P | Soffer Ornithology Collection

Soffer Ornithology Collection Notes (alphabetical by author)

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Paine, Albert Bigelow (1861-1937) The children’s room in the Smithsonian Institution

Palmer, T. S. (and others). Biographies of the members of the American Ornithologists’ Union ….Reprinted from “The Auk” 1884-1954.

Palmer, A(lfred) H(erbert) (1853-). The life of Joseph Wolf animal painter.

Parkenham, R. H. W. The birds of Zanzibar and Pemba An annotated check-list.

Parke-Bernet Galleries, Inc. Library of the late James D. Smyth....

Parker, Richard Dunscombe (c. 1805-1881)(edited by M. Anglesea; designed by W. Dunbar)Birds of Ireland

Paxson, Henry D. The last of the wild pigeon in Bucks county

Pasquier, Roger F., Barrand, John Jr. Masterpieces of bird art 700 years of ornithological illustration.

Pearson, Leonard (1868-1909 and Warren, Benjamin Harry (1858-1926). Diseases and enemies of poultry.

Pearson, T(homas) Gilbert (editor) (1873-1943). Portraits and habits of our birds.

Pearson, T(homas) Gilbert (1873-1943). The bird study book.

Pearson, T(homas) Gilbert (1873-1943), Brimley, C. S., Brimley, H. H. Birds of North Carolina.

Pearson, T.(homas) Gilbert (1873-1943) Herons of the United States

Peck, Robert McCracken (introduction by Peterson, Roger Tory[1908-1996]). A celebration of birds The life and art of Louis Agassiz Fuertes.

Peckover, William S., Filewood, L. W. C. Birds of New Guinea and tropical Australia The birds of Papua New Guinea, Irian Jaya, the Solomon Islands and tropical north Australia.

(Pennant, Thomas [1726-1798], named in "advertisement"). Arctic zoology.

(Pennant, Thomas[1726-1798]). British zoology (First octavo edition).

Penny, Malcom (illustrated by Chloë Talbot-Kelly). The birds of Seychelles and the outlying islands.

Perkins, George H.(enry), Howe, Clifton D. preliminary list of the birds found in Vermont

Perrault, Anna H., compiler and editor (preface, Morgan, Kathryn; introductory essay, Lank, David M.). Nature classics A catalogue of the E. A. McIlhenny natural history collection at Louisiana State University.

Peterjohn, Bruce G. (paintings by Zimmerman, William[1934-] The birds of Ohio

Peters, W. C. H. (1815-1883). Naturwissentschaftliche Reise nach Mossambique...

Peters, Harold S.(eymour)(1902-), Burleigh, Thomas D.(earborn)(1895-1973). The birds of Newfoundland

Peters, James Lee (1889-1952). Check-list of birds of the world

Peterson, Roger Tory (1908-1998). A field guide to the birds giving field marks of all species found in eastern North America First edition, first printing

Peterson, Roger Tory (1908-1996). A field guide to the birds giving field marks of all species found in eastern North America First edition, first printing with dust jacket

Peterson, Roger Tory (1908-1996). A field guide to the birds giving field marks of all species found in eastern North America First edition, second printing

Peterson, Roger Tory (1908-1996) A field guide to the birds giving field marks of all species Found in eastern North America First edition, Second printing

Peterson, Roger Tory (1908-1996). A field guide to the birds giving field marks of all species found in eastern North America First edition, second printing

Peterson, Roger Tory (1908-1996). A field guide to the birds giving field marks of all species found in eastern North America First edition, third printing

Peterson, Roger Tory. A field guide to the birds giving field marks of all species found east of the Rockies

Peterson, Roger Tory (1908-1996). A field guide to western birds First printing.

Peterson, Roger Tory (1908-1996). A field guide to western birds First printing with dust jacket

Peterson, Roger Tory (1908-1996) A field guide to western birds Later printing.

Peterson, Roger (1908-1996), Mountfort, Guy and Hollom, P. A. D. A field guide to the birds of Britain and Europe

Peterson, Roger Tory (1908-1996). A field guide to the birds of Texas

Peterson, Roger Tory (1908-1996), Chalif, Edward L. A field guide to Mexican birds Field marks of all species found in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize (British Honduras), El Salvador

(Peterson, Roger Tory [1908-1996]). The field guide art of Roger Tory Peterson

Pfeifer, Sebastian. Die Vögel unsrer Heimat

Phillips, John C.(harles)(1876-1938). A natural history of the ducks

Phillips, W.(illiam)W.(atts)A.(ddison)(Lushington, [née Kershaw], Cicely, illustrator) Birds of Ceylon

Pinto, Antonio Augusto Da Rosa (illustrated by Conçeirão, Alfredo Da). Ornitologia / de Angola Volume I / (Non Passeres)

Pizzey, Graham (1930-) (illustrated by Roy Doyle). A field guide to the birds of Australia

Buffon, George-Louis Leclerc, compte de (1707-1788). (Histoire naturelle des oiseaux. Planches enluminées) Tome V.

Poesch, Jessie (J.). Titian "Ramsay Peale 1799-1885 and his journals of the Wilkes expedition

(Wolf, Joseph) (1820-1899). The poets of the woods Twelve pictures of English song birds

Pope, Alexander Jr. Upland game birds and waterfowl of the United States, Plate XIII, Valley Quail only

(Prang, L.) Calkins, Norman A., Diaz, Mrs. A. M. Prang's natural history series for children Birds of prey

Prang, L(ouis, fl. late 19^th century). Untitled chromolithograph depicting 22 birds from Eurasia, Australia and South America

(Prang, L.) Calkins, N. A. Prang's natural history series for schools and families birds I. Swimming birds

(Prang, L.) Calkins, N. A. Prang's natural history series for schools and families birds IV. gallinaceous birds and pigeons

Pratt(Pearless), Anne (1806-1893). Our native songsters

Pratt, H. Douglas (1944-), Bruner, Phillip L., Berrett,Delwyn G.(illustrated by H. Douglas Pratt)

A field guide to the birds of Hawaii and the tropical Pacific

Pratt, H. D., The Hawaiian honeycreepers Drepanidinae

Price-Jones, Humprhey (1941-). Australian birds of prey

Priest, Cecil D(amer). A guide to the birds of Southern Rhodesia and a record of their nesting habits

Prints and paintings, A fine collection.

Prints, 19th century hand-colored lithographs

Pulich, Warren M. (illustrated by Anne Marie Pulich) The golden-cheeked warbler A bioecological study

Przewalski (Prjevalsky), Nikolai, M. (1839-1888). Wissenschaftliche Resultate der von N. M. Przewalski nach Central-Asien

Pycraft, W.(illiam) P.(lane) (1868-1942). Birds in flight

Paine, Albert Bigelow (1861-1937)

The children’s room in the Smithsonian / Institution 22.7 x 14.6 cm. Pp. 553-560. Later, off-white wrappers with printed title label mounted on upper cover. Smithsonian Institution. Annual report. 1901. Washington, 1902.

Contains photographic plates I-XX, all printed on one side only and not included in pagination. Of these, 12 are uncolored half-tones, the other eight are printed in color by Hoen & Co., Lithocaustic, Baltimore.

Paine is best known as a scholar of Mark Twain. He was asked by S. P. Langley, the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, to describe the Children’s Room at the Institution, which had been Langley’s creation. Many of the exhibits in the room featured birds and photographs of these constitute the majority of the plates. The colored plates amongst these are of special interest because of the beauty with which they have been printed by Hoen. Hoen also printed several of the colored plates for the Harriman Alaska Expedition by the same technique which was probably at least partially photomechanical but resulted in unique images. Two of them in this work, one of a group of hummingbirds, the other of butterflies, are particularly striking and are distinguished by an iridescence or shiny quality resembling that achieved with egg-white embellishment.

OCLC locates ten copies.

Palmer, T. S. (and others)

Biographies of the Members of the / American Ornithologists’ Union …./ Reprinted from “The Auk” / 1884-1954 Limited Edition Facsimile 22.2 x 15.5 cm. Pp. (4, title, facsimile statement, preface, blank)1-630; 317 ll. Original red cloth. Martino Fine Books, Mansfield Center CT, (1999).

