromolithographic frontispiece of an ocelot.

In 1963, Rainbird and Amuchastegui produced a beautiful limited edition folio, Some birds and mammals of South America. That work contained 17 printed colored plates, none of which overlapped with these. However, 50 of the 300 copies were embellished with an original painting and the nicely printed plates here were reproduced from those.

Listed by AMNH, Cornell, Harvard, Trinity and Yale.

Amuchastegui, Axel (1921-) (text by Sick, Helmut [1910-])

Studies of / Birds and Mammals / of South America 30.1 x 22.1 cm. Pp. [1-6]7-63(1); 32 ll. Original publisher's quarter blue morocco, marbled boards. TE dyed blue. London, John Murray in association with the Tryon Gallery, (1967).

1, Half-title; 2, blank; 3, title; 4, copyright, colophon; 5, contents; 7, introduction by Sir Solly Zuckerman; 11, half-title; 12, text; 61, index. Contains 24 unnumbered colored plates finely printed by in four color half-tone, with printed text for succeeding species on verso and included in pagination. Also contains what appears to be a chromolithographic (sic)portrait of ocelot as frontispiece printed on single side only, signed (? signature reproduced) and not included in pagination.

Amuchastegui, an Argentine, had illustrated some beautiful antecedent works but burst upon the artistic scene as a consequence of a highly successful exhibit at the Tryon Gallery in 1966. A large, limited edition folio entitled Some Birds and Mammals of South America resulted. That large format work was produced by George Rainbird and finely printed in color by L. Van Leer of Amsterdam, and bound by Zaehnsdorf. It contained a colored frontispiece and 16 colored plates. Of the 300 copies, 50 also contained an original painting by the artist. The present book was an offshoot of the large folio. However, none of its 16 bird or eight mammal pictures overlap with those in the big book and its text is different. I believe that the 24 are taken from the 50 original paintings that were present in special copies.

Most copies of the present work are of the trade edition, not specially bound and lacking the frontispiece. They were published by Murray in London and Van Nostrand in Princeton. This special de luxe edition of the quarto was bound identically to the folio, although allegedly by a different binder (Wigmore Bindery of London) which was perhaps associated with Zaehnsdorf. The frontispiece in this copy is of an ocelot. There is a different picture of an ocelot amongst the standard 24 plates. The frontispiece is highly unusual for a modern book in that it is not photomechanically reproduced and appears to be a chromolithograph. I do not know whether the same or another frontispiece is present in other de luxe copies of this book. There is no indication in this example of the number of copies of the de luxe edition. I believe I have read somewhere that there were 1000.

Amuchastegui's pictures are exceptionally beautiful and the superbly produced frontispiece is something very special. The text is by a very distinguished Brazilian ornithologist but is basically a vehicle for the art work.

The standard edition of this work is present in the AMNH, BM(NH), Cornell, Harvard, Smithsonian, Trinity and Yale libraries. However, these libraries do not contain either the de luxe quarto or the large folio works.

(Amuchasegui, Axel [1921-]), Santos Gollan, José, Lopez, Rogilio B.

Pajaros Sudamericanos Hand-made paper in quarto configuration. 311 x 228 mm. Pp. [1-6]7-148[148-150]; 75 ll. Original publisher's red boards with gilt design on upper cover, gilt lettering on spine. Red end papers with bird design. Pictorial dust jacket. Buenos Aires, Editorial Codex, (1947). Part of the series Biblioteca de Ornitologia Americana edited by Adolfo D. Holmberg.

1-2, blank; 3, series title; 4, blank; 5, title; 6, copyright; 7, prologue by Holmberg; 11, introduction; 13, half-title; 15, text; 139, list of plates; 140, index of Spanish and Latin names; 147, contents; 149, colophon and limitation statement. This is copy of the standard edition, #1895 of 3154 copies of which #s1-154 are special limited editions. Contains 24 unnumbered colored plates by Amuchastegui depicting 64 species. The plates are printed in half-tone on recto only, accompanied by unprinted tissue guards, and are included in the pagination; Also contains abut 13 decorative initial letters, three printed in red.

Amuchastequi illustrated a children's book about birds in 1947 as well, but this work represents his first serious contribution to ornithological iconography. The plates, printed on mat paper, are very impressive. They were subsequently reprinted and included with a different text as one of three volumes in Amuchastegui's own Pajoros del Mundo (1959).

The present work is said to be part of a series on ornithology of the Americas but this is the only volume of that series of which I have ever heard. It covers a sampling of families of striking birds such as Cotingas and Tanagers found in South America, mostly Passerine but also including Woodpeckers and Kingfishers. While not systematic, it does provide descriptions and accurate information about the various families and their genera and species.

This work is present in the libraries of AMNH, Cornell, Harvard, Trinity and Yale.

Anderson, Walter (Inglis) (1903-1965)

Birds 29.0 x 22.9 cm. Pp. [i-vi]vii-xxvi[1-2]3-116[117-118];72 ll. Original publisher's ivory cloth, gilt lettering on spine. Pictorial dust jacket. Red endpapers. Jackson and London, University of Mississippi Press, 1990. First Printing.

i, Half-title; ii-iii, title; iv, copyright, list of benefactors; v, dedication; vii, the birds of Walter Anderson, introductory essay by Mary Anderson Pickard (daughter);1, birds; 118, cataloging-in-publication data. Contains 128 (114 colored) unnumbered illustrations of which 74 are full-page, 18 are more than full-page. Most are reproductions of paintings by Anderson and all are included in pagination.

Walter Anderson, a Mississippian, was an artist and designer of pottery and furniture who has posthumously achieved high recognition for his artistry. He was subject to intermittent mental illness requiring hospitalization and spent much of his life living apart from his family in a tiny shack on an island off the coast of Mississippi. After his death, his family recovered an enormous trove of his artwork in the shack and the recovered pictures became the subject of various retrospectives. The present work was put together and written by his daughter. The identification of depicted birds was done by another member of the family and is often inacurate.

Apparently Anderson was always especially interested in birds and at one point, before publication of the Peterson guide, was advised by an ornithologist friend to prepare paintings for a guide to bird identification. A few of these pictures are included in the book to indicate that Anderson was capable of drawing birds in a very accurate and traditional way. Most of the pictures, however, are representations of the way he saw the birds as part of nature. The figures of the birds in these pictures remind me of the letters and numbers that are integrated into patterns in tests for color blindness. One can scarcely discern the outlines of the birds so closely are they integrated with the patterns of their surroundings. These are extraordinarily impressionistic tableaux, quite unlike anything I have ever seen. Their originality is comparable to that of the oeuvre of Charles Harper although there in no resemblance of the styles and presentations of the two artists.

Present at Cornell, Library of Congress, NYPL and Yale. Absent from AMNH, Harvard, Smithsonian and Trinity.

(Anderson, John[1833-1900])

Aves / list of species / collected on / the two expeditions / to / western Yunnan (from: Anatomical and Zoological Researches: comprising an account of the zoological results of the two expeditions to western Yunnan….). 31.5 x 25.2 cm. π²3Z-4P⁴4Q⁴(-4Q₄)[$1 signed]; 77 ll. Pp. (2)[567]568-702[953]954-967[968]. Late 20^th century quarter-morocco and marbled boards with matching endpapers. Spine with five raised ridges, second and sixth compartments with gilt lettering. (London, Bernard Quaritch, 1878[but actually 1879]).

π1r, Title; π1v, blank; 567-702, accounts of species; 953-967, general index, aves. Contains hand-colored lithographic plates XLV- LIV drawn and lithographed by J. G. Keulemans (first nine) and C. Berjeau (one), printedby Banks & Co. Edinburgh.

This is the extracted ornithological section from a work describing an important expedition to a remote and mountainous part of Chinese Asia. Only 250 copies of the complete work were printed. Anderson was the listed author of the main work as well as the author of the ornithological part. 233 Species of birds are listed with synonymy and with the sex, date and location of each collected specimen. There is also usually a brief commentary concerning the abundance, distribution and, if warranted, special aspects of the appearance, behaviour or life history. The author claims that only one species, Arachnethra edeni, is described for the first time in this work but this bird has subsequently been lumped with the Purple Sunbird as Nectarinia asiatica. A few other specimens collected by the expedition were described elsewhere as new, but these also were later grouped with species that had been described before.

The colored autolithographs by Keulemans are excellent. I believe that they are the only examples of his work, and perhaps the only ornithological illustrations, that were produced by Banks & Co. of Edinburgh.

Mengel, 33; Trinity, p. 16; Wood, p. 192; Yale, p. 9; Zimmer, p. 9.

Andersson, C. J. (1827-1867)(Arranged and edited by J. H. Gurney [1819-1890])

Notes on the Birds of Damara Land and the Adjacent Countries of South-WestAfrica 22 x 14 cm. a-c⁸B-2B⁸2C⁴2D²(-2D2)χ[$1, 2 signed]; 222 ll. Pp. [i-iii]iv-xxiii[xxiv-xxv]xxvi-xxx[xxxi]xxxii-xxxv[xxxvi-xxxvii]xxxviii-xlviii[1]2-372[373]374-394(2, advertisement for Van Voorst ornithological books). Original blind-stamped green cloth with gilt-lettered spine. London, Van Voorst, 1872.

i,Title; iii; introductory chapter by the editor; xxv; editor’s preface; xxxi; list of works referred to; xxxvi; table of species; 1-372; text (species accounts); 372-394, index, . Contains four uncolored lithographs and a frontispiece map, the latter lacking in this copy.

Andersson was a pioneer of exploration in southwestern Africa, the discoverer of the Okavango river and one of the first to describe Lake Ngami. He died in the field and was in the midst of writing an avifauna of the region. His friend Gurney, a noted expert on raptors, used the unfinished manuscript and unpublished notes to assemble, organize and edit this important and uncommon regional work which includes synonymy, distribution, habits and descriptions of fresh parts for 428 species. The plates were lithographed by Mintern Bros. The originals for three of them were drawn by Andersson to illustrate anatomical aspects of the Bat Hawk, at that time thought to be a new species distinct from the Asian form described a decade earlier by Westerman.

Trinity, p. 16; Wood, p. 192; Yale, p. 9; Zimmer, p. 9.

Andrade, Carlos Selva (Translated by Clark, Herbert M., illustrations by Amuchastegui, Axel [1921-])

Love Life of the Birds Hand-made paper in folio configuration. 31.0 x 22.7 cm. Pp. (excluding single blank initial and terminal leaves) [x](2, tipped in leaf of corrigenda)[7-8]9-194[195-198]; 102 ll. Original green cloth with gilt bird design on upper cover, gilt lettering on spine. Endpapers decorated with numerous colored bird figures. DJ. Buenos Aires, Codex Editors, 1952.

i, Half-title; iii, title; iv, copyright and details of production; v, dedication; vii, contents; ix, list of illustrations; 7-194, text; 195-198, bibliography. Contains 24 unnumbered, unpaginated colored plates after Amuchastegui prepared in photooffset by Heber, S. R. L. and printed in offset (color half-tone) by H. G. Profumo and Brother.

The text of this work, which is translated from an original Spanish version, is as confusing as its pagination. In general, it deals with the sexuality of birds at a very esoteric level using many allusions to classical literature, some scientific, some literary. Subjects treated include, among others: leks, displays, bowers, vocalization, monogamy, polygamy and polyandry.

However, it is not for the written content that this book is known. Rather, it is because for readers outside of Argentina it provided an introduction to the outstanding ornithological art of Axel Amuchastegui whose only previous published illustrations had appeared in Pajaros Sudamericanos (1947), an uncommon work, little known outside of Argentina. These pictures present the birds in characteristic and attractive settings. They combine ornithological detail and accuracy with beautiful composition and color and Codex did an excellent job in their reproduction. Amuchastegui subsequently published three beautiful folios on some birds and mammals of South America (1966), North America (1971), and Africa (1979) and I believe that his pictures of birds (and mammals) are amongst the finest that were done in the 20^th century.

Trinity, p. 216; Yale, p. 260; both listed under Selva Andrade.