This is a facsimile edition of a work originally published in Washington in 1954 that contains about 1200 biographies of members and Fellows of the American Ornithologists’ Union and of a few well-known ornithologists who were not members. The biographies were written contemporarily and published in “The Auk” from which they were reproduced in this volume. Most were written by J. A. Allen, A. K. Fisher, T. S. Palmer, A. W. Schorger and Witmer Stone. According to the Trinity catalogue, the original version of this book was edited by Paul H. Oehser but I can’t find his name in this facsimile.

The work is replete with interesting information and some of the obituaries are quite moving.

Trinity, p. 20 (The Auk) and p. 181.

Palmer, A(lfred) H(erbert) (1853-)

The / life of / Joseph Wolf / animal painter 22.5 x 15.3 cm. π⁷a²B-X⁸Y⁴[$1,2 signed]; 173 ll. Pp. [i-v]vi-xviii[1]2-328. Publisher's (?) olive cloth, gilt lettering to spine. London and New York, Longmans, Green & Co., 1895.

i, Half-title; ii, blank; iii, title, partly printed in red; iv, blank; v, preface; ix, contents; xi, list of illustrations; 1, text; 291, a catalogue of some of the principal works (1845-1895) illustrated by Joseph Wolf; 328, printer designation: Spottiswoode and Co., London. Contains: signed uncolored frontispiece photoportrait reproduced (in collotype ?) by Swan Electric Engraving Co.; 53 unnumbered, uncolored half-tone plates printed on one side only and not included in pagination; 14 unnumbered, uncolored half-tone text illustrations.

Many regard Joseph Wolf (1820-1829), a German who emigrated to England, as the finest of all artists at portraying birds and animals. His best known works are the folios on pheasants, birds of paradise and cats that he illustrated for Daniel Giraud Elliot. His plates for Gould in The birds of Great Britain and the Birds of Asia are also widely appreciated.

A particularly useful attribute of the present biography is the list of works containing illustrations by the artist. The pictures in this book are also of special interest since they are mostly reproductions of sketches that were either not published or published only after having been worked into a final form.

The biographer, Alfred Herbert Palmer, was also an artist.

Wood, p. 511. Also listed by AMNH, Cornell, Harvard, Trinity, Yale.

Parkenham, R. H. W.

The Birds of Zanzibar / and Pemba / An annotated check-list 24.7 x 15.0 cm. Pp. [1-4]5-134; 67 ll. Original printed oliver wrappers with black lettering, ibis logo, on upper cover. London, British Ornithologists' Union, 1979. B. O. U. Check-list No. 2.

1, Title; 2, printer designation: Unwin Brothers Ltd, The Gresham Press, Surrey; 3, blank; 4, map; 5, editor's foreword by J. F. Monk; 6, contents; 9, introduction; 10, history; 11, geography, geology; 15, topography; 20, climate; 23, breeding; 39, distribution; 44, migration; 53, relationship with Madagascar; 54, acknowledgements; 55, systematic annotated list; 108, references; 114, appendix 1, rejected species; 115, appendix 2, omitted species; 116, appendix 3, comparative occurrence of species in various forests; 117, appendix 4, type localities; 120, appendix 5, endemics; 121, complete list and distribution of birds; 129, index. Contains three full-page, unnumbered maps.

The author was a civil servant in Zanzibar from 1929-1956. The work discusses 209 species. There is some evidence that Pemba has been separated from the mainland longer than has Zanzibar, and Pemba contains one endemic species, a White-eye, and five endemic subspecies compared to no endemic species and three endemic subspecies for Zanzibar.

There has been little treatment of these two islands as an avifaunal unit, the first such monographic coverage being by Vaughan in The Ibis (1929-1930). Perhaps this is because the avifauna of the islands is not particularly noteworthy.

This work is listed by the libraries of Harvard and Yale but not by those of the AMNH, Cornell, and Trinity.

Parke-Bernet Galleries, Inc.

The library of the late Honorable / James D. Smyth / Burlington, Iowa/ including / Audubon’s birds of America / a superb copy of the original elephant folio / works of Elliot, Gould and other ornithologists / early printing, classics, standard literature / public auction sale / January 29 at 8:15 p. m. / January 30 at 2 p. m. / 26.5 x 18.0 cm. 5 PL, 1-92(2, with recto blank, verso stating that the gallery designs and directs production of its own catalogs) Original gray printed wrappers. New York, Parke-Bernet Galleries, 1942.

Smyth was an Iowa judge who amassed a very significant eclectic collection of books with some emphasis on ornithology but also including incunables, a second Shakespeare folio, bibles etc. The catalog lists 567 lots.

The ornithological books were all written in English and most of the best known British works of the 19^th century are represented. The collection of Gould is complete save that the “Toucans “and “Trogons” are represented only by their second editions. It includes the cancelled Birds of Australia and the adjacent islands as well as Icones avium. In addition to Audubon’s birds, the library possessed a three-volume example of the Viviparous quadrupes. There are no interesting less well known ornithological rarities.

The catalog contains neither price estimates nor a list of prices realized. It would be interesting to have this information, the more so since the auction took place shortly after America entered World War II and at the end of the Great Depression.

Parke-Bernet eventually morphed into Sotheby’s NY

Parker, Richard Dunscombe (c. 1805-1881)(edited by Martyn Anglesea; designed by Wendy Dunbar)

Birds of Ireland 40.7 x 47.4 cm. Pp. (6)1-9[10-98]99-113(1); 60 ll. Original publisher’s half dark brown calf and marbled boards, the latter by Solveig Stone of Compton Marbling, Wiltshire. Matching slipcase. Bound by Sydney Aiken of County Down. Spine with five gilt raised bands, gilt lettered black morocco labeling pieces in second and fourth compartments. Green endpapers by Fabiano Ingres. Blackstaff Press, Dundonald, (1983).

First preliminary leaf: recto, half-title; verso, blank; second: recto, framed title; verso, limitation statement, this copy 59/250 signed by Anglesea and Dunbar; ISBN 85640 297 4; copyright, 1983; printer designation: Nicholson & Bass Limited of Northern Ireland; third: recto, framed contents; verso, blank. 1, introduction; 9, acknowledgements; 11, framed half-title; 13, list of plates 1-40; 15,, plates 1-40, so designated in list of plates and notes on plates but not actually on plates; 95-96, blank; 97, title leaf for “Notes / on the / colour plates”; 99, the actual “notes”; 111, complete list (170) of Parker’s paintings; 113, bibliography; lower pastedown; mounted colophon and list of credits. Contains mounted color half-tone plates 1-40 (so designated elsewhere), 26.5 x 34.2 cm within six-rule frame design, the English and Latin names printed in brown below the frames. Also contains 95 unnumbered, uncolored half-tone text illustrations.

Parker was a contemporary of William Thompson who wrote the first comprehensive treatment of Irish birds and Thompson quoted Parker’s records with full confidence. A massive volume containing 170 watercolors of birds by Parker found its way to the Ulster Museum of Belfast in 1932 and went unnoticed until it was “discovered” in 1976. The pictures were publicly exhibited in 1980 and 40 of them were selected for publication in this beautiful book that was printed in an edition of only 250 copies. The artwork is superb. The birds are accurately drawn and placed in wonderfully worked fore- and backgrounds that are replete with ambiance. The plates have a quality that recalls those of Audubon and of the rare English prints of the contemporary (1804-1880) English artist, George Shield. One of Parker’s paintings that was not reproduced for the present work, is shown on page 387 of Christine Jackson’s Dictionary of bird artists of the world (1999).

The introduction and the notes provide a highly informed and informative perspective of Parker’s paintings within the context of contemporary ornithological artists. The text figures reproduce works by other artists of species depicted by Parker and allow the reader to gauge the extent to which Parker was influenced by them.

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

Pasquier, Roger F., Barrand, John Jr.

Masterpieces of / bird art / 700 years of ornithological illustration 33.0 x 27.6 cm. Pp. [1-9]10-261(1). Original publisher's scarlet cloth with gilt lettering to upper cover and spine. Olive green endpapers. Pictorial dust jacket. New York, Abbeville Press, (1991).