André, E.

A Naturalist in the Guianas 23 x 15.5 cm. [A]⁸ (including initial blank)B-W⁸χ⁴ (including last {advertisement} leaf)[$1,2 signed]. 164 ll. Pp. (2, blank)[i-v]vi-vii[viii-ix]x-xii[xiii]xiv[1]2-310(2, advertisement leaf). Original decorated cloth with gilt flower on upper cover. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1904.

[i], half-title; [iii], title; v, preface; [ix], contents; [xiii], list of illustrations. Contains 32 uncolored photographic plates including portrait frontispiece, two chromolithographs after Keulemans by Vincent Brooks, Day & Son Ltd. and a folding map with the routes traced in red.

André was a naturalist from Trinidad and describes here two hair-raising expeditions on the Caura river, a tributary of the Orinoco deep in southeastern Venezuela near the borders with Brazil and (British) Guiana i. e. Guyana. There is some ornithological material and colored plates by Keulemans of the Royal Flycatcher and the Paradise Tanager.

The original edition of this work was issued simultaneously in 1904 in London and New York. The London issue, as described by Mengel and Zimmer, contained “London, Smith, Elder & Co. Waterloo Place” without any New York imprint on the title leaf, whereas this presumed New York issue is as described above and, in addition, contains “Scribners” in gilt at the base of the spine. Wood gives neither pagination nor place of publication for his copy although he describes it as “a scarce and interesting work”. The Yale catalogue mistakenly lists a 1902 London edition published by T. Nelson & Sons that is 17 cm and contains 382 pages. This refers actually to the “popular “ edition which was published in 1912 not 1902. It is interesting, also, that the advertisement leaf in the present first edition, New York issue, is for Smith, Elder books not for those of Scribners.

Mengel, #72; Wood, p. 192; Yale, p. 9; Zimmer, p. 10.

Andrews, Charles W.(illiam)(1866-1924) (ornithology by Sharpe, R.[ichard]Bowdler[1842-1909])

A monograph / of Christmas Island / (Indian Ocean): / physical features / and / geology / with descriptions of / the fauna and flora / by numerous contributors 21.7 x 14.0 cm. [A]⁸B-AA⁸BB⁴CC²A₂⁸B₂²[$1 signed]; 208 ll. Pp. [i-v]vi-xiii[xiv-xv](1)[1]2-337(43)[1₂]2₂-20₂. Original British Museum brown cloth with triple blind-ruled panel on covers. Spine divided into five compartments by triple blind rules. Gilt lettering in second and fifth. Yellow endpapers. Presentation book plate of British Museum on upper paste-down. Museum of Science and Art rubber stamp on title. London, Trustees of the British Museum, 1900.

i, Half-title; ii, blank; iii, title; iv, printer designation: Stephen Austin and Sons, Hertford; v, preface by Henry Woodward, Geological Department, BM(NH); vii, author's preface; ix, introductory note by John Murray; xi, contents; xiii, errata; xv, list of figures in text; 1, history and physical features; 22, zoology; 171, botany; 201, paleontology and geology; 305, fauna of Christmas Island, list of species; 313, flora of Christmas Island, list of species; list of principal papers; 319, appendix ( a small recent collection); 321, index of scientific names; Z1r-CC2v, explanatory letter-press for plates I-XXI, II(bis); 1₂-20₂, list of current natural history publications of the British Museum. Contains: folded, partially color-printed map "reprinted by permission of the Royal Geographical Society"; plates I-II, II(bis);III-XXI of which seven chromolithographs, 13 uncolored lithographs printed by Mintern Bros. and West, Newman and two uncolored collotypes printed by Morgan & Kidd. The four colored plates of birds were drawn by J. G. Keulemans, the two of mammals by J. Smit.

Christmas Island is about 190 miles due south of the western extremity of Java. Its birds were first investigated in 1887. This volume is a comprehensive description of the geology and natural history of the island based on a ten-month stay by Andrews during 1897 and 1898. Andrews collected 29 species of birds including some migrants that had not been recorded there before but he did not add any endemic forms to those (approximately eight) already known. The ornithological section (pp. 37-50) is by Richard Bowdler Sharpe and describes the collection. Four species are shown in chromolithographs by Mintern Bros. after Keulemans including the odd local fulvous colored tropic bird which was then considered a full species but is now regarded as a race of the white-tailed tropic-bird, Phaethon lepturus. The three non-ornithological chromolithographs depict a bat and a mouse by Mintern Bros. after J. Smit and various moths by West, Newman after E. C. Knight. Other uncolored lithographs printed by West, Newman after various artists illustrate reptiles, shells and molluscs, lepidoptera, flora and fossils.

Wood, p. 193. Also listed by AMNH, Harvard, Yale. Not listed by Cornell, Trinity, Zimmer.

Anker, Jean (1892-1957).

Bird books and / bird art / an outline / of the literary history and iconography of / descriptive ornithology / based principally on the collection / of books containing plates with figures of birds and their / eggs now in the university library at Copenhagen / and including a catalogue of these works 30.0 x 24.0 cm. Pp. (2)[I-XI]XII-XVIII[1-3]4-251(1).Publisher's green cloth with gilt lettering and ornithological design on upper cover, gilt lettering to spine. The Hague, W. Junk B. V. Publishers and Amsterdam, Antiquariaat Junk B. V., 1979 (1938).

Unpaginated leaf: recto, half-title; verso, frontispiece; I, title; II, letter-press for frontispiece; III, facsimile title page from 1938 edition; IV; copyright 1938 by Levin & Munksgaardo-Ejnar Munksgaard; printed by H. P. Hansen, Copenhagen; blocks by Wendt & Jensen, Copenhagen; plates by 'Det Berlinsgke Bogtrykkerie, Copenhagen; V, dedication; VI, blank; VII, contents; VIII, blank; IX, acknowledgements; X, blank; XI, preface; XIV, blank; XV, abbreviations; XVI, blank; XVII, list of illustrations; 1, section title: outline of literary history and iconography of descriptive ornithology; 3, pictures up to the invention of printing and the woodcut; 6, the art of printing; woodcuts and engravings; 13, the progress of engraving; 19, Willughby and Ray; 29, descriptive ornithology; Linnaeus and Brisson; 32, Buffon and the "Planches enluminées"; 41, 19^th and 20^th centuries; 89-2215(1); catalogue of books in the University Library at Copenhagen, titles 1-548; 217, bibliography (entries 549-918); 229-245(1), index of names including authors, artists, engravers, lithographers, process engravers and printers; 247, geographical index. Contains uncolored half-tone plates I-XII displaying 31 figures and printed on one side only with independent sheet containing facing letter-press. Plates and letter-press not included in pagination. Also contains two other uncolored half-tone plates including frontispiece and one (page 2) included in pagination.

This is an exact facsimile, probably a photo-facsimile, of the original edition of 1938, save that the four colored plates are here uncolored. Anker was the Assistant Librarian at the Copenhagen University Library and it is clear that he examined carefully each of the 548 titles that he describes from the collection. The descriptions of these books are meticulous and accurate. Anker paid much attention to the techniques involved in the reproduction of graphics and identifies these precisely, specifying as well, the responsible craftspeople and firms. He also enumerates the plates. In addition to the unusually comprehensive information about the plates his descriptions specify: author with initials; complete title; accurate pagination (without signatures); presence of text figure; a brief text that places the work in historical perspective and, in rare instances, an opinion.

Another facsimile was issued in the 1990s by Martino.

Original edition listed by AMNH, Cornell, Harvard, Trinity, Yale.

Anonymous (Morris, Francis Orpen [1810-1893])

Scripture Birds / containing a / Description of the Birds / mentioned in / The Bible 18.0 x 13.5 cm. π²B-I⁴ [$1 signed]; 34 ll. Pp. [i-iii]iv[1]2-62(2, advertisements for Groombridge publications). Original maroon cloth with gilt and black-blocked decorations and lettering on upper cover and spine, blind stamp decoration on lower cover. Yellow endpapers. AEG. London, Groombridge and Sons (?1858).

i, printed title page; ii, blank; iii, contents; 1, species accounts. Contains finely engraved and illuminated additional title page and 31 unnumbered, hand-colored, wood-engraved plates within tan, color-printed frames.

Although not so specifically designated in the book itself, this work is one of those done for Groombridge by Benjamin Fawcett, a most extraordinary producer of fine colored wood-engraved plates at very little cost. He was a longtime collaborator with Groombridge and with the Reverend F. O. Morris for whom he produced the plates in the latter's A History of British Birds, perhaps the most popular and widely held color plate book of ornithology in the 19^th century. Although Fawcett did some of his own artwork, much of it was done by A. F. Lydon who was responsible for the pictures in Greene's Parrots. The superb illuminated title page in the present little volume is signed "F. Lydon". I suspect the other plates may have been done by Fawcett, himself. According to R. and A. McLean in their Benjamin Fawcett, Engraver and Colour Printer (1988), the plates for the present work, their No. 32, save for the illuminated title page, first appeared in Bible Natural History which was published in 1850. They give Morris as the author and the date 1858 for the present handsome little book.

31 Species are pictured and described. The text is of little ornithological significance as was also true for Morris's British Birds. However, there are some interesting scholarly allusions and second-hand anecdotes from previous literature.

This book appears to be quite uncommon or at least hard to find. I couldn't find it listed in any of the major printed bibliographies including Freeman and Irwin, nor in any of the on-line catalogs including Harvard, Yale, Trinity, AMNH, NYPL, Smithsonian and Library of Congress. No copies seem to be located by OCLC.

Anonymous

Among the Birds / Selections from / the Standard Poets 15.2 x 11.5 cm. Pp. [1-7]8-119(1). 60 Ll (not including blank terminal binder’s [?] leaf). Stilted binding of original soft green suede (dried to brown) with gilt title and fine gilt decoration of flying Barn Swallows on upper cover. TEG. Patterned silk endpapers. Boston, Dana Estes & Company, 1905.

1, blank; 2, frontispiece; 3, title; 4, copyright dated 1900; 5, publisher’s note dated June 22, 1900; 7, contents; 9, list of illustrations; 11, text. Contains 16 unnumbered chromolithographic plates individually unpaginated but included in pagination with accompanying tissue leaf containing identifying letter-press and not included in pagination.

No indication is given in this little book concerning the compiler of this anthology of poetry related to specific birds. The poets include, amongst many others, Keats, Wordsworth, Shakespeare, Tennyson, Shelley, Elizabeth Browning and Alexander Wilson.

The illustrations are miniature portraits reproduced attractively by chromolithography. European and American species are depicted and there no designation of either artist or lithographer. Some of the American species have been copied from Audubon and Wilson.

The copyright and publisher’s note antedate the title page by five years suggesting that this copy is a late issue. The structure of the book suggests to me that it was designed as a gift item.

I’m unable to locate the work in any of the standard bibliographies, however, I have seen a copy of the original printing dated 1900 and OCLC locates 19 copies of the two (1900, 1905) issues.

Anonymous

Among the Birds / Selections from / the Standard Poets 15.0 x 11.1 cm. Pp. [1-7]8-119(1). 60 Ll. Original publisher’s Blue buckram-backed gray boards. Printed titles and ornithological vignettes on upper cover. Boston, Dana Estes & Company, 1905.

1, blank; 2, frontispiece; 3, title; 4, copyright dated 1900; 5, publisher’s note dated June 22, 1900; 7, contents; 9, list of illustrations; 11, text. Contains 16 unnumbered chromolithographic plates individually unpaginated but included in pagination with accompanying tissue leaf containing identifying letter-press and not included in pagination.

This is the standard second edition of an anonymous gift book of which I already possess what may be a de luxe issue as indicated by its more elaborate binding. The first edition, actually the identical first printing, appeared in 1900. The attractive little chromolithographs include both American and European species. I recognize at least two, Passenger Pigeon and Blue Jay, as having been adapted from Audubon.

The work is uncommon. OCLC locates 19 copies of the two printings.