1, Half-title with colored illustration; 2-3, title page with colored plate; 4; dedication to Jean Delacour; 5, colored plate; 6, acknowledgments; 7, colored plate; 8, legends for preceding pictures; in-house credits; copyright 1991; "First Edition"; ISBN 1-55859-134-6; printed and bound in Hong Kong; 9, contents; 10, colored plate; 11, preface; 12-13, colored plate; 14, colored plate; 15, foreword by Roger Tory Peterson; 17, introduction, historical images; 22, the age of handmade illustrations and woodcuts; 50, the age of engraving; 114, the age of lithographs; 186, the modern age; 252, references (36 entries); 253, index, including Latin and English bird names; 260, illustration credits. Contains approximately188 unnumbered colored illustrations (10 double-page, 82 full-page) in text and preliminaries, 68 uncolored text illustrations, all printed in half-tone.

This is an interesting and attractive history of ornithological iconography. The section on pictures of antiquity by Farrand contains unusual material including several pictures from De arte venandi cum avibus by the Emperor, Frederick II (1194-1250). Pasquier makes insightful comments about many of the illustrations and contributes an especially provocative section on modern artists. The color printing, done in Hong Kong, is highly variable and in a very few cases the authors have employed copies that are exceedingly poor. For example, the plates reproduced from those of Barraband for Description de l'Egypte bear little resemblance to the original prints and, not surprisingly, two of the species on one of them have been misidentified, even though both authors were highly experienced ornithologists. Most of the pictures, however, have been well reproduced and wisely chosen. The result is a sumptuous collection of pictures that provides a good historical cross-section of ornithological illustration.

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

Paxson, Henry D.

The last of the wild pigeon in / Bucks county 23.0 x 15.3 cm. Pp. [1-3]4-18. Original gray printed wrappers. “Read at the Fall Meeting of the Bucks County Historical Society, held at / Chalfont, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Tuesday, October 22, 1912”. Inscribed, signed and dated Oct 31, 1917 by the author on the upper wrapper.

I, Glossy sheet with two half-tone photographs; 2, blank; 3, the last wild pigeon in Bucks County; 4, passenger pigeon in history; 7, last great nestings; 8, last wild pigeon in Pennsylvania; 9, last living pigeon; 10, wild pigeon in Bucks County; 11, last trapping in Bucks County; 16, extinction. Contains initial page with photographs and one text photograph.

An account by someone who had seen the bird as a child and had a wide acquaintance amongst local people who were familiar with it. One of the photographs shows Passenger Pigeons used as decoys in the capture of others. This photograph, from 1870, is said to be the earliest documented photo of live pigeons.

OCLC locates five copies.

Pearson, Leonard (1868-1909 and Warren, Benjamin Harry (1858-1926)

“Diseases and Enemies of Poultry” (so named in letters of transmittal) or “Pennsylvania Poultry Book” (so named on spine). Two Parts bound in one volume. 23.3 x 15.9 cm. Contemporary half morocco and maroon pebbled cloth with gilt spine containing five compartments. Red speckled edges. Clarence M. Busch, State Printer of Pennsylvania (Harrisburg), 1897(-1898). Bulletin 17 of the (Pennsylvania) Department of Agriculture (according to letters of transmittal).

Part I. Diseases of Poultry by Leonard Pearson. [1--I]⁸ 2--I_7--I⁸ 8--I² [$1 signed; 1--I5 signed 1* --I; 3--I4 missigned 3 --I; 4 --I2 missigned 3*--I; 5 --I6 missigned 5 --I; 6--I2 missigned 5*--I]; 58 ll. Pp. [1-3]4-116. 1, title; 3, list of illustrations; 5, letter of transmittal dated March 8, 1898; 7, preface; 9, introduction; 10, text; 113, index. Contains two unlisted and unnumbered chromolithographic plates of chickens with internal organs, two full-page uncolored plates designated plates 1,2 in list and included in pagination, and 30 unnumbered text illustrations.

Part II. Enemies of Poultry by B. H. Warren. [A]⁸ B --I⁴ (sic)1--II_46--II⁸47--II⁸ (-47--II8)[$1 signed; odd signatures also signed on fifth leaf with signature number and asterisk, e. g. 1* --II etc. 5 --II5 signed simply 5*; 47--II5 lacking signature]; 387 ll. Pp. [I-II]III-XXIV1-749[750]. I, title; III, contents; XIII, list of illustrations; XIX, letter of transmittal dated June 15, 1897; 1, text; 733, index. Contains 93 unnumbered chromolithographic plates including 41 of birds, 5 of eggs and 8 of birds’ heads. Also contains 8 unnumbered photoplates. All plates not included in pagination.

This work was commissioned by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and was printed in an editon of 15, 000 copies according to the letter of transmittal. Pearson, a veterinarian, wrote the first part, a survey on diseases of chickens. Warren, the physician author of Birds of Pennsylvania (1890), did the second part. His interpretation of “enemies” is broad including birds, mammals and tapeworms, to name a few. The section on birds, pp. 136-316, covers not only obvious raptors, but also various species that have occasionally been known to break an egg or eat a chick. These include corvids, herons and shrikes, in addition to hawks and owls. The pictures are chromolithographs, the artists for which are not identified on the plates. Some of them were drawn by the Ridgway brothers and have been taken from A. K. Fisher’s Hawks and Owls of North America (1893) but the chromatography here is considerably more attractive than in that work. Others are published here for the first time. The text for various species comprises a description and selective life history, anecdotal where the author had personal knowledge of the species. There is little discussion of their interaction with poultry perhaps because in most cases there is very little interaction.

Trinity, p. 184; Wood, p. 514; Yale, p. 222

Pearson, T(homas) Gilbert (editor) (1873-1943)

Portraits and habits / of our birds Two volumes. 21.2 x 14.0 cm. Contemporary green cloth with gilt lettering to spine. New York, National Association of Audubon Societies, 1928.

Volume I Pp. (12)1-200](4). First preliminary leaf: recto, half-title; verso, blank; second preliminary leaf: recto, title; verso, copyright; printer designation: Doubleday, Doran & Co., Garden City; third preliminary leaf: recto, editor's note; verso, blank; fourth preliminary leaf: recto-verso, contents; fifth preliminary leaf recto-sixth recto: list of illustrations; sixth verso, blank; 1-200, eductional leaflet Nos. 1-50; terminal two leaves, index of English names and final blank verso. Contains: 50 unnumbered plates printed in color half-tone on recto only and not included in pagination; 24 unnumbered outline plates selected from the preceding 50 intended for coloring, printed on one side only and not included in pagination; 38 unnumbered text half-tone photographs and line illustrations.

Volume II Pp. (12)201-400 (4) First preliminary leaf: recto, half-title; verso, blank; second preliminary leaf: recto, title; verso, copyright; printer designation; third preliminary leaf: recto, foreword; verso, blank; fourth preliminary leaf: recto-verso, contents; fifth preliminary leaf recto-sixth recto: illustrations; sixth verso, blank; 201-400, educational leaflet Nos. 51-100; terminal two leaves, index and final blank verso. Contains 50 colored plates; 24 outline plates; 31 text illustrations.

I believe that these leaflets were published periodically from about 1912 into the 1920s and I'm not certain whether they were included in various issues of a serial publication or were issued separately. I believe there exist bound volumes with fewer leaflets and an earlier publication date. These two volumes contain the entire series.

The informative texts are directed at a popular audience and provide a good deal of information in a pleasant and painless format. Many (23) authors contributed texts for the 100 species but most were done by Pearson (40), Mabel Osgood Wright (11), William Dutcher (10) and Edward Howe Forbush (9). The colored plates were drawn by R. Bruce Horsfall (63), Edmund Sawyer (14), Allan Brooks (13), and Louis Agassiz Fuertes (6). The remaining four were unsigned.

This is an interesting period piece.

Listed by Cornell, Harvard, Trinity, Yale. Not listed by AMNH. Yale also lists a 1925 imprint, apparently with a complete complement of leaflets.

Pearson, T(homas) Gilbert (1873-1943)

The / Bird Study Book 18.7 x 13.0 cm. Pp. [i-iv]v-xv[xvi][1-2]3-258(2, printer's designation: The Country Life Press, Garden City, N. Y.); 130 ll. Original publisher's green cloth with fine gilt-block design of flying Canada Geese on upper cover, gilt lettering on upper cover and spine. Garden City, New York, Doubleday, Page & Company, 1917.

i, Title; ii, copyright; iii, dedication; iv, blank; v, preface; viii, blank; ix, contents; xiii, list of illustrations; xvi, blank; 1, half-title; 2, blank; 3, text. Contains colored frontispiece after Fuertes, 16 unnumbered, uncolored photographic plates all printed on one side only and not included in pagination. Also contains 26 unnumbered text line-cuts by Will Simmons.