Anonymous (British Land Birds, Religious Tract Society)

British Land Birds 16.2 x 10.2 cm. [B]⁸C-T⁸[$1, 2 signed save for when they correspond to a plate leaf]; 144 ll. Pp. [1-4]5-282[283-284](4, Publications of the Religious Tract Society). Original green cloth with blind-stamped decorations on both covers and gilt vignettes on upper cover and spine. Yellow endpapers. AEG. London, The Religious Tract Society, (1857?).

1, blank; 2, colored plate; 3, title; 4, printer's designation: W. Clowes and Sons; 5, preface; 13, introductory chapter; 47, Raptores; 97, Incessores or perching birds; 234, Rasores or scrapers or poultry tribe; 279, index; 283, list of engravings; 284, printer's designation. An Errata slip is inserted after p. 284. The slip is itself in error and the original designations of the illustrated birds in question are correct! Contains 12 unnumbered, hand-colored, wood-engraved plates, six of which are signed W. Dickes

I am always surprised at the high standard achieved in the publications of the British religious societies and this attractive and well written little volume is no exception. It is intended as a work for the common man and is almost entirely anecdotal yet highly readable and entertaining. The introductory chapter deals with the social habits and surmised emotions of birds. The systematic portion is quite incomplete as it treats only three "orders" of which only the perching bird group has a great many subdivisions. However, the families and most of the species comprising these "orders" are described, mostly using anecdotes relating to historical significance, life history, behaviour, and interaction with man.

William Dickes was a fine wood-engraver and color printer who did the illustrations for many publications of the religious societies. He is perhaps best known for his color-printed wood engravings in Anne Pratt's Our Native Songsters (1853). His plates in the present work are colored by hand. Mrs. Jackson, in her Wood Engravings of Birds (1978) describes the work as containing uncolored plates. They are colored in the Trinity copy. An extraordinary feature of these plates is that they are included in the pagination and signatures.

Freeman, #472; Irwin, p. 213; Trinity, p. 44 under "British Land Birds". Apparently absent from most major libraries or collections.

Anonymous

(The natural history of birds from the works of the best authors, antient (sic) & modern: embellished with numerous plates Accurately Colored from Nature) Two volumes, 20 x 13 cm. Late 19th or early 20th century half-morocco, neat. Speckled edges. (Bungay, England, 1815).

Volume I. c-d⁴e²B-4C⁴4D⁴ (-4D4)[$1 signed]; 297 ll. Pp. xvii-xxxv(1)[1]2-574. Lacks pp. i-xvi including title and pp. 575-586. Contains 67 of 69 hand-colored engraved plates.

Volume II. D⁴(-D1)E-2Y⁴ 2Z⁴(-2Z4)3A⁴(-3A2, -3A3)3B-4T⁴ 4U⁴ (-4U4)[$1 signed]; 339 ll. Pp. 19-358, 361-362, 367-700(2). Lacks pp i-xv(1) including title, pp. 359-360, 363-366 and undetermined number from the table of contents at the end. Contains 76 of 83 colored plates.

This work must have been a very ambitious publishing venture when one considers that it did not purport to present any original material and that it was written anonymously. The text and plates are all adapted from antecedent works including, amongst others, those of Catesby, Edwards, Pennant and Latham. The plates are not particularly well copied and the coloring is rather poor. None-the-less, the work succeeds in presenting a comprehensive contemporary overview of ornithology and is rather interesting from this perspective. It may be viewed as a sort of cheap and popular everyman’s English version of Buffon from which much information is quoted. I can’t imagine that much money could have been made from this work which certainly must have required a great deal of effort for both its text and plates. It is rather uncommon and the incomplete condition of this copy is the rule rather than the exception.

Wood, p. 197 and Zimmer, p. 11 under “Anonymous”. Yale, p. 203 under (The) “NATURAL HISTORY..”

Anonymous (Traviès, Edouard)(1809-1868)

Alphabet illustré / des / oiseaux / dessins / de MM. Traviès et Chapuis / graves par Michelet 26.6 x 17.5 cm. [1]⁴2-6⁴[$1 signed]; 24 ll. Pp. [1-4]5-48. Original publisher’s red cloth with black block decorative frames enclosing gilt bird of paradise on upper cover and circular black block design on lower cover. Gilt title and black block lettering of publisher on upper cover. Gray endpapers. AEG. Paris, Garnier Frères, ND (second half of 19th century.

1, Half-title; 2, frontispiece after Traviès; 3, title printed in red and black and containing fine colored hummingbird vignette; 4, printer designation: Paris, Charles Unsinger, imprimeur; 5-48, text. The unnumbered illustrations are all hand-colored wood engravings that are included in the pagination. There are 10 full-page, one full-page containing two separate pictures, and five half-page illustrations designated Traviès. There are two half-page and one full-page containing three separate pictures designated M. Chapuis. The title vignette as well as 10 half-page and one full-page illustration are undesignated but I recognize most as after Traviès.

This very unusual book was intended to teach children how to read. It displays printed letters and numbers and contains a large section on syllables. Finally, it describes and illustrates various colorful birds. The words used in the essays on the birds are divided into syllables. A book for children that contains hand-colored illustrations of birds after Traviès is remarkable.

Garnier Frères was a venerable French publishing house that was active in the second half of the 19th and early 20th century. It published editions of Buffon (i. e. the “Flourens” edition[ca 1857]) that contained hand-colored steel engravings after various artists, most notably Traviès. A collection of these was published separately in about 1870 and I suspect that this work was issued at approximately the same time. The original steel engravings were copied on wood by Michelet. In some of the illustrations, he included the name of the original engraver such as Pardinal, Paquien and Fournier.

I was unable to find any listing for this book which must be very rare. It is not mentioned in the pseudo catalogue raisonées of Travies published by Duculot in the early 1990s and no copy is located by OCLC.

Anonymous (Frederick Warne and Co.)

The / natural history / album with letterpress descriptions / and / five hundred illustrations / printed in Kronheim’s oil colours. 15.5 x 11.4 cm. π4(-P1) *1,*33,*65,*97X² , **1,**33,••65,••97X²,***1,***33,***65,***97 196 ll. Pp. 2PL[i]ii[1]2-127[128]PL[i₂]-ii₂[1₂]2₂-127₂[128₂]PL[i₃]ii₃[1₃]2₃-127₃[128₃]. Original publisher’s green cloth decorated with impressed black lettering and vignette of tiger on upper cover within two complete frames, spine with formerly gilt lettering and vignette of giraffe. London, Frederick Warne, ND (gift inscription dated Xmas 1879 on front free endpaper.)

PL 1r of first series, title; PL1v, “This book is divided into three parts…”; PL2r, half-title “animals”; PL 2v, blank; i-ii, contents; 1-128, text; 128 printer designation: J. M. Kronheim & Co., London, Mancheseter, and New York; PLr of second series half-title “birds and animals”; PLv, blank; i-ii, contents; 1-128, text; 128, printer designation; PLr of third series half-title “fish, insects, and reptiles; PLv, blank; i-ii, contents; 1-128, text; 128, printer designation. Each of the three sections contain 32 unnumbered colored plates printed by Kronheim’s method with running text on obverse and included in pagination. The 21 ornithological plates depict about 115 species.

This work was intended for children. It is divided into three sections, each of which contains 32 colored plates with short simple essays devoted to the various creatures. The Kronheim printing in this work is not very successful and looks similar to chromolithography with poor registration.

The labeling of signatures is unusual. The gatherings comprise 16 leaves as shown by asterisks. However, the same number of asterisks is used to denote the beginning of successive new gatherings in a given section. i. e. for the first section, for example, one asterisk is present on pages 1, 33, 65 and 97 instead of, say one two three and four asterisks, or a, b, c, and d.

This little book seems to be quite scarce. OCLC locates only four copies

Anonymous

Wonders / of / the animal kingdom / birds 13.0 x 10.3 cm.

[A]²B-HH⁸II²X²[$1 signed]246 ll. Pp. [i-iii]iv[1-3]4-484 (4, advertisements for other Society publications). Original publisher’s green, blind decorated cloth with gilt lettering on spine. Yellow endpapers. London, Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1848.

i, title; London: printed by S. & J. Bentley, Wilson, and Fley iii, contents; 1, blank; 2, illustration of eagle; poem; 3, the eagle; 33, the owls; 57, the raven; 83, the nightingale; 101, the parrot; 113, the hummingbird; 163, the swallow; 203, the pigeon; 233, the dodo; 241, the peacock;257, the lyre-bird; 271 the ostrich; 293, the stork; 317, the flamingo; 329, the trumpeter; 339, the goose; 369, the pelican; 397, the penguin; 413, remarkable nests of birds. Contains 18 full-page, uncolored wood engravings of birds often with running antecedent text on obverse; 13 tail-pieces; and six text wood engravings of nests. I believe I can make out the Whymper signature on the owl and humming bird plates. At least some of the illustrations had appeared in antecedent publications.

The advertisement section in this work contains at least two Society publications (Anne Pratt’s “British Flowers”, 1853 and C. H. Johns’ “British birds in their haunts”, 1862) that were published after the 1848 listed date of publication of the present work so copies of it must have been periodically bound later as needed.

OCLC locates three copies.

Anstett, Dr. J. Ph.

Historia Natural Popular Descripçao Circumstanciada dos tres Reinos da Natureza Coordenada e Traduizida dos Tratados dos Autores Allemaes F. Martin e Rebau pelo Dr. J. Ph. Anstett Precedida de um Prologo e Seguida de um Discurso Sobre o Passado e o Futuro da Raça Americana pelo Conselheiro Intimo Dr. C. F. Ph. de Martius 23 x 16 cm. Two volumes. Twentieth century half-brown calf and pebbled cloth. Top edge red. Rio de Janeiro, E. & H. Laemmert, 1866 and 1867.

I: π⁸ 1-31⁸ 32⁴ 33² [$1 signed]; 262 ll. Pp. [I-V]VI-VIII[IX]X-XI[XII][1]2-504[1]2-3[4]. Half-title, I; title, III; prologue, V; translator’s preface, IX; index, 1; text, 7-504; explanation of plates, 1-3. Contains hand-colored engraved plates A-D and 1-23 (C, D and 10-14 not sequentially bound)

π² 1-43⁸ 44² (-44₂); 348 ll. Pp. (4, half-title, title)[1]2-683[684][1]2-6(index). Contains colored plates 24-52 and about 62 text woodcuts of plants.

This work is an early, and possibly the first general natural history that was published in Brazil. It was apparently conceived by the publishers who sought the advice of Martius, the well known German botanist who, with Spix, was responsible for the basis of modern Brazilian natural history. Martius advised the publishers to seek out the Lisbonite, Anstett, who adapted and translated into Portuguese, two popular German general natural histories, by F. Martin and H. Rebau. Some works by these authors are cited by Engelmann (p. 118) though neither they nor Anstett appear in any of the other bibliographical sources for natural history that I have consulted. Martius himself contributed a prologue and two appendices, respectively on Brazilian botany and the future of indigenous Indians, to the present work.

The plates in this work are not attributed. They each contain many figures but are well done and accurately colored. Those depicting flowers are particularly attractive, but all are rather good. The section on birds covers pp. 228-387 and includes eight plates. The vegetable kingdom section, pp. 198-510 of the second volume, appears particularly impressive because of its beautiful colored plates and its numerous text illustrations. Overall, these volumes compare favorably with contemporary mid-level European material (e. g. the less expensive Buffons). I had no idea that work of this quality was produced in Brazil during the mid-nineteenth century and, more than likely, the plates were printed in Europe.

The work is probably quite uncommon. I can find no mention of it in my usual sources including Anker, BM(NH), Mengel, catalogues of the Linnaean and Zoological Societies, Trinity, Wood, Yale and Zimmer. Of course, it’s not entirely clear under whose name it might be catalogued.

Anthon, Henning and Boëtius, Jan

Nordiske / fugle / spurvefugle 24.7 x 17.8 cm. [1]⁴(-1₁)2-10⁴χ²[$1, 2 signed]; 41 ll. Pp. [1-9]10-76[77-81](1). Original card cover wit colored great tit on upper cover, printed note from publisher on lower. Kobenhavn (Copenhagen), Gydendalske Boghandel Nordisk Forlag, 1950.

1, Half-title; 2, blank; 3, title with uncolored line vignette of dipper; 4, copyright; statement of print run: 8000 copies; credits: text printed by Gyldendals Forlagstrykkeri; colored plates by I. Chr. Sørensen & Co. A/S; 5, foreword; 6, explanation of plates; 7, section title for text; 9-76, species accounts, Corvus corax corax-Bombycilla garrulus garrulus, comprising 102 passerine species; 77, section title for plates; 79, index of Danish names. Contains plates 1-64 displaying portraits of all 102 species by Anthon printed in color half-tone on one side only and not included in pagination. Also contains three uncolored line vignettes including that on title page.

This volume, concerned with passerine birds only, is the first of a four-volume work on Scandinavian birds that was published 1950-1955. The Danish text gives names as well in Latin, Swedish and Norwegian and provides a brief description, length measurement, arrival and departure dates, and nesting information.

The pictures are rather handsome portraits, nicely printed on matt paper. Anthon was a prolific mid-century natural history artist who illustrated, among others, Cage birds in color (1959), a popular book that was translated into several languages.

Cornell and Yale list the entire four volume set of this work. AMNH lists only this volume. The work is not listed by Harvard and Trinity.

Anthon, Henning (text and illustrations), Staav, Roland (Swedish translation)

Faglar från hav, insjö och myr 17.9 x 11.8 cm. Pp. [1-2]3-244[245](1). Publisher’s pictorial boards. Stockholm, Forum, 1976

1, title; 2, forward; 3, fågellivet vid hav, insjö och myr; 9-88, plates; 89, diagram of a bird; 90, systematic text, 1, Gavia stellata-136, Emberiza schoeniclus; 240, alphabetical index of Swedish names and Latin generic names; 245, references (13).

Contains 80 unnumbered plates printed in color half-tone and included in pagination. Also contains a black, white and gray text distribution map for each species.

This is a simple field guide for the commoner birds of Scandinavia first published in Copenhagen in 1976 as Fugle fra hav, sØ og mose.

Antinori, O(razio)(1811-1882), Salvadori, T(ommaso)(1835-1923)

Viaggio / dei Signori / O. Antinori, I, O. Beccari ed A.Issel / nel Mar Rosso, nel territorio dei Bogos e regioni circonstanti / durante gli anni 1870-71 / Catalogo degli Uccelli 24.5 x 16.8 cm. 1-10⁸χ[$1 signed; 81 ll. Pp. [1-3]4-161(1). Contemporary half-mottled and marbled calf, marbled boards, gilt spine. Genova, Tipografia del R. Instituto Sordo Muti, 1873. The Lilford Copy with his gilt cypher at the base of the spine.

1, title; 2, designation "estratto dagli annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturali de Genova / vol.V, Novembre, 1973"; 3, text, general introduction; 12, text, systematic list; 159, index to genera and species. There is a separate pagination from the entire journal: (2)[366]367-520[521](4). The parenthesized parts of this pagination, the preliminaries and the separate index, were not part of the article as it appeared in the journal. Contains Tav I-III, hand-colored lithographs by and after L. Cantu, printed by "Torini, Lit F^lli Doyen".

This is an author's offprint with a special title page, its own pagination and an index presumably based on its own pagination. I use the word "presumably" because the index is actually nine pages out of phase i. e. it is based on the text starting on page 3 instead of page 12 as if the general introductory section were not present. The article was published in the Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturali de Genova, a not infrequent vehicle for Salvadori's publications. The small print run of museum publications is the main reason why his Italian publications are so rare.

The work covers 227 species that were collected during an expedition by Antinori, Beccari and Issel to the Bogos area just west of the Red Sea. At least two of these were considered new by the authors. The area of this expedition overlapped with that covered by Jesse and reported by Finsch in the Transactions of the Zoologial Society in 1870. The species accounts are relatively short. The date and locale are given for those specimens that were collected and in a few instances, particularly in the case of the presumed new species or range extensions, detailed descriptions are provided.

Wood, p. 199. Unlisted in Trinity, Yale, Zimmer although Yale lists the journal. OCLC locates 10 copies.

American Ornithologists' Union (Coues, Elliott)

The code of nomenclature / and / check-list / of / North American birds / adopted by the American Ornithologists' Union / being the report of the committee of the / Union on classification and / nomenclature 22.6 x 14.6 cm. π⁴1-24⁸25⁴[$1 signed]; 200 ll. Pp. [i-iii]iv-viii[1]2-392. Later red buckram backed marbled boards with gilt black paper lettering piece on spine. New York, American Ornithologists' Union, 1886.

I, Title; ii, copyright 1885; printer designation: University Press; John Wilson and Son, Cambridge; iii, preface; v, table of contents; 1, introduction; 18, principles, canons and recommendations; 71, check-list of North American birds, Podicipidae-Turdidae, containing 768 species; 343, hypothetical species (26); 359, fossil birds (43 species); 369, printer designation.

This is the original codification of American birds and the first officially sanctioned list. The rules of codification and the list were developed by a committee of the AOU composed of Elliott Coues, J. A. Allen, Robert Ridgway, William Brewster and H. W. Henshaw. For each species the following information is supplied: an official number; original post-linnaean Latin name with citation; contemporary Latin name (if different) with citation; world-wide distribution; reference to number in antecedent lists of Baird (1858), Coues (1873, 1882), and Ridgway (1880). References are also provided for the names of the various genera. This first official list numbers 768 species.

Of special interest to me were: 1)The Great-crested Grebe, present on virtually every list since 1832, was deleted without mention. It failed even to make the hypothetical list. 2) The committee agreed unanimously (p. 15) "that Giraud's presently unconfirmed species of Texas birds be included in the list on Giraud's authority." Giraud's original 1839 publication concerning these birds is one of the rarest of all publications on American ornithology. His findings were controversial for many years but by the time of this publication, several had already been confirmed.

Wood, p. 190; Zimmer, p. 6. This original list also present at AMNH, Cornell, Harvard, Trinity, Yale.

American Ornithologists' Union

Fifty years' / progress / of / American ornithology / 1883-1933 / Published by the American Ornithologists' Union / on the occasion of its Semi-centennial / Anniversary New York, N. Y., / November 13-16, 1933 / (Revised Edition) 24.2 x 16.3 cm. Pp. [1-4]5-249(1). Original tan wrappers containing printed matter within double ruled frame on upper cover. Lancaster, Pa., (American Ornithologists' Union),1933.

1, Title; 2, blank; 3, contents; 4, blank; 5, introduction by Frank M. Chapman, T. S. Palmer; 7, history of the AOU, Palmer; 29, American ornithological literature, 1883-1933, Witmer Stone; 51, fifty years of bird migration, William Rowan; 65, bird banding, Frederick C. Lincoln; 89, territorialism by Margaret Morse Nice; 101, advances in life history work, Herbert Friedmann; 131, study collections in the United States and Canada, James L. Peters; 143, exhibition collections, Chapman; 159, bird photography in America, Alfred O. Gross; 181, American bird art, George Miksch Sutton; 199, fifty years of bird protection, T. Gilbert Pearson; 215, ornithological education in America, Arthur A. Allen; 231, fossil birds, Alexander Wetmore; 241, meetings and membership of the AOU; 243, chronology of the AOU. Contains uncolored half-tone photographic frontispiece of the founders of the AOU.

It is unclear why this book is called "Revised Edition" unless the original papers were initially issued separately at the actual congress in November, 1933 and then reissued as an assembled volume within the next month and one-half. The work provides interesting perspectives on the substance and personages of American ornithology during the era.

Mengel, #68. The work is listed by AMNH, Cornell, Harvard, Trinity and Yale.

Aplin, O. (liver)V.(ernon)(1858-1940)

The / birds of Oxfordshire 21.8 x 14.0 [A]⁴B-O⁸P⁶(-P6)[$1, 2 signed]; 113 ll. Pp. [i-v]vi-vii(1)[1]2-217(1) Original publisher’s blue cloth with gilt frame on upper cove r, gilt lettering to spine. Black endpapers. Oxford, at the Clarendon Press, 1889.

i, Half-title; ii, London, Henry Frowde, Oxford University Press Warehouse; iii, title; iv, quotation; v, preface; 1, introduction; 23, systematic list, Haliaetus albicilla-Mergus albellus, comprising 232 species; 209, addenda; 214, glossary of local names; 215, index of English names. Contains hand-colored lithographic frontispiece of alpine Chough after S. L. Mosley dated 1889 and one unnumbered text woodcut. Also contains folded, partly hand-colored map by Clarendon Press.

This is the first comprehensive treatment of the birds of Oxfordshire although it was preceded by several works that mentioned birds or presented minor lists of them. Here, the author documents the status of each species quite exhaustively and often presents interesting aspects of its life history as gleaned from his personal observations or the anecdotes of others.

OCLC locates 21 copies.

Aramata, H.(iroshi)(1947-)

Birds / of the world / as painted by / 19^th-century artists 28.5 x 21.9 cm. Pp. [1-6]7-239(1). ). Preliminaries printed within single black-ruled frames, plates within double black-ruled frames. Original white cloth with gilt lettering to flat spine. Pictorial dust jacket with price of $40.00 printed on upper flap. New York, Crown Publishers Inc., (1989).

1, Half-title; 2, colored frontispiece; 3, title with uncolored illustration; 4, (mis)identification of frontispiece as almost extinct kinglet calyptura instead of common many-colored rush-tyrant; Japanese copyright 1987; international edition copright by Fenice 20000 s.r. l., Milan, 1989; text by Renato Massa and Carlo Violani; manufactured in Italy; first American edition; first printing; ISBN 0-517-573741; 5, contents; 6, uncolored plate; 7, naturalists and artists; 9, the story of this book; 12, natural history in an age when man discoursed with birds; 15, fantasy, adventure and the ornithologist; 19, ostriches-ducks; 40, hawks-cranes; 101, woodcock-parrots; 129, cuckoos-woodpeckers; 164, perching birds; 231, the sources (titles 1-51); 234, index of Latin names; 237, English names. Contains about 192 unnumbered colored plates printed in half-tone on both sides and included in pagination. Each plate shows 1-5 illustrations from various 18^th and 19^th century books. Also contains one full-page uncolored line illustration, 12 uncolored line illustrations in text or preliminaries.

The author tells us that as a computer programmer and translator he could not afford any of the fine western bird books he coveted but that he was enabled to buy them after an unexpected windfall as the author of a best-seller about the occult. The pictures all come from books in his collection and the list of 51 titles includes many rarities. Temminck's . Planches coloriées.. (1820-1839) is the single largest contributor. Although there are numerous errors in English and in the assignments of pictures to books, the work exhibits illustrations that have seldom, if ever, been reproduced.

Listed by AMNH, Cornell, Harvard, Yale. Not listed by Trinity.

Archer, G., Godman, E. M.

The Birds of British Somaliland and the Gulf of Aden. Their Life Histories, Breeding Habits and Eggs Four volumes. 28 x 21 cm. Fine late twentieth century half red morocco with buckram sides, gilt spine containing five raised bands and two brown morocco lettering pieces. Marbled endpapers. TEG, others uncut. In each volume, the binder seems to have inserted initial and final blank leaves that are hand-made with chain lines. These are not included in the descriptions below except for the first leaf of volume I where it is consistent with the inferred pagination that seems to call for an initial blank not present in the other volumes. Bookplate of C. J. Coldewey, the biographer of J. G. Keulemans.