This work, by the chief executive of the National Audubon Society, is a general, entirely non-technical introduction to the study of birds that is intended for young people. It covers a diverse array of broad topics including advice on equipment and list keeping, nesting, migration, effects of deforestation and increased farm land on bird populations, bird conservation, sanctuaries, the millinery trade, teaching of bird study in schools, economic value of birds, extinction of various species etc. The book is very much a period piece that accurately reflects an era that seems quaint and antiquated. For example, a study by Frank Chapman is recounted in which he counted the number of species and individual birds represented by feathers on the hats of women during a walk in New York City. Pearson, a highly respected ornithologist of his day, also recounts many personal anecdotes.

Trinity, p. 184; Wood, p. 514; Yale, p. 222; Zimmer, p. 485.

Pearson, T(homas) Gilbert (1873-1943), Brimley, C. S., Brimley, H. H.

Birds of North Carolina North Carolina Geological and Economic Survey. Volume IV. 25.7 x 18.0 cm. Pp. [i-vii]viii-xiii[xiv]1-380; 202 ll. Original publisher's red cloth with gilt labeling on upper cover and spine. Raleigh, Edwards & Broughton Printing Co., 1919.

i, Title; ii, geological board; iii, letter of transmittal (dated 1918); iv, geological board; v, letter of transmittal (dated 1913); vi, blank; vii, preface; xi, contents; xvii, list of illustrations; 1, ornithological historical sketch; 10, life zones and bird distribution; 13, explanation of keys and descriptions; 14, descriptive list; 337, appendices including bibliography; 350, glossary; 352, general index; 360, index of common names; 373, index of scientific names. Contains colored plates 1-24 on thick stock, 23 after R(obert) Bruce Horsfall (1869-1948) and one after Rex Brasher (1869-1960). Also contains photographic plates A-E, a text map and text figures 1-275 after Brasher.

Two geological boards and two letters of transmittal were involved because the work was actually first printed in 1913 and the entire run was then destroyed by a fire in the state printer's facility. This explains also why Brasher's figures, specifically commissioned by Pearson for this work (Milton Brasher, Rex Brasher, Painter of Birds, 1961, p. 205), actually appeared first in Pearson's Birds of America (1917).

This book is the first comprehensive work on the birds of North Carolina. Pearson became president of the National Audubon Society and was an important conservation figure of his time. Coverage of 341 species includes a description with measurements, delineation of the range within and outside of North Carolina, and a variable section that may comprise much on life history including nidification and food habits.

Pearson was a supporter of the two artists involved in this book, each of whom has been, to a large extent, unjustly overlooked. Horsfall is best known for doing most of the Audubon Educational Leaflet plates, again thanks to Pearson, and for the illustrations in Wheelock's Birds of California (1912). Horsfall's work is characterized by considerable attention to backgrounds and the effect of sunlight on their colors. His interesting compositions are similar to those used by Alan Brooks in his later pictures such as those on the Audubon Society cards. Brasher, of course, was responsible for what in my view was the magnum opus of 20^th century American bird books. His commission for the pictures in the present work was his only significant commission for a bird book. The text figures depict mainly heads and are entirely different from the pictures in his own book. However, his single plate of a Swallow-tailed Kite in this volume was used almost unchanged (a few branches were moved) in his later work.

The present work appeared in two later editions of 1942 and 1959. The 1919 print run must have been smaller than usual for state bird books since this original edition is rather uncommon.

Trinity, p. 184; Wood, p. 514; Yale, p. 222; Zimmer, p. 485.

Pearson, T.(homas) Gilbert (1873-1943)

Herons / of the / United States 23.5 x 15.5 cm. Pp. [1-4]5-38 (2. Blank). Original printed off-white wrappers, lettering enclosed within black-ruled frame. New York, Bulletin No. 5, National Association of Audubon Societies, 1924. Price fifty cents. Signed by Pearson.

1-2, blank; 3, title with uncolored photograph of Egret; 4, contents; 5, foreword; 7, text with descriptions of 16 species and subspecies. Contains half-tone colored plates 1-4 after Louis Agassiz Fuertes with running printed text on obverses and included in pagination. Also contains 13 unnumbered, uncolored text photographs. The inner side of the lower wrapper presents a list of 114 “Educational Leaflets” published by the Society at five cents each. Four of these are included here. They are: No. 20, the Rose-breasted Grosbeak by William Dutcher, pp. 77-80; No. 22, the Blue Jay by Ernest Ingersoll, pp. 85-88; No. 87, the Veery by Pearson, pp. 349-352; and the Egret by Pearson. Each contains two conjoined leaves of text and a loose half-tone colored plate not included in pagination (two after R. Bruce Horsfall, two after E. Sawyer) as well as a plain version of the plate designed to be colored by a child.

These publications of the National Association of Audubon Societies are written in simple, yet informative style and are intended to popularize and educate.

The article by Pearson is listed by Cornell and Harvard but not by AMNH, Trinity, Yale.

Peck, Robert McCracken (introduction by Peterson, Roger Tory[1908-1996])

A celebration of birds / the life and art of / Louis Agassiz Fuertes 27.8 x 21.3 cm. Pp. [i-iv]v-xii[xiii-xiv]1-178. Original publisher's blue cloth with gilt lettering on upper cover. Blue endpapers. Pictorial dust jacket with original price of $30 on upper flap. Published for the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. New York, Walker and Company, 1982.

i, Half-title; ii, colored frontispiece; iii, title; iv, copyright; ISBN 0-8027-0716-5; credits: designed by Sheila Lynch; printed in Hong Kong by South China Printing Company; first printing; v, acknowledgements; vii, contents; ix, foreword by Thomas Peter Bennett, President, Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia; xi, introduction by Peterson; 1, the man; 27, the artist; 99, the naturalist; 162, chronology of Fuertes's life; 165, major collections; 169, list of illustrations and their sources; 171, notes; 174, bibliography (restricted to commentary on Fuertes); 176, general index without bird names. Contains 49 unnumbered text illustrations of birds printed in color half-tone (19 full-page) and 102 uncolored half-tone text pictures (27 full-page), some of bird illustrations, some of biographical photographs.

Fuertes (1874-1927) was the major American portrayer of birds during the first half of the 20^th century. The colored plates that he did originally for Eaton's Birds of New York (1909-1914) and for Birds of Massachusetts.. by Forbush (1925-1929) have been reprinted so many times in so many books that they are imprinted in the minds of almost everyone with an interest in American birds. Moreover, his contributions to the National Geographic Magazine prior to 1920 also acquainted a wide audience with his skills. His more specialized studies such as those done for the Harriman Expedition and for the Field Museum are less well known but highly regarded by connoisseurs. This book is a biography of the artist embellished with many illustrations, some not previously published. The author is an art historian and the text is informed and interesting. Unfortunately, poor color printing has betrayed the excellence of the colored illustrations. A comparison of the reproduction of the Narina Trogan on page 147 with the original print in Abyssinian birds and mammals (1930) is quite shocking.

This work was published by the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences to accompany an exhibition of the artist's work by the Academy in autumn of 1982.

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

Peckover, William S., Filewood, L. W. C.

Birds of / New Guinea / and tropical / Australia / The birds of Papua New Guinea, Irian Jaya, the Solomon / Islands and tropical north Australia 24.8 x 18.3 cm. 24.8 x 18.3 cm. Pp. [1-4]5-160. Publisher's green cloth with red lettered spine. Orange endpapers. Pictorial dust jacket. Sydney (Terrey Hills), A. H. & W. Reed, 1976.