Volume I. [a] ⁸b-f⁸ A-S⁸ [1, 3 signed, the latter as 2]; 192 ll. Pp. [i-vii]ix-xcvi[1]2-285[286-288]. Gurney & Jackson, Edinburgh, 1937. [i], blank and uniquely of hand-made paper; [iii], half-title; [v], title; [vii], dedication; ix, contents; xi, historical note; xviii, ornithological history; xxiii, acknowledgment; xxvii, note on the illustrations; xxix, coloured plates; xxxi, illustrations; xxxiii, method of measurement; xxxiv, terminology of plumage; xxxvii, introduction; lxxix, full list of bird; [1], text. Contains 10 colored plates with unpaginated tissue leaf of letter press. Eight of these are of birds by Thorburn, two of eggs by Grönvold. Also contains a full-page photogravure portrait of Archer in uniform and 40 photographic plates on 20 leaves as well as two text illustrations of anatomical designations and a map.

Volume II. π⁴ A-T⁸U⁴X⁸Y⁶ (Y6 being an unpaginated blank of the same paper as the text); 174 ll. Pp. [i-iv]v[vi]vii[viii][289]290-626(2). Gurney & Jackson, Edinburgh, 1937. [i], half-title; [iii], title; v, contents; vii, coloured plates; [289], text; 603, appendices; 609, bibliography; 613, index. Contains map, eight colored plates of birds by Thorburn and two of eggs by Grönwold.

Volume III. a-c⁸d¹⁰ A-2C⁸ ; 242 ll. Signatures of d different from above in that d2 signed d2 instead of d3 being so designated and d4 signed d3. Pp. [i-iv]v-vii[viii]ix-xiii[xiv]xv[xvi-xviii]xix-li[lii]liii-lxviii[627]628-1042. Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh and London, 1961. [i], half-title; [iii], title; v, acknowledgments; vii, contents; ix, notes on illustrations; xi, coloured plates; xv, method of measurement; xix, glossary; xxiii, foreword by Colonel R. Meinertzhagen; xxv, introduction; liii, full list of birds; [627, text; 1027, index. Contains map, five colored plates of birds by Thorburn and one each of birds and eggs by Grönvold, photographic portrait of Archer and two text illustrations of anatomical designations.

Volume IV. π⁴A-2K⁸; 242 ll. Pp. [i-iv]v-vii[viii][1043-1044]1045-1570. Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh and London, 1961. [1], half-title; [iii], title; v, contents; vii, coloured plates; [1043], text; 1543, appendix; 1551, index. Contains map and seven colored plates of birds by Thorburn.

This is a MAGNIFICENT COPY OF A GREAT WORK. It is dedicated to Frederick Ducane Godman and Frederick John Jackson, highly regarded turn-of-the-century ornithologists and respectively the father (?) of Eva Godman (this is not explicitly stated) and the uncle of Sir Geoffrey Archer (this is explicitly stated). Archer inherited his uncle’s love of Africa. He served in a variety of important colonial posts including that of Governor of Somaliland where he was instrumental in the eventual expulsion of the “mad Mullah” as he recounts in the highly unusual historical note in the first volume. He was also a friend and kindred spirit to Colonel Meinertzhagen, the desert-loving ornithologist-spy and author who must certainly rank amongst the most charismatic of those who have enjoyed birds. Archer did the field work for this work i. e. found and collected the birds and their nests, observed their habits and wrote the anecdotal parts of the text. Eva Godman did the dirty work in the British Museum including analysis and descriptions of specimens, editing and arrangements for publication. Thorburn did these beautiful illustrations specifically for this book and was sent various sketches, photographs and plants to insure the type of complete verisimilitude that he and the authors demanded.

Altogether, 452 species are described in great detail. There is considerable repetition of preliminary material in volumes I and III, separated as they were by 24 years in date of issue. In the introduction to the third volume, Archer apologizes for this but ascribes its necessity to the fact that the first volume (and presumably the second) was issued in a print run of only 500 copies and was unobtainable by the time volumes three and four, dealing with the later non-passerines and the passerines, were published. Since the first two volumes could not be reprinted due to cost, important general commentary was simply repeated in volume three. The combination of a small print run for the first two volumes and a long interval in publication of the subsequent volumes assures that complete sets of this work must be quite uncommon.

LSU, #884; Trinity, p. 17; Yale, p. 10(first two volumes only).

Arnold, E(ward) C(arleton)(1869-1949)

British Waders / Illustrated in Water-Colour / with Descriptive Notes 29.0 x 22.8 cm. π⁴1-13⁴[$1, 2 signed; 56 ll. Pp. [i-iv]v-vii[viii]1-102(2, printer's designation, W. Lewis, Cambridge, University Press. Original red cloth, gilt panel, lettering, shorebird design on upper cover, gilt lettering on spine. Uncut. TEG. Cambridge, The University Press, 1924.

i, half-title; ii, publisher's designation; iii, title; iv, published in Great Britain; v, preface; vii, contents; 1, species accounts. Contains colored plates I-LI as designated on accompanying tissue guard leaf. Neither plates nor tissue guards are included in pagination and the plates are printed on rectos only. For each plate (species) there is a single leaf of descriptive text.

This is an attractively designed book with plates that remind me somewhat of those by Gitz-Johansen in The Birds of Greenland (1950). Mengel (#40) feels that they suggest an oriental style. They are tableaux rather than portraits and the birds themselves are not drawn in great detail. The text reflects the author's experience with the species in question and the accounts are usually brief and not systematic.

Trinity, p. 17; Wood, p. 204; Yale, p. 11; Zimmer, p. 15.

Arp, Walter (1927-)

Alas de mi tierra / y de mi alma 27.3 x 21.0 cm. Pp. [1-8]9-192; 96 ll. Original publisher's green cloth with gilt script on upper cover and spine. Decorated endpapers. Caracas, auspiciada por Banco Provincial, 1980.

1, introduction by bank president; 2, copyright Fundacion La Salle de Ciencias Naturales, Monografia num. 29; 3, half-title; 4, blank; 5, title; 6, blank; 7, dedication; 8, blank; 9, introduction by president of the Fundacion La Salle; 10, full-page uncolored sketch of prehistoric bird; 11, poem; 12, acknowledgments; 13, uncolored sketch of cock-of-the-rock; 14, poems and plates; 164, ornithological descriptions; 189, bibliography; 190, contents; 191, index by common names. Contains 74 unnumbered colored plates on the page opposite each of which is a poem and uncolored sketch of the same species. In addition, contains title page vignette and two full-page, uncolored sketches as identified above.

Walter Arp is a 20^th century poet, sculptor, painter and lover of birds and this is the second collection of his paintings to be published, the first having appeared in 1965. Apparently, the publication of this book was underwritten by a bank, as was that of the previous work although the bank had a different name. The copyright of this work is not the bank but, rather a scientific foundation. The book is written in Spanish and was entirely produced in Spain although published in Venezuela.

These paintings are splendid and display a style unique to the artist in which every bird is depicted in a spectacular dynamic posture which is appropriate for the species. There are always also interesting plants, trees, or branches and the framed background is often colored and usually contrasts with the bird. In addition to being visually striking and attractive, the artwork is, thus, highly original.

Not listed by AMNH, Cornell, Harvard, Trinity, Yale. Listed by LOC. OCLC locates 10 copies.

Arp, Walter (1927-)

Avifauna Venezolana 31.0 x 23.1 cm. 141 Unpaginated leaves as described below. Original publisher's ochre cloth with BGV (bank) logo on upper cover, gilt lettering to spine. Gray endpapers with feather motif; Pictorial dust jacket. Caracas, Edición especial del Banco Central de Venezuela, 1965.

First leaf: recto, publisher and year; verso, blank.

Second leaf: recto, title and author; verso, blank.

Third-fourth leaves: contents.

Fifth leaf: recto, note from publisher; verso, blank.

Sixth leaf: recto-verso, Prologo by Gonzalo Medina Padilla, Rancho Grande.

Seventh leaf: recto-verso, note and acknowledgements by author.

Eighth leaf: recto, BGV logo; verso, legend for plate 1.

Ninth-138^th leaves, recto, color half-tone plates 1-130, verso, legend for next plate.

139^th-140^th leaves: alphabetical index of birds referenced to Spanish name with Latin name.

141^st leaf: recto, list of bank officers; verso, publication data, this volume issued December 6^th, 1965 " en las Prensas Vezolanas de Editorial Arte, en la Ciudad de Caracas"

This work, apparently sponsored and published by a bank, showcases the work of a gifted South American artist, sculptor and poet with a great love of birds. The pictures depict very showy and active birds with appropriate plants and habitats. Some of the paintings had widespread light foxing which has been faithfully reproduced! In 1980, Arp pubished, again through the auspices of a bank, Alas de mi terra y de mi alma, another collection of ornithological paintings that are considerably more polished than these and fulfill the considerable promise indicated by this earlier work.

Listed by AMNH, Harvard, Trinity, Yale but not by Cornell.

Atherton, Loren G. (1883-), Atherton, Nora M.

Dakota birds / I. / Song and Insectivorous Birds / of South Dakota (all published) 21.2 x 14.4 cm. Pp. [1-3]4-238; 119 ll. Original publisher's blue-green cloth with colored plate of goldfinch mounted on upper cover, black lettering on upper cover and spine. Pierre, S. Dak. J. Fred Olander Company, 1925.

1, Title; 2, copyright; 3, preface; 5, contents; 8, list of colored plates; 9, list of illustrations; 11, how to study birds; 46, the woodpecker family (Picidae); 58, (Cuculidae); 61, (Alcedinidae); 63, (Caprimulgidae); 68, (Micropodidae); 71, (Trochilidae); 75(Tryannidae[sic!]); 85, (Alaudidae); 88, (Corvidae); 96, (Icteridae); 112, (Fringillidae); 155, (Tanagridae); 157, (Hirundinidae); 164, (Bombycillidae); 166, (Laniidae); 170, (Vireonidae); 172, (Mnioltiltidae); 185, (Motacillidae); 187, (Cinclidae); 189, (Mimidae); 196, (Troglodytidae); 204, (Certhiidae); 208, (Paridae); 212, (Sylviidae); 215, (Turdidae); 225, (Columbidae); 228, identification keys. Contains , in addition to mounted colored plate on upper cover, 12 colored plates printed on one side only after Nora M. Atherton and not included in pagination. Also contains 43 text illustrations, several full-page, included in pagination. Not all of these are cited in the list of illustrations.

Although this book was intended for "school children and their parents", it is quite comprehensive, informative and well, if quaintly, written. The section on "how to study birds" covers interesting general information including migration, predators, flight etc. Each family is briefly introduced and its species are then individually treated. The length and a brief physical description is given for each and then an entertainingly written section on its life history, often containing personal anecdotes. As noted above coverage includes all families save those included in raptors, game birds and water birds.

The illustrations by Mrs. Atherton, while not those of a professional ornithological draughtsman, are pleasing tableaux that remind me of the work of R. Bruce Horsfall. In addition to the colored plates, she did five full-page two-tone plates. Another such plate was taken from a previously unpublished painting by G. M Sutton. The remainder of the illustrations are paintings and sketches from antecedent books as well as a few photographs.

This work is absent from most major collections, however, OCLC locates 29 copies, mostly in local libraries.

Audebert, Jean Baptiste (1759-1800)

Le Jacamar (Print, Rufous-tailed Jacamar, Galbula galbula) 45.5 x 32.3 cm. Printed on wove paper with legend in gold. Paris, Desray, ca. 1800.

This superb print is from the first volume of Oiseaux Dorés ou à Reflets Metalliques by Audubert and Vieillot published in Paris, (1800-)1802. It comes from one of the 200 folio copies with the legends printed in gold. There was also a quarto edition of 100 copies with the legends in black and 12 folio examples with the captions and the entire text printed in gold. Many people knowledgeable about ornithological books consider this one amongst the most beautiful because of the quality of the printing. Audubert, who died during production of the book, invented a method of printing with liquid gold that was suited for representation of iridescence and used it in this work to portray hummingbirds, sunbirds and jacamars amongst others. Louis Bouquet was involved in the coloring using oil-based pigments and gold, and the printing was done by the firm of Langlois. These were the great names associated with French color printing of botanicals at the time and there is general consensus that their craftsmanship has never been equaled.