1, title; 2, First published 1976; copyright; ISBN 0 589 07202 1; printed and bound by Dai Nippon Printing Co (Hong Kong) Ltd; 3, contents; 4, colored photographs; 5, preface; 7, introduction; 12, species accounts, Zonerodius heliosylus-Lonchura castaneothorax, ocmprosing 96 species; 140, systematic list of 852 birds of Papua New Guinea, Irian Jaya and the Solomon Islands (Latin and suggested vernacular names); 158, bibliography (26 entries); 159, index of illustrated species (Latin and English names). Contains 117 unnumbered colored photographs (23 full-page) printed in half-tone with facing text printed on obverse of page containing preceding photograph(s). All pages included in pagination. Also contains 96 printed in purple and red.

When this book appeared, there were few good published colored pictures of New Guinea birds. That grievance was redressed for the 96 species treated here, each of which has been beautifully photographed. The birds were mist netted, photographed in special enclosures, and then released. The selection of species was partially dictated by the success of the photographs. The essay for each species includes distribution, taxonomy, habitat and altitude, and available information on life history and nidification. The complete list of birds and their local distribution for New Guinea and the Solomons is a useful feature of the work.

(Pennant, Thomas [1726-1798], named in "advertisement")

Arctic Zoology Two volumes. 23.6 x 18.9 cm. Laid paper. 4^o. Catchwords. Contemporary gilt-ruled brown diced calf sides, rebacked with brown calf. Spine with five raised ridges, gilt black calf lettering pieces in second and fourth compartments. Speckled edges. Henry Hughs, London.

Vol. I. 1784 Introduction / Class I. Quadrupeds πA⁴a-m⁴n²o-cc⁴dd²(-dd2)B-Aa⁴Bb⁴(-Bb2-4); 201 ll. Pp. (10)[i]ii-cc[cci-ccvi][1]2-185[186]. πr, Title; πv, blank; A1r-A3v, advertisement; A4r-A4v, list of plates for both volumes; i, introduction describing geographical regions; cci, index to introduction; 1, Div. I, hoofed quadrupeds; 32, II, digitated quadrupeds; 143, III, pinnated quadrupeds. Contains uncolored elk vignette on title page and uncolored engraved frontispiece and uncolored plates I-VIII engraved by P. Maizell after Ch. Cordiner, Moses Griffiths, P. Paillore (sic, usually named Paillou) and G. Stubbs (Moose).

Vol. II. 1785 Class II. Birds πB⁴(-B1)Cc-4G⁴[$1, 2 signed]; 208 ll. Pp. (2)[187]188-586[587-600]. πr, title; πv, blank; 187, volume half-title; 189, synopsis of classification; division I, land birds, order I, rapacious; 238m order II, pies; 291, order III, gallinaceous; 322, order IV, columbine; 330, order V, passerine; 439, Division II,water fowls, section I, cloven-footed; 493, sect. II, pinnated feet; 501, sect. III, web-footed; 587, index; 599, errata and corrections. Contains engraved plates IX-XXIII by Maizell after M. Griffiths and P. Brown, many, however, undesignated.

This work was originally intended to cover North America but was extended to comprise northern Eurasia as well. It is important in providing the most comprehensive account of North American birds between the works of Catesby (1731-1743) and Vieillot (1807) and Wilson (1808-1814). According to Zimmer, "..the full decriptions of new (and other) forms formed the basis for Latin names subsequently applied by Gmelin and Latham. " The North American species are indicated by numbers. Volume II mistakenly begins with the number 86 (volume I ended with 84) but lists the next species as 86 as well and goes through 510. Thus, the number of North American birds treated is 426 species, by far the most exhaustive coverage to appear before the 19^th century. Pennant's information was largely gleaned from travelers and collectors as he was a great correspondent. He particularly acknowledges the "…rich museum of American Birds preserved by Mrs. Anna Blackburn.." whose brother collected on the east coast of America and sent her the specimens. There are numerous errors in pioneering works of this type. One of the more interesting is the inclusion, with a picture no less (plate XIII) of the "Ferruginous Woodpecker" (# 159), which, from the description and the picture, appears to be Celeus elegans, the Chestnut Woodpecker of South America. It was apparently sent to Pennant from South Carolina.

A supplement to this important work was issued in 1787 and a second edition was published in 1792.

Wood, p. 516; Zimmer, p. 489. This work and/or the second edition is present in all major ornithological libraries and collections.

(Pennant, Thomas[1726-1798])

British Zoology Four volumes. (First octavo edition.) 21.4 x 13.0 cm. 8^o, Laid paper. Contemporary tree calf. Spines divided into six compartments by roll tool with red morocco lettering piece in second, and black morocco numbering piece in fourth compartment from top. London and Chester, 1768-1770 as below.

Vol. I. Class I. Quadrupeds / II. Birds Printed for Benjamin White at Horace's Head, 1768. πA⁸b⁴B-H⁸I²*I⁸K-Q⁸[$1, 2, 3, 4 signed]; 135 ll. Pp. (2)[i]ii-xxiv[1]2-120, *109-*120, [121]122-232. πr, Title; πv, blank; i-xv, preface by Thomas Pennant dated Feb. 1, 1768; xvi, blank; xvii, references; xxii, classification of quadrupeds; 1, descriptive systematic list of quadrupeds; 117, classification of birds; *110, explanation of ornithological terms; *113, catalog of British birds; 121, descriptive systematic list of birds. Contains one unnumbered uncolored engraved folding plate of birds and uncolored engraved plates I-V including three of birds.

Vol. II. Class II. Genus XVIII &c. Birds. / with an / Appendix, / an / Essay on Birds of Passage / and / An Index Printed for Benjamin White at Horace's Head, 1868 πR-2K⁸2L⁴2M²(-2M₂); 142 ll. Pp. (2)233-280, 299-522[i]ii-ix[x]. πr, Title; πv, blank; 233, continued systematic list of birds; 487, appendix, rare or accidental species; 495, additions; 505, essay on migration; i, index; x, errata, directions to binder, advertisement for folio edition. Contains plates VI-XVII. Complete despite omission of pp. 281-298 due to printing error.

Vol. III. Class III. Reptiles / IV. Fish Printed by Eliz. Adams for Benjamin White at Horace's Head, 1869. [A]⁴*A²B⁸C⁶(-C₆)*C⁸(-*C₈)D-Z⁸; 186 ll. Pp. [i-iii]iv-xii[1]2-32, *33-*34, 33-358. i, Title; ii, blank; iii, dedication from Pennant to Thomas Falconer; v, errata, advertisement; vii, class III, reptiles, subtitle page; viii, blank; ix, reptiles, classification; 1, reptiles, descriptive systematic list; 27, class IV, fish, subtitle page; 29, fish, descriptive systematic list; 321, appendix; 345, catalog of animals in this volume with British (and Welsh) names; 353, index. Contains an unnumbered text engraving, an unnumbered folding plate of fish and plates I-XVII.

(Vol. IV.) British Zoology / illustrated by / Plates / and brief / Explanations Chester, Printed by Eliz. Adams, 1870. A-C⁸D⁸(+D₉)E⁸F⁸(+F₉); 50 ll. Pp. [I-iii]iv[v-vi][7]8-96(4, index). i, Title; ii, blank; iii, dedication to William Constable; v, advertisement; vi, blank; 7, explanation of plates; 87, catalogue of European quadrupeds, birds, reptiles. Contains plates I-CIII of which 61 depict birds.

This is an exceedingly important work, arguably the first serious systematic treatment of a national zoology that was financially accessible to the average person. It was antedated by Pennant's folio edition (1761-1766) which had a briefer text but 132 magnificent folio hand colored engravings. That folio edition is considered the first. The present first octavo edition comprises volumes often referred to as the "second" (volumes I-III) and "third" (volume IV) edition. Pennant's name did not appear on the title page until the subsequent "fourth" edition of 1776. The last ("fifth") edition appeared in 1812.

This is a scholarly and attractive treatise. Pennant describes and discusses 233 species of birds with a synonymy that includes Linnaean nomenclature and with a variable life history depending on knowledge of the time. The essay on migration is particularly important. Pennant comes down strongly on the side of southward dispersal, even of swallows, and completely debunks the contemporary notion that they might hibernate under ice.

The entire work contains 139 uncolored engraved plates including two that are folding and unnumbered. Of these, 77 are ornithological. Many plates do not contain designations for artist and engraver. Of those that do, Peter Mazell is invariably the engraver and the artists for the ornithological plates include Peter Paillou, Desmoulins, De Seve, George Edwards and Moses Griffith. The fish were mostly drawn by G. Wilkinson.

Mullen & Swann, p. 466. This edition unlisted by Trinity, Wood, Yale and Zimmer.

Penny, Malcom (illustrated by Chloë Talbot-Kelly)

The birds of / Seychelles / and the outlying islands 19.2 x 12.7 cm. [A]⁸B-K⁸[$1 signed]; 80 ll. Pp. [1-11]12-160. Publisher's umber cloth with gilt lettering to spine. Blue endpaper maps. Pictorial dust jacket with price of $11.95 printed on upper flap. New York, Taplinger Publishing Company, Inc., 1974.

1, Half-title; 2, blank; 3, title; 4, copyright 1974; first published in the United States in 1974; printed in Great Britain; ISBN 0-8008-2712-0; 5, contents; 6, blank; 7, list of plates; 8, blank; 9, preface; 10, blank; 11, acknowledgements; 13, introduction; 20, ornithological history; 29, the outer islands-Aldabra and the Amirantes; 35, ecological importance; 41, evolutionary tendencies in island life; 49, species accounts: land and shore birds (about 45 species); 121, sea birds (about 32 species); 149, migrant shorebirds (27 species); 151, migrants and vagrants other than shorebirds (26); 154, bibliography (about 39 entries); 157, index including English and Latin names. Contains plates 1-12(so enumerated on facing letter-press, eight colored) displaying about 73 species, printed in half-tone on both sides of six leaves and not included in pagination. Facing letter-press has consecutive text on obverse and is paginated. Also contains three text line drawings.

This is the first book devoted to the ornithology of these remote islands and doubtless stimulated their tourism industry, an important source of their income. The work is well done with thoughtful introductory chapters and well written essays covering the life history of each breeding species, all of which are illustrated. The dust jacket claims "..101 species illustrated.." but must intend individuals rather than species. The work was published simultaneously by Collins in London and was reprinted in 1986. Taplinger published similar guides to birds of the Bahamas and the Galapagos.

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

Perkins, George H.(enry), Howe, Clifton D.

A preliminary list / of the / birds found in Vermont 22.7 x 14.8 cm. Pp. [1-3]4-34(2, blank). Original publisher’s gray-green printed wrappers. Wynkoop Hallenbeck Crawford Co., Printers, New York and Albany, 1901 ((from the Vermont Agricultural Report)

1, Title; 2, blank; 3, introduction; 7, list of birds.

This is one of the early lists for the birds of the entire state of Vermont. It comprises 261 species, for each of which a line is given regarding its status. The introduction includes mention of various antecedent lists, several for parts of the state only.

The work is uncommon. OCLC locates 24 copies.

Perrault, Anna H., compiler and editor (preface, Morgan, Kathryn; introductory essay, Lank, David M.)

Nature classics / A catalogue of the / E. A. McIlhenny / natural history collection / at Louisiana State University 27.9 x 21.8 cm. [i-vi]vii-xvi[1-2]3-280. Original publisher's turquoise cloth with silver vignette of egret on upper cover, silver lettering on spine. Pale green endpapers. Baton Rouge, Friends of the LSU Library, 1987.

i, Half-title; ii blank; iii, title with floral vignette; iv, copyright; credits: design by Joanna V. Hill; printer, Thomson-Shore; ISBN 0-8071-1363-8; v, contents; vii, illustrations; ix, editor's foreword; xii, uncolored half-tone portrait of McIlhenny; xiii, preface by Morgan; 1, half-title; 3, essay by Lank on natural history illustration; 79, reference and bibliography; 87, natural history and the arts; 95, travel and scientific expeditions; 103, general natural history; 121, botany; 161, zoology excluding ornithology; 193, ornithology; 241, horticulture; 253, hunting and sports; 259, index of titles, artists, engravers, lithographers and selected printers and publishers; 280; limitation statement: 1000 copies printed; further credits: typset, LSU Graphic Services; binding, John Dekker and Sons. Contains: eight leaves with plates I-XVI printed in color half-tone on both sides displaying 26 images and not included in pagination; frontispiece portrait and 53 other uncolored half-tone or line text illustrations.

This catalog is not very comprehensive (1388 listings) but is strongest on botany (281-604) and ornithology (877-1287). Bibliographic information includes pagination and size but usually little else. There are no annotations and there are many errors, but the book is still useful with some interesting items. The most remarkable ornithological book is No. 1003, Descourtilz's Oiseaux remarquables du Bresil published in Rio in 1843 and containing 30 colored plates. I believe there is only one other copy of this exquisite book which I had the good fortune to examine at a London Sotheby's sale.

The listings in this work include volumes published through 1983.

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

Peterjohn, Bruce G. (paintings by Zimmerman, William[1934-]

The / birds / of / Ohio 29.8 x 22.9 cm. Pp. [I-XI]XII-XVIII[1-2]3-237[238]. Original publisher’s blue buckram with gilt lettering to spine. Color pictorial dust jacket. Red endpapers. Bloomington & Indianapolis, Indiana University Press, (1989). First printing.

I, Half-title; II, blank; III, title; IV, copyright 1989, Indiana University Press; manufactured in Japan; ISBN 0-253-34183-3; first printing; V, dedication; VI, blank; VII, contents; VIII, list of illustrations; IX, preface; XI, acknowledgments; XIII, introduction; 1, species accounts, Red-throated Loon-House Sparrow comprising 390 species; 226, bibliography (526 references); 235, index of English names; 236, colophon: editor, Kenneth Goodall; designer, Matt Williamson; compositor, Impressions Inc.; printer & binder,, Toppan. Contains 50 unnumbered plates printed in color half-tone. One of these is a full-page picture of a Passenger Pigeon by John A. Ruthven. The other 49 are by William Zimmerman. Of these two are double-page, the other 47 full-page. Neither plates nor their letter-press (usually printed on the obverse of the previous plate) are included in pagination.

This is an extremely comprehensive coverage of the status and distribution of the birds of Ohio. The very good plates by Zimmerman, a nice embellishment, are the same as those in Bohlen’s Birds of Illinois published by the same Press in the same year. The dust jacket of each claims that the plates were specifically produced for it.

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

Peters, W. C. H. (1815-1883)

Naturwissentschaftliche Reise nach Mossambique (auf Befehl S. M. Königs Friedrich Wilhelm IV in den Jahren 1842 bis 1848 ausgeführt. Band II. Vögel.) 34.4 x 25.4 cm. Fifteen hand-colored lithographic plates numbered I, II, 3-15 contained in a later portfolio of cloth-backed boards with a printed label on the upper cover. (Berlin, Reimer, ca. 1870).

Wilhelm Carl Hartwig Peters was by far the most important figure associated with the natural history of Mozambique based on his expeditions there carried out between 1842 and 1848. His magnum opus based on this work was published over the period 1852-1882 and, according to the BM(NH) catalogue (p.1555), contained five parts: I. Säugthiere; III. Amphibien; IV. Flussfische; V. Insecten und Myiopoden; VI. Botanik. Each of these contained text and plates. Part II. Vögel, was apparently never published and there is no record in any bibliography of the present suite of plates for it. Each plate bears at the lower left the printed designation “J. D. L. Franz Wagner gez u. lith”. One, plate II, bears at the lower right “Kunst-Amst. v. C. Böhm. Berlin” whereas the other 14 have “Druck v. Gebr. Delius” at that position. All have “Dr. W. Peters Naturw. Reise nach Mossambique” at the upper left and “Vögel Taf.” with the plate number on the upper right.

In the catalogue for a Christie's London Natural History auction (8 Nov. 2000), item #147 is a complete set of Peters' great work. The 15 bird plates are included and are described as 510 x 340 mm so my set has apparently been considerably trimmed. I have subsequently seen the full folio sized plates offered at an auction in Germany on 3/30/01 by Peter Kiefer, Antuquariaat. Evidently, the suite of plates is not nearly so rare as I had originally imagined.

The present suite of 15 plates depicts 19 species which we may assume were considered new by Peters. According to Clancey (1971), in his Handlist of the Birds of Southern Moçambique (p. 148), Peters collected and described several novel forms some of which, including Crex egregia, remain in the late 20th century a full species ascribed to him. This species, and perhaps most or all of the others which Peters thought were new, were described by Peters in Monatsb. K. Akad. Berlin, 1854. It’s interesting that Peter’s Finfoot carries his name yet is ascribed to Vieillot for its original Latin designation.