I have examined at least 10 copies of the Oiseaux Dorés including two of the 12 de luxe examples but all have been marred by pervasive foxing. This print is absolutely clean and allows full appreciation of the skill with which it was created. It is truly the apotheosis of color printing.

The entire work listed by Wood, p. 216; Yale, p. 13; Zimmer, p. 17. Not listed by Trinity.

Audouin, (Jean) Victor (1797-1841)

Explication sommaire / des planches d’oiseaux / de l’égypte et de la syrie / publiées par Jules-César Savigny, /// par Victor Audoin in Description / de / l’égypte / ou / recueil / des observations et des recherches / qui ont été faites en égypte / pendant / l’expedition de l’armée Française / seconde edition /// tome vingt-troisième. / histoire naturelle / zoologie / animaux invertébrés (suite) animaux vertebrés The entire volume is as follows: 19.9 x 12.8 cm. Laid paper. 8o. . π³1-28⁸29⁴[$1,2 signed]; 231 ll. Pp. (6)[1]2-456. Contemporary half-calf, marbled boards. Flat spine with gilt rules, tools, gilt black calf lettering piece. Edges dyed blue. Paris, Panckoucke, 1828.

π1r, half-title; π1v, blank; π2r, title; π2v, imperial stamp; π3r, section half-ttle: zoologie/ animaux invertébrés; / 1, explication sommaire des planches d’echinodermes…publiées par Jules-César Savigny…VictorAudouin; 20,explication..zoophytes..Savigny..Audouin; 23, ..d’ascidies…Savigny…Audouin;40,explication..polypes..Savigny…Audouin; 79, d’hydrophytes…Savigny…Audouin; 89, half-title: zoologie / animaux vertebras / mammifères; 91, descriptions des mammifères…Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire; 219, half-title: zoologie / animaux vertebras / oiseaux; système des oiseaux de l’égypte et de la syrie par Jules-César Savigny; 302, explication sommaire / des / planches d’oiseaux / de l’égypte et de la syrie / publiées par Jules-César Savigny /// par Victor Audouin; 431, extrait de l’histoire naturelle et mythologique de l’ibis, par M. J. C. Savigny; 442, table des matières du tome XXXIII.

According to Zimmer (p. 18), the 1883 work published by the Willughby Society, "Audoin’s explication sommaire des planches d’oiseaux de l”égypte et de la syrie", is a verbatim transcription of pp. 302-430 and 450-456 of the present work. Original works reprinted by the Willughby Society were supposed to be of the utmost rarity. Savigny is ordinarily credited with the ornithological section in the Description… since he oversaw the plate production and wrote the incomplete "Système des oiseaux… "chapter that also appears in this volume and covers only raptors. That chapter, while very erudite, containing, as it does, a systematic list with synonymy including original ancient Greek citations, does not include coverage of the majority of the species portrayed in the 14 fine engraved plates drawn mostly by Barraband. Audouin was thus recruited to supply the missing information and apparently had to perform the same chore for various invertebrate groups discussed also by Savigny without reference to the plates.

The "Description de l’égypte…" is among the greatest of all printed works. It appeared in two editions and comprised almost 30 volumes including 14 of the largest plates of birds to be printed in France during the 19th century. According to Zimmer, the “Explication sommaire..” for the birds was first published in about 1826 in part 4 of the ““Histoire Naturelle, Tome Premier”, pp. 251-318 and 336-339…”. The text of the first edition was printed on quarto rather than octavo leaves which probably explains the smaller number of text pages than are found in the present second edition.

Wood, p. 207; Zimmer, p. 18. Also listed by AMNH, Cornell, Harvard, Trinity, Yale. All of these references are to the Willughby reprint. None are to the present original from which the reprint was transcribed.

(Audubon, J. J.) North American Review

The / North American / Review / Vol. XXXIV. / Boston, / Gray & Bowen, 141 Washington Street / 1832 No. 75. April 1832. Art. III.-Audubon's Biography of Birds Pp. 364-405. Contemporary half-calf, red and black morocco labeling pieces on flat spine, marbled boards. Boston, 1832. Bound volume includes entire contents of Nos. 74 &75, January and April, 1832.

This is a substantial contemporary anonymous review of the first volume of Audubon's Ornithological Biography , the copy under review being the Philadelphia 1831 printing of Judah Dobson. Despite the huge amount of biographical information on Audubon, information about published contemporary reviews of his work is difficult to find. This 42 page review mentions an antecedent review of the same work published in the American Quarterly Review . Coues, in Maria Audubon's Audubon and His Journals (New York, 1897), cites (p. 57) a number of early reviews of Audubon's work. He mentions this one ("one of the most extended notices..") which seems to be either the earliest, or one of the earliest, to review specifically the Ornithological Biography. He doesn't cite the American Quarterly Review.

The present review is exceedingly learned, well written, and, of course, laudatory. The author begins with a broad account of field (as opposed to systematic) ornithology covering topics such as migration, parasitism by egg deposition, and cryptic coloration as protection. The discussion of these matters is very intelligent and could as easily have been written today as 167 years ago. He/she also laments the decimation of the Indians and the desecration of the environment, again in a manner that could have been written today. There follows an excellent biography of Wilson with particular emphasis on his relationship with Audubon. I did not know, for example, that Audubon offered Wilson the use of his paintings to illustrate Wilson's work, provided only that the engravings be designated as having been done by Audubon. Wilson declined.

There follows a biography of Audubon, including mention of his training with David. Although not the subject of the review, occasional reference is made to the magnificent folio plates. Finally, many anecdotes from the Biography are presented and discussed and several species described by Audubon for the first time are mentioned. Ironically, some of these such as Cuvier's Regulus have not withstood the test of time. The author is deeply impressed with Audubon's passion and genius for field observation and concludes his review "..and while the hundred volumes of scientific ornithologists create no general interest….whoever will go into the fields and forests….will study the science most successfully, learning it not by memory, but by heart".

Audubon, John James (1785-1851)

The / Birds of America / from / Drawings made in the United States / and their Territories No. 30 (The number in ink manuscript) 27.6 x 17.7 cm. 5-6⁴[$1 Signed]; 8 ll. Pp. 29-44. Original publisher's printed gray wrappers with framed upper cover containing wood-engraved corner designs. New York, J. J. Audubon, Philadelphia, J. B. Chevalier, (1841). Printed by Price $1. E. G. Dorsey, Printer.

29, Hermit Thrush; 32, Dwarf Thrush (Hermit Thrush); 35, Golden-crowned Wagtail Ovenbird); 37, Louisiana Water Thrush; 40, American Pipit; 44, Shore Lark ending in mid-sentence of text of this bird; lower wrapper, prospectus. Contains hand-colored lithographic plate Nos146-150 "Lith & Printed by Endicott, New York" after Audubon. Also contains original tissue guards. This copy has the pencilled signature "Sauer" at the upper right of the upper wrapper and is from the library of the Gould biographer, Gordon Sauer.

The first Audubon octavo was issued in 100 parts at a rate of two parts per month during the years1840-1844. The plates were first produced by Endicott of New York and later by Bowen of Philadelphia. Although there were 1,200 and thus, in principle, 120,000 parts, most were contemporarily bound and the individual parts are now quite rare. Complete sets of the parts turn up only around every ten years. None of the later octavos, all of which had smaller print runs than the original, were issued in parts. The numbered pages are those of volume III and indicate that the number and composition of the various volumes were anticipated even though the work was issued in parts.

The lower wrapper of the various parts contained different material. In the present case, the original prospectus; in later parts, the names of subscribers.

Audubon, John James (1785-1851)

The / Birds of America / from / Drawings made in the United States / and their Territories No. 59 (The number in ink manuscript) 27.6 x 17.7 cm. 10-12⁴ [$1 signed];12 ll. Pp. 69-92. Original publisher's printed gray wrappers with framed upper cover containing wood-engraved corner designs. New York, J. J. Audubon, Philadelphia, J. B. Chevalier, (1842). Printed by Price $1. E. G. Dorsey, Printer.

69, Plumed Partridge (Mountain Quail); 71, Welcome Partridge (Crested Bobwhite); Ruffed Grouse; 83, Canada Grouse (Spruce Grouse); 89, Dusky Grouse (Blue Grouse) ending in mid-sentence of text of this bird; lower wrapper, "Names of (16) Subscribers since the last. Contains hand-colored lithographic plate Nos 291-295 "Lithographed, Colored and Printed by J. T. Bowen Phil (Philad)"after Audubon. Also contains original tissue guards. This copy has the inked signature "Sauer" at the upper right of the upper wrapper and is from the library of the Gould biographer, Gordon Sauer.

The first Audubon octavo was issued in 100 parts at a rate of two parts per month during the years1840-1844. The plates were first produced by Endicott of New York and later by Bowen of Philadelphia. Although there were 1,200 sets and thus, in principle, 120,000 parts, most were contemporarily bound and the individual parts are now quite rare. Complete sets of the parts turn up only around every ten years. None of the later octavos, all of which had smaller print runs than the original, were issued in parts. The page numbers for this part correspond to those in volume V of the complete bound work and indicate that the number and composition of the final seven volumes were anticipated even as the work was being issued in parts.

The lower wrapper of the various parts contained different material, in the present example, names of the most recent subscribers.

Audubon Society (Brooks, Allan [1869-1945])

Audubon bird cards Fifty winter (spring, summer) birds of eastern North America Card size,14.0 x 8.8 cm; image size, 12.3 x 8.1 cm. 150 Cards, each depicting a single species in color half-tone with descriptive text on verso. Housed in book-like blue buckram-backed clamshell box with marbled board sides, beige cloth edges. Two hinged leaves of beige cloth-backed boards dividing interior into three sections. Gilt orange paper lettering piece on spine. New York, National Audubon Society, ND (ca. 1940).

In the first half of the 20^th century the Audubon Society periodically published cards or suites of cards displaying colored illustrations of American birds. In the first quarter of the century, these appeared as individual, numbered "Educational leaflets" which were issued with an associated four-page text. Eventually, the whole series of 100 of these were bound and published in two volumes under the title "Portraits and habits of our birds" with T. Gilbert Pearson as the editor. Those pictures were somewhat larger than these and were drawn mainly by R. Bruce Horsfall although Brooks, Fuertes, and Edmund Sawyer also contributed a few.

The present cards were never bound and were issued as three sets of 50 in plain white boxes. I believe they were first printed in the 1930s but some, or all of them continued to be reprinted for many years. The pictures are all by Brooks and although they suffer from cheap printing and from a few rather grotesque shapes, they still exhibit considerable charm and ambiance. These pictures are characteristic depression era depictions of birds. The backgrounds have a certain simple comforting quality and the birds appear engaged and content. Images such as these were a balm to the national psyche. Walter Weber was particularly effective in this genre but Brooks was very good as well.

No ornithological illustrator changed style during his lifetime more than did Brooks. He was a contemporary of Thorburn and Lodge and he started out as a Victorian artist drawing birds much in the style of Keulemans. That phase of his career is best exemplified by the portraits he did for William Leon Dawson's Birds of Washington and Birds of California. The birds and foreground were drawn with great care and accuracy but the background, if there was any, contributed little to the picture. It was intended that the viewer's attention should be entirely focused on the flawless bird. Here, the birds are much less well drafted but they have more character and the picture elicits more feeling. I've read that the change in Brooks's artwork was because he was deluged with commissions and accepted more than he could handle. However, I wonder if this different style wasn't at least partly intentional.

The author of the text on the back of the cards is not identified.

Audubon, John James (1785-1851) (Irmscher, Christoph, compiler and editor)

John James Audubon / Writings and Drawings 20.0 x 13.0 cm. Pp. [I-viii]ix-xiv[1-2]3-942[943-946]; 480 ll. Original green cloth, dust jacket with portrait of Audubon. New York, Library of America, 1999.

First printing. i, blank; iii, half-title; v, title; vii, compiler designation; ix, contents; xiii, list of plates; 1, Mississippi River Journal; 157, 1826 Journal; 193, Ornithological Biography; 551, Missouri River Journals; 751, method of drawing birds; 759, my style of drawing birds; 765, myself; 795, letters; 861, chronology; 870, note on texts; 876, note on plates; 883, notes; 912, general index; 931, ornithological index; 943, cataloging-in-publication data; 944, Library of America series. Contains colored plates 1-64 on 32 unpaginated glossy leaves.

The compiler is a lecturer in American and English Literature at Harvard and the books contains a broad selection of Audubon’s writing. The plates include reproductions of 25 from the large Birds of America , one from the octavo Birds, eight from the octavo Quadrupeds, 25 from original paintings subsequently engraved for the folio Birds, and five that were not reproduced for publication including one that is published here for the first time.

Audubon never ceases to fascinate. His appeal is at least as much in the area of Americana as in that of ornithology.

Audubon, J. J. (1785-1851)(Forkner, Ben [editor])

The / John James Audubon / portfolio / A selection of the original / drawings and watercolors used / in the making of / Birds of America / accompanied by a choice of Audubon’s writings 37.0 x 29.0 cm. Two unprinted white folders in an olive solander box with title printed on spine. Belgium, Edition del la Main Fleuri, 2004.

First white folder. The pages in this folder consist of loose folded folio leaves, i.e. four quarto pages per folded folio leaf. Pp. [i-viii]ix-xxxix[xl][1-2]3-202[203-208].

i-ii, blank; iii, half-title printed in red; iv, blank; v, title; vi, ISBN 2-9600493-0-6; copyright 2004, Edition de la Main Fleurie Pascal Jeanjean et Cie. L; vii, quotation; viii, blank; ix, acknowledgments by publisher Jeanjean; xi, contents; xii, blank; xiii, list of 48 unnumbered illustrations; xvi, blank; xvii-xxxvi, introduction by Forkner; xviii, blank; xix, John James Audubon early life and times; xxiv, the new world; xxix, annus mirabilis; xxxii, Audubon’s America; xxxvii, a compulsive letter writer by Forkner; xl, blank; 1, my style of drawing birds; 11, correspondence and illustrations; xiii, letters to Audubon’s wife, Lucy; 129, letters from Audubon’s trip to Labrador; 165, letters to John Bachman; 205, colophon and limitation statement: “Main Fleurie” paper; illustrations printed by Blanchard Printing, Plessis Robinson, France; text printed by Impressor of Brussels; total print run of 2,500 numbered copies of which 236-2,500 on Main Fleuri paper. This copy number 616.

Contains 48 unnumbered colored plates included in pagination and printed in collotype on one side of page with verso blank. Eight of the plates are reproduced from originals in the La Rochelle (France) Museum of Natural History, the other forty from originals at the New York Historical Society.

Second white folder. Contains a duplicate suite of plates printed on one side of 48 loose quarto leaves.

This is a beautifully produced album that includes eight early paintings, mostly of European birds, that had not previously been published and resemble in style those at the Houghton Library. The text consists mainly of Audubon’s letters. The introductory biography is well informed. The reproduction of these original drawings and paintings is excellent and far superior to the American Heritage Edition, the previous one to show the paintings as opposed to the final prints.

OCLC locates five copies including the British Museum of Natural History, Harvard and Yale.

Audubon, John James (1785-1851)(introduction by Marshall B. Davidson)

The original water-color paintings / by / John James / Audubon / for / The birds of America Two volumes. 33.7 x 27.0 cm. Publisher's tan cloth with gilt-ruled brown labeling frames containing gilt manuscript initials "J. J. A" on upper cover, gilt printing on spine. Brown endpapers decorated with floral motif. New York, American Heritage Publishing Co., Inc., 1966. Distributed to booksellers by Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.

Volume I (from half-title page). Pp. [i-x]xi-xxxi(1) followed by 191 unpaginated leaves including section title page "the plates" and plates 1-223 (American Heritage numbering designated in explanatory text) with their text. i-ii, blank; iii, half-title; iv, colored frontispiece portrait of Audubon originally painted by John Syme in 1826; v, title; vi, copyright 1966; "Original Edition: printed in the United States of America; vii, acknowledgments; viii, blank; ix, contents; x, blank; xi, introduction (biography, history of the paintings and book); xxx, introduction to the plates. Contains: colored portrait of Audubon; text figures 1-21 (five colored, one full-page); plates 1-223 including 10 folding plates, 22 double-page, 123 full-page and 68 half-page (two per page) printed in color half-tone with text for subsequent plate(s) printed on obverse.

Volume II. Pp. (4), followed by 186 unpaginated leaves including section title page "the plates" and plates 224-431 and explanatory text, this followed by xxxiii-lv[lvi]. First preliminary leaf recto: half-title; verso, blank; second preliminary leaf: recto, title; verso, copyright etc.; xxxiii, chronology; xxxvi concordance of American Heritage and Havell numbers with common names; xlvi, general index including common and scientific bird names; lvi, colophon; printed and bound at The Lakeside Press, R. R. Donnelly & Sons. Color plates by the Chanticleer Press.

This the first publication reproducing the complete sequence of paintings for the work as opposed to the finished prints. As such, it illuminates the important and creative role that Havell exercised as engraver. Unfortunately, however the color printing is dreadful. The introductory text and the chronology provide a biography of Audubon and a brief history of the development of the pictures, the folio, the octavo editions and the work on quadrupeds. The text accompanying the pictures contains specific dates and information about their production, and quotations, from Audubon's Ornithological Biography. Davidson has written extensively on Americana and art.

This work is listed by AMNH, Cornell, Harvard, Trinity and Yale.

Audubon, John James (Laforest)(1785-1851)

The / birds of America, / from / drawings made in the United States / and their territories.

Seven volumes. 26.0 x 17.5 cm. Contemporary half-green morocco, green marbled boards. Spine with five raised bands enclosed by black rules that extend to covers and converge into floral tool. Gilt lettering in second and fourth compartments. Matching marbled endpapers. TEG. Re-issued by J. W. Audubon, New York, Roe Lockwood & Son, 1861

Vol. I. [1]⁸(-1₅)2⁴3-4²5⁴6-7²8-9⁴10-11²12-18⁴19-20²21⁴22-23²24-29⁸30-31²32⁴33²34-36⁴37²(-37₂)[$1 signed]; 122 ll. Pp. [i-v]vi-viii[11]12-246 (sic. Complete. Vide infra) i, Half-title; ii, blank; iii, title; iv, registration (copyright) 1839; printer designation: R. Craighead; v, contents; 11, systematic accounts, Cathartes californianus-Culicovora caerulea. Contains hand-colored lithographic plates 1-70 after Audubon by J. T. Bowen, Philadelphia and two unnumbered text illustrations.

Vol. II. [1]⁴[2]²(-2₁)3-7⁴8-11²12-13⁴14-15²16-17⁴18-19²20⁴21-22²23⁴24-25²26⁴27-28²29⁴30-31²32-33⁴34²; 99 ll. Pp. [i-v]vi-vii (1)[11]12-199(1)( sic. Complete. Vide infra.) 1, Half-title; ii, blank; iii, title; iv, registration; printer designation; v, contents; 11, systematic accounts, Myiodioctes mitrata-Orpheus carolinensis. Contains colored plates 71-140 and four text figures.

Vol. III. [1]⁴2²3-7⁴8-9²10-11⁴12-13²14⁴15-16²17⁴18-19²20⁴21-22²23-24⁴25-26²27⁴28-29²30-36⁴37⁴(-37₄); 117 ll. Pp. [i-v]vi-viii[9]10-233(1). I, Half-title; ii, blank; iii, title; iv, registration; printer designation; v, contents; 9, systematic accounts, Orpheus rufus-Pyranga ludoviciana. Contains colored plates 141-210 and six text figures.

Vol. IV. [1]⁴2-13⁴14-15²16-19⁴20-21²22-34⁴35-36²37-43⁴44²(-44₂); 161 ll. Pp. [I-v]vi-viii[9]10-321(1). i, Half-title; ii, blank; iii, title; iv, registration; printer designation; v, contents; 9 systematic accounts, Dolichonyx oryzivora-Columba leucocephala. Contains colored plates 211-280 and 27 text figures.

Vol. V. [1]⁴2⁴3²4-15⁴16-17²18-26⁴27-28²29-35⁴36-37²38-40⁴41-42²43-47⁴48⁴(-48₄); 173 ll. Pp. [I-v]vi-viii[9]10-346. i, Half-title; ii, blank; iii, title; iv, registration; printer designation; v, contents; 9, systematic accounts, Columba zenaida-Scolopax wilsoni. Contains colored plates 281-350 and 14 text figures.

Vol. VI. [1]⁴2-7⁴8-9²10-27⁴28-29²30-35⁴36-37²38-44⁴45-46²47-61⁴; 228 ll. Pp. [I-v]vi-viii[9]10-456. I, half-title; ii, blank; iii, title; iv, registration; printer designation; v, contents; 9, systematic accounts, Scolopax drummondi-Plotus anhinga. Contains colored plates 351-420 and 25 text figures.

Vol. VII. π[1]⁴2-10⁴11-12²13-14⁴15-16²17⁴18-19²20-28⁴29-30²31-50⁴51²; 187 ll. Pp. (2)[i-iii]iv-vii(1)[9]10-372. π1r, Half-title; π1v, blank; i,title; ii, registration; printer designation; iii, contents; 9, systematic accounts, Tachypetes aquilus-Emberiza bairdii; 361, index alphabetized to English (followed by Latin) names. Contains colored plates 421-500 and 18 text figures.

The first two volumes do not possess a leaf corresponding to pages 9/10 and a case can be made that one of the first two signatures in these volumes is also lacking a leaf. The copies of this edition described by Mengel (#103) and Zimmer are identical to this one and there is nothing that is absent in these volumes and present in the later ones so it seems clear that no pages are actually missing. However, it seems possible to me that the printer originally intended to include a subtitle leaf between the preliminaries and text but eventually decided against that idea.

The pictures in the "Audubon octavo" were made by lithography after camera lucida reduction from (parts of) the folio plates and the work was originally issued in 100 parts of five plates each with text at$1.00 per part, 1840-1844. That first edition was composed of about 1,250 copies and is considered the most desirable because its plates were supposedly colored more carefully and did not contain the tintstone lithographic backgrounds that are present in most of the plates of the numerous later editions which were published in much smaller print runs through 1871, and perhaps later. The plates in these later editions showed the same part numbers at the upper left as in the first edition, even though none of them was actually issued in parts. Presumably, there was a large stock pile of uncolored plates which would be colored at the time of publication of a new edition. I noticed at least two plates in my copy, Harris' s Buzzard, and Harlan's Buzzard, that have hand-colored backgrounds and I suspect that there may have been a surfeit of these particular plates colored for the first edition. Interestingly, another copy of the 1861 edition that I happened to examine shortly after writing this, had the usual tintstone background for both of these plates.

The text is basically adopted from Audubon's Ornithological Biography but lacks the section on "American Scenery and Character" and is arranged taxonomically according to his Synopsis of the Birds of North America. I am always amazed at the depth of his (and William Macgillivray's with whom he wrote the text) accounts of species. These include not only much more material based on the author's personal observation than one usually finds in this type of work, but also precise anatomical details of internal respiratory and digestive organs that I have almost never encountered. These organs are also the subjects of most of the text illustrations in these volumes.

The present issue is the first to bear the designation "re-issued by J. W. Audubon" and, without its plates, served as the text for the Bien folio edition. It was the last edition to be published under the supervision of a member of the Audubon family.

L. S. U., #895; Mengel, #103; Wood, p. 208; Zimmer, p. 24 (all specifically the 1861 edition.) An "Audubon octavo" is present in virtually every significant American collection of ornithological books.

Audubon, John James (1785-1849) (introduction by Zinman, Michael)

My style of / drawing / birds 28.5 x 19. 3 cm. Pp. [1-6]7-26[27-29](1). Original publisher's green cloth with gilt facsimile manuscript title on upper cover, gilt lettering on spine. Green endpapers. Author's signed inscription on front free blank. Ardsley, New York, The Overland Press for the Haydn Foundation, 1979.