Amongst the illustrated species are two, the Banded Kestrel, Falco zoniventris, and a Vasa parrot, Coracopsis comorensis, that are now considered as endemic to Madagascar and Madagascar and its adjacent islands, respectively. The associated text, if there is one, should be of considerable interest.

This is a rare and important piece of ornithological Africana.

BM(NH), p. 1555; Wood, p. 517. (Neither mentioning an ornithological section).

Peters, Harold S.(eymour)(1902-), Burleigh, Thomas D.(earborn)(1895-1973) (illustrated by Peterson, Roger Tory[1908-1996]).

The birds / of / Newfoundland 22.9 x 16.5 cm. Pp. [i-iv]v-xix(1)1-431(1). Original publisher's tan cloth with image of great auk printed in green on upper cover, green lettering on upper cover and spine. Endpaper maps. Pictorial dust jacket. Published in association with the Department of Natural Resources, Province of Newfoundland. Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company, The Riverside Press, 1951.

i, Half-title; ii, blank; iii, title; iv, copyright; printer designation: The Riverside Press, Cambridge; v, preface; ix, contents; xii, blank; xiii, list of illustrations; 1, introduction; 5, ornithological work in Newfoundland; 13, study of birds in nature; 23, geographical distribution and life zones; 29, conservation and protection; 39, systematic classification; 41, list of birds first described from Newfoundland; 46-399(1), systematic annotated list, Gavia immer-Plectrophenax nivalis, comprising about 227 species; 401, hypothetical list (56 species including many which likely occur); 409, bibliography; 421, general index including common and scientific names. Contains plates 1-32, so enumerated only in list and letter-press, not plates; printed in color half-tone on both sides of 16 leaves displaying about 153 species. Facing letter press is included in pagination and contains printed text on obverse. Also contains text figures 1-40 including 39 line drawings, a few anatomical, most bird portraits, and one full-page uncolored plate of great auk printed on one side only and not included in pagination despite being numbered as a text figure.

Most regional treatises on areas in North America published in the United States during the mid part of the 20^th century seem to have been written by ornithologists employed by the Bureau of Biological Survey (later Fish and Wildlife Service). Both Peters and Burleigh fall into this category as does Arthur Howell. They maintained a high standard for their books on states, or in this case, a province. Newfoundland is especially well suited for a work of this type because it has biogeographical rather than purely political boundries. This is a very thorough review in which the authors provide the following sections for each account: local names; brief description with length measurement; field marks; nest and eggs; full range; status in Newfoundland; and habits.

The pictures by Peterson, a friend of Peters, were specifically commissioned by the government of Newfoundland. Peterson did not often supply this much artwork for other authors. The plates were later used for The Birds of Nova Scotia by Robie Tufts (1961).

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

Peters, James Lee (1889-1952)

Check-List / of / Birds of the World 16 volumes. Publisher's red cloth in at least three minor variants. Cambridge, Museum of Comparative Zoology, 1960(1931)-1987.

Volume I. Second Edition. Edited by Mayr, Ernst (1904-), Cottrell, G. William. Pp. [i-v]vi-xvii(1)[1-3]4-547(1); 283 ll. Cambridge, Museum of Comparative Zoology 1979(1931). i, Half-title; ii, blank; iii, title; iv, copyright; v, introduction; ix, contents; 1, half-title; 2, blank; 3, systematic text; 507, index title; 508, blank; 509, index. Covers STRUTHIONIFORMES; TINAMIFORMES; PROCELLARIFORMES; SHENISCIFORMES; GAVIFORMES; PODICEPEDIFORMES; PELECANIFORMES; CICONIIFORMES; PHOENICOPTERIFORMES; FALCONIFORMES; ANSERIFORMES. Sections on the various orders were written by specialists selected by Mayr and Cottrell. Neither the taxonomic groups covered, nor the invited specialists are listed on the title page in contrast to some of the other volumes published after the death of Peters.

Volume 2. Pp. [i-v]vi-xvii(1)[1-3]4-401(1); 210 ll. Cambridge, Harvard University Press (HUP), reprinted by Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ), 1976(1934). i, Half-title; ii, MCZ address; iii, title; iv, copyright; v, introduction; viii, blank; ix, contents;1, half-title; 2, blank; 3, systematic text; 361, index title; 362, blank; 363, index. Covers GALLIFORMES; GRUIFORMES; DATRYMIFORMES (fossils); CHARIDRIFOMES.

Volume III. Pp. [i-v]vi-xiii(1)[1-3]4-311(1); 163 ll. Cambridge, HUP, reprinted by MCZ, 1976(1937). i, Half-title; ii, MCZ address; iii, title; iv, copyright; v, introduction; ix, contents; 1, half-title; 2, blank; 3, text; 275, index title; 276, blank; 277, index. Covers COLUMBIDIFORMES, PSITTACIFORMES.

Volume IV. Pp. [i-v]vi-xii[1-3]4-291(1); 152 ll. Cambridge, HUP, reprinted by MCZ, 1981(1940). i, Half-title; ii, blank; iii, title; iv, copyright; v, introduction; ix, contents; 1, half-title; 2, blank; 3, text; 261, index title; 262, blank; 263, index. Covers CUCULIFORMES, STRIGIFORMES, CAPRIMULGIFORMES, APODIFORMES.

Volume V. Pp. [i-v]vi-xi(1)[1-3]4-306(lacking 274/274, presumably index title leaf of other volumes. Text and index are complete); 158 ll. Cambridge, HUP, reprinted by MCZ, 1968(1945). i, Half-title; ii, MCZ address; iii, title; iv, copyright; v, introduction; vii, contents; 1, half-title; 2, blank; 3, text; 275, index. Covers APODIFORMES (suborder, TROCHILI), COLIFORMES; TROGONIFORMES, CORACIFORMES.

Volume VI. Pp. [i-v]vi-xi(1)[1-3]4-259(1); 136 ll. Cambridge, HUP, reprinted by MCZ, 1981(1948). i, Half-title; ii, blank; iii, title; iv, copyright; v, introduction; ix, contents; 1, half-title; 2, blank; 3, text; 233, index. Covers PICIFORMES.

Volume VII. Pp. [i-v]vi-x[1-3]4-3I8; 164 ll. Cambridge, HUP, reprinted by MCZ, 1968(1951). i, Half-title; ii, MCZ address; iii, title; iv, copyright; v, introduction; vii, contents; 1, half-title; 2, blank; 3, text; 291, index title; 292, blank; 293, index. Covers PASSERIFORMES (EURYLAIMI, TYRANNI [superfamily Furnarioidea]).

Volume VIII. A Continuation of the Work of James L. Peters / Edited by / Melvin A. Trayler, Jr. / / Tyrrannidae Pipridae Cotingidae Ocyruncidae / Phytomidae Pittidae Philepittidea Acanthisittidae / Menuridae Atrichornithidae / By / Dean Amadon, Ernst Mayr, David w. Snow, / Melvin a. Traylor, Jr,. and John T. Zimmer Pp. [i-v]vi-xv(1)1-365(1); 191 ll. Cambridge, MCZ, 1979. i, Half-title; ii, blank; iii, title; iv, copyright; v, dedication to John Todd Zimmer, the major contributing author; vi, blank; vii, introduction; xi, contents; 1, text; 337, index title; 338, blank; 339, index. Covers PASSERIFORMES including the families as listed above on the title page. This is the first volume numerically to contain the groups covered and invited authors on the title page.

Volume IX. A Continuation of the Work of James L. Peters / Edited by / Ernst Mayr and James C. Greenway, Jr. Pp. [i-v]vi-xii[1-3]4-506; 259 ll. Cambridge, MCZ, 1960. i, Half-title; ii, blank; iii, title; iv, copyright and printer designation Bianco Lunos Bogtrykkeri A/S, Copenhagen, Denmark; v, introduction; ix, contents; 1, half-title; 2, blank; 3, text; 459, index title; 460, blank; 461, index. Covers PASSERIFORMES (OSCINES [including families Alaudidae, Hirundinidae, Motacilladae, Campephagidae, Pycnonotidae, Irenidae, Laniidae, Vangidae, Bombycilidae, Dulidae, Cinclidae, Troglodytidae, Mimidae. Various authors contributed the sections on different families. This volume was produced in Denmark and the authors thank Finn Salomonsen "who saw this volume through the press."