1-2, blank; 3, half-title; 4, uncolored half-tone reproduction of drawing by Audubon "Le Wip-poor-will"; 5, title; 6, copyright; 7, introduction; 9, the facsimile; 15, transcript of manuscript; 21, methods of drawing birds as published in the Edinburgh Journal of Science, 1828; 27-28, blank; 29, credits: designed by Howard I. Gralla; printed by Michael and Winifred Bixler; frontispiece and facsimile reproduction by the Meriden Gravure Company.

Michael Zinman acquired the original manuscript of 1831 in which Audubon described his own style of drawing birds and, in this privately published work, had it reproduced in facsimile. An expurgated version had previously been published in printed form by Maria Audubon in Audubon and his journals, volume 2, pp. 522-527(1897). Zinman also reprinted here an article Audubon had published in 1828 on the same subject. Zinman's copy of the 1831 manuscript was subsequently sold for a handsome amount.

According to Wheldon and Wesley catalog #162 (1983), item 591, only 400 copies of this book were produced.

Listed by AMNH, Trinity, Yale. Not listed by Cornell, Harvard.

Audubon, John James (Laforest)(1785-1851)

A / synopsis of the birds / of / North America 22.0 x 13.6 cm. π⁶A-Gg^8/4[$1 signed]; 186 ll. Pp. [i-v[vi-xii[1]2-359[360]. Original henna boards rebacked with brown buckram, original paper lettering piece laid down. Uncut, unopened. Blind stamp of American Museum of Natural History on title page, its cancelled bookplate as well as that of Archibald Rogers on upper paste-down. Edinburgh, A. and C. Black, 1839

I, Half-title; ii, blank; iii, title; iv, printer designation: Neill and Co., Edinburgh; v, preface; vii, table of contents; 1, systematic text, Turkey Vulture-Pied-billed Dabchick; 360, printer designation.

This book contains careful scientific descriptions, synonymy and distribution of the species illustrated in the folio and treated in the "Ornithological Biography". Two species have been deleted and two others added and several new specific names have been employed which, therefore, date from this volume and were used subsequently in the illustrated "octavo". This book was done with assistance from William Macgillivray and presented in concise prose rather than in Audubon's usual flamboyant style. The list of birds here, together with that in the near contemporary (1840) list in Brewer's edition of Wilson were the two most authoritative such lists of the era. Both perpetuate the existence of the Great Crested Grebe as an American species which began with a description of a collected individual by Richardson in Fauna Boreali Americana (1831). Of this bird, no. 487 of 491 species, Audubon writes (p.356) "Not uncommon during autumn and early spring on all the larger streams of the Western Country, as well as on the coast of the Atlantic from Nova Scotia to Texas." I have always been amazed at how many distinguished ornithologists accepted this until the bird was finally deleted by a committee decision for the first AOU checklist in 1885.

This copy was deaccessioned by the AMNH but has an interesting association. It belonged to Archibald Rogers, who, according to Joseph Kastner in (p. 69) A World of Watchers (1986), lived on an estate in Dutchess County "virtually next door" to Franklin D. Roosevelt, an avid bird watcher. Rogers employed a butler, Arthur Bloomfield, who was an authority on the local birds and contributed considerable information for Griscom's Birds of Dutchess County (1933).

Wood, p. 209; Zimmer, p. 21-22. This work is present in virtually every significant American holding of ornithological books.

(Audubon, John James[1785-1851])

Grande Pie Grieche Grise Buff. Great American Shrike or Butcher Bird A. W. Lanius excubitor / No. 58 / Henderson, November 30^th / 1812 25.4 x 18.6 Colored collotype facsimile print, no date, no place.

This is an extraordinary item which I bought on ebay. The seller did not know whether it was a print or an original painting and, for reasons I can't fathom, thought that it might be by Audubon. He was unable to read and understand the manuscript notations that finally led me to identify the picture. Although the image on ebay resembled an original watercolor, when I got the picture and examined it under magnification, I realized that it was a finely reproduced colored gravure and/or collotype facsimile. The date and initials A. W. suggested that it was after Alexander Wilson, however, those initials could have been an attribution since they were placed directly after "Great American Shrike or Butcher Bird", precisely the name Wilson had originally given the Northern Shrike. The place name preceding the date was critical in identifying the print and was difficult to decipher until I recognized the Germanic "s" in Henderson, a town in Kentucky where I knew Audubon resided. I was now certain that this was a replica of an unpublished drawing by Audubon and I found poor reproductions of several such unpublished original drawings in Audubon/ Writings and Drawings edited by Christoph Irmscher, Library of America, 1999. These contained similar manuscript notations and their originals were all in the Houghton Library so I examined its archives on the internet and found that the present print was a reduced (25.4 x 18.6 cm) facsimile of pfMS Am21, box 7, #24, 43 x 28 cm, done with pastel, graphite and ink. The number 58 on this plate as well as numbers on several of the other unpublished colored pictures by Audubon in the collection do not correspond with those in his later folio or octavo publication and are referred to by the archivist as "Audubon's No." , presumably reflecting a special list of his own. The date of the original, November 30^th, 1812 is significant as the date of birth of Audubon's son, John Woodhouse Audubon. The original, like the print, was unsigned although the majority of the comparable paintings in the collection were signed or initialed.

There is no designation of printer, time or place on this print. Harvard received the bequest containing the original in 1930 and I suspect it was done around that time. Since this picture never appeared in a book and is apparently unrecorded, and certainly not widely known, as a print, it may well be the rarest, though far from most valuable, of all Audubon prints. I spoke with Leslie Morris, the Houghton Curator who described this picture and she informed me that the library had no record of it, or any of the other originals in the collection, having been reproduced as prints.

This purchase, described so innacurately and wishfully by me above, represents an example of profound hubris on my part. Because I was unaware of the existence of this print, and because neither my friend Bob Braun, an expert on Audubon prints, nor Leslie Morris, the Houghton Curator, had heard of it, I concluded that I had found a real rarity. About a month after I purchased it, I came across another such print reproduced from a different original from the Houghton collection and the dealer who was offering it was kind enough to tell me the title of the book from which it was extracted. This book, The Bird Biographies of John James Audubon, edited by Alice Ford, was published in New York by Macmillan in 1957. It contains reproductions in four-color gravure by the Beck Engraving Company of Philadelphia of 12 originals, including this one, from the Houghton collection. The book is a common one on the used market and I had no difficulty in finding and purchasing it. However, it is apparently absent from most of the major ornithological libraries and perhaps this is why two such knowledgeable authorities as Braun and Morris (to say nothing of myself) were unaware of its existence. I paid approximately half as much for the entire book as I had for this one of its 12 plates. Caveat emptor!!

According to Bob Braun, four-color (three colors plus black) "gravure" is an intaglio process, usually done on mat paper, and more expensive than "half-tone color" printing because it requires a flat surface (i. e. cannot be done with a roller) and is, therefore, more difficult to mass produce. This is the type of color printing that I formerly called "offset lithography" or "photo-offset". By contrast, "color half-tone" is a relief process that can be carried out with a roller and used with glossy paper. Both of these are "photomechanical". With gravure printing, one sees individual discrete dots of color, sometimes in large arrays, sometimes random. With color half-tone, the dots can be part of a small pattern. Most ordinary colored pictures are done in color half-tone.

Audubon, M. R.

Audubon and his journals by Maria R. Audubon with zoölogical and other notes by Elliott Coues 22.2 x 15.5 cm. Two volumes. Original publisher's cloth with gilt stamp on upper cover. TEG, others uncut. New York, Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1897.

Volume I: π⁸ (including initial blank leaf as π1)1-33⁸ 34²[$1 signed]; 274 ll. Pp. (2, initial blank)[i-vii]viii-x[xi-xiii]xiv[1-5]6-532. Half-title, i; title, iii; dedication, v; preface, vii; contents, xi; list of illustrations, xiii; biography, 1; European journals 79; Labrador journal, 343; Missouri River journals, 447. Contains 21 unpaginated leaves of glossy black and white plates and one text woodcut, an end piece.

Volume II: π⁴ 1-34⁸ 35⁶; 282 ll. Pp. [i-v]vi[vii]viii[1-3]4-554[555-556]. half-title, i; title, iii; contents, v; list of illustrations, vii; Missouri River journals, 1; episodes, 199; index, 529. Contains 14 leaves of plates, 10 of document facsimiles, and a text woodcut as an end piece.

Maria Audubon managed to find her grandfather’s lost journals and to publish them for the first time. She also provides a brief biography, mostly by quoting the journals. In so doing, she hopes to dispel the negative character image propagated by Robert Buchanan in one of the earliest biographies of John James Audubon. The present work has long been regarded as the single most important contribution to the biography of the ornithologist-artist since it presents his life in his own words. Coues’s imprimatur has also provided it with the cachet of authority.

The illustrations depict contemporary portraits of Audubon and his family, various important locations in his life and some unpublished paintings that he did, including several for the Rathbone family of Liverpool.

Trinity, p. 18(1898 English edition); Wood, p. 209; Yale, p. 14; Zimmer, p. 26.

Averill, C.(harles)K. Jr.

List of birds / found in the vicinity of / Bridgeport, Connecticut / prepared for the / Bridgeport Scientific Society 22 x 14.8 cm. No signatures. [1-3]4-19(1) Original printed brown upper wrapper with double black-ruled frame enclosing printed duplicate of title page. Lower wrapper missing. Bridgeport, Buckingham and Brewer, Printers, 1892.

1, title; 2, preface dated January, 1892; 3-19, briefly annotated list, Colymbus holboelli-Sialia sialis, comprising species 1-246, with several others mentioned as possible rarities but not enumerated.

This is a privately printed local pamphlet that enumerates and briefly summarizes the status of all species known to have occurred within 10 miles of Bridgeport. The following, presently common to abundant species are not even mentioned: Snowy Egret; Yellow-crowned Night-Heron; Ring-billed Gull; Tufted Titmouse; Carolina Wren; Cardinal. Only a single record published by Linsley in 1843 is cited for the now abundant Red-bellied Woodpecker and Mockingbird; the Pileated Woodpecker is considered "probably extinct in Connecticut" and only one record is cited for Laughing Gull. The status of the Passenger Pigeon is "becoming rare".

One can certainly conclude that a major northward extension of southern birds occurred during the ensuing century.

Wood, p. 212. Also listed by AMNH, Harvard, Trinity. Not listed by Cornell, Yale.

Aves, J. H.

De grasparkiet. / Zijne natuurlijke geschiedenis, leven in / gevangenschap, verpleging en teelt 19.8 x 13.8 cm. π²1-3¹²4¹⁰[$1, 5 signed]; 48 ll. Pp. (4)[1-5]6-91[92]. Original gray wrappers with decorative roll-ruled frame containing lettering and woodcut of bird house on upper cover. Zutphen (The Netherlands), Schillemans & Van Belkum, No date (ca. 1880-1900).

π1r-π2v, list of books published by Schillemans & Van Belkum; 1, half-title; 2, uncolored frontispiece; 3, title; 4, blank; 5, text; 92, contents. Contains uncolored wood-engraved frontispiece drawn by Robert Kretschmer, engraved by Niedermann, and woodcut text figures 1-14. The title page calls for 15, perhaps including the one on the upper wrapper.

This is a monograph on the maintenance and propagation of the Budgerigar. On page 5, the first page of text, there is a pencilled note " Oberholser 29 Sept 47 Oberholser" and perhaps Bradley Martin bought it as one of a group lot belonging to Oberholser (Harry Church [1870-1963]), a prominent American ornithologist of the early and mid 20^th century.

This is a very elusive little book. I could not find it listed by: AMNH; BM(NH); Ucal; Cornell; Harvard; Karlsruhe virtual library; Oxford; LOC; Smithsonian; Trinity; Wood; Yale; Zimmer. OCLC locates two copies.

The Richard L. Soffer Ornithology Collection by Richard L. Soffer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at www.amherst.edu.

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