Volume X. A Continuation of the Work of James L. Peters / Edited by / Ernst Mayr and Raymond A. Paynter, Jr. / / Prunellidae Turdinae / Orthonychinae Timaliinae Panurinae / Picathartinae Polioptilinae / By / Herbert G. Deignan, Raymond A. Paynter, Jr., / S. Dillon Ripley Pp. [i-v]vi-ix(1)[1-3]4-502; 256 ll. Cambridge, MCZ, 1964. i, Half-title; ii, blank; iii, title; iv, copyright and printer designation The Heffernan Press Inc., Worcester, Mass; v, introduction; vii, contents; 1, half-title; 2, blank; 3, text; 456, addenda; 457, index title; 458, blank; 459, index. Covers PASSERIFORMES (OSCINES including families and subfamilies described on title page. This is the first volume temporally in which the groups covered and invited authors are listed on the title page.

Volume XI. A Continuation of the Work of James L. Peters / Edited by / Ernst Mayr / and / G. William Cottrell / / Sylviidae Muscicapidae (sensu strictu) Maluridae Acanthizidae Monarchidae / Eopsaltridae / by / Ernst Mayr, Melvin A. Traylor, Jr,. / and George E. Watson Pp. [i-v]vi-xii[1-3]4-638; 325 ll. Cambridge, MCZ, 1986. i, Half-title; ii, blank; iii, title; iv, copyright; v, introduction; ix, contents; 1, half-title; 2, blank; 3, text; 585, index title; 586, blank; 587, index; 638, addendum.. Covers PASSERIFORMES (OSCINES including families listed on title page). This was the last and final volume of text to be published.

Volume XII. A Continuation of the Work of James L. Peters / Edited by / Raymond A. Paynter, Jr. / in consultation with / Ernst Mayr / / Pachycephalinae Aegithalidae Remizidae Paridae Sittidae / Certhidae Rhabdornithidae Climacteridae Dicaeidae / Nectariniidae Zosteropidae Meliphagidae / By / James C Greenway Jr,. Ernst Mayr, / Reginald E. Moreau, Austin L. Rand, / Finn Salomonsen, and David W. Snow Pp. [i-v]vi-ix(1)[1-3]4-495(1); 253 ll. Cambridge, MCZ, 1967. i, Half-title; ii, blank; iii, title; iv, copyright; v, introduction; vii, contents; 3, text; 451, index title; 452, blank; 453, index. Covers PASSERIFORMES (OSCINES including families listed on title page).

Volume XIII. A Continuation of the Work of James L. Peters / Edited by / Raymond A. Paynter, Jr. / In (sic) consultation with / Ernst Mayr / / Emberizinae Catamblyryhynchinae Cardinalinae / Thraupinae Tersinae / by / Raymond A. Paynter, Jr. / and / Robert W. Storer Pp. [i-v]vi-xiv[1-3]4-443(1); 229 ll. i, Half-title; ii, blank; iii, title; iv, copyright and printer's designation, The Heffernan Press Inc….; v, introduction; xi, contents; 1, half-title; 2, blank; 3, text; 411, index title; 412, blank; 413, index. Covers PASSERIFORMES (OSCINES including the subfamilies of Emberizidae as listed on the title page).

Volume XIV. A Continuation of the Work of James L. Peters / Edited by / Raymond A. Paynter, Jr. / In consultation with Ernst Mayr / / Parulidae Drepanidae Vireonidae Icteridae Fringillidae / Carduelidae Estrildidae / Viduinae / By / Emmet R. Blake, James C. Greenway, Jr. / Thomas R. Howell, George H. Lowery, Jr. / Ernst Mayr, Burt L. Monroe, Jr., / Raymond A. Paynter, Jr., Austin L. Rand, / and Melvin A. Traylor Pp. [i-v]vi-x[1-3]4-433(1); 222 ll. Cambridge, MCZ, 1968. i, Half-title; ii, blank; iii, title; iv, copyright, printer's designation, The Heffernan Press…; v, introduction; vii, contents; 1, half-title; 2, blank; 3, text; 399, index title; 400, blank; 401, index. Covers PASSERIFORMES (OSCINES comprising the families and subfamilies listed on the title page).

Volume XV. A Continuation of the Work of James L. Peters / Edited by / Ernst Mayr and James C. Greenway, Jr. / / By / Dean Amadon Emmet R. Blake / James C. Greenway, Jr. Ernst Mayr Reginald Moreau / Charles Vaurie Pp. [i-v]vi-x[1-3]4-315(1); 163 ll. Cambridge, MCZ, 1962. i, Half-title; ii, blank; iii, title; iv, copyright and printer's designation Bianco Lunos Bogtrykkeri A/S Copenhagen, Denmark; v, introduction; vii, contents; 1, half-title; 2, blank; 3, text; 285, index title; 286, blank; 287, index. Covers PASSERIFORMES (OSCINES including families Ploecidae, Sturnidae, Oriolidae, Dicruridae, Callaedae, Grallinidae, Artamidae, Cracticidae, Ptilonorhynchidae, Paradisaeidae, Corvidae). The title page does not list the various groups that are covered.

Volume XVI. Comprehensive Index / Raymond A. Paynter, Jr. Pp. [i-v]vi-xi(1)1-550; 331 ll. Cambridge, MCZ, 1987. i, Half-title; ii, blank; iii, title; iv, copyright; v, preface; ix, introduction; 1, comprehensive index; 550, addenda.. This is the last volume to be published and the final volume of the series. It does not contain the name Peters on the title page. The index comprises specific and generic names including those that are synonymic and subspecific. Loosely laid in is a plastic card containing an index to families and subfamilies.

Systematics and taxonomy have always been the sacred province of the academic ornithologist and the present work is the ultimate expression of taxonomy when it was based on anatomic rather than biochemical characterization. It began to change when electrophoretic patterns of serum proteins became a criterion but the sea change was the introduction by Ahlquist and Sibley of DNA structure into the classification process. The present 16 volume set became almost instantly out of date and of historical interest only.

Trinity, p. 186.

Peterson, Roger Tory (1908-1996)

A Field Guide to / the Birds / Giving Field Marks of all Species / Found in Eastern North America 18. 4 x 11.4 cm. Pp. [i-v]vi-xxi[xxii-xxiv][1]2-167(1); 96ll. Original pebbled green cloth with title and author's name in silver lettering on spine and upper cover and silver vignette of Bufflehead on upper cover. Boston and New York, Houghton Mifflin and Company, (1934). First edition, second printing (state).

This is the second printing of the first edition identified unambiguously by the presence of the "dirty" Whistling Swan and egrets, and by the year 1934 being printed on the verso instead of the recto of the title leaf. The runs of the first and second printings were respectively 2,000 and 3,000 copies, whereas the numbers of the third and fourth state are unknown but certainly much higher. This copy has a rather interesting list of birds written in pencil on the verso of the last leaf of the index and the adjacent rear endpaper. The enumerated species were seen by an owner of the book in Mamaroneck, New York in 1944 Several have probably not been seen there since, including Bob-white, Ruffed Grouse and Pine Grosbeak. The presence of such a personal list on blank pages in Peterson's Field Guide was typical and is an indication of the success of the book.

AMNH, Cornell and Yale have first printings of the first edition. Trinity has an unidentified later printing. Harvard lacks the first edition.

Peterson, Roger Tory (1908-1996)

I, title; ii, copyright; iii, dedication; v, preface; ix, contents; xiii, illustrations; xvii, how to use this book; xxiii, half-title; xxiv, topography of a bird; 1, text; 153, reference suggestions; 155, index. Contains four colored plates with adjacent tissue leaves containing explanatory letter-press and 32 half-tone plates, all printed on recto only and not included in pagination. Also contains 18 text illustrations including one, "topography of a bird", that is full page.

This is the third state of the first edition distinguished by the absence of the year on the title page, by corrections of the word "Bob-pumper" and of the "dirty" swan and egret figures, and by the retention of the tissue leaves for letter-press. This copy has the signature and date "Chas. F. Comfort / May 1935" on the front fly leaf. Quite apart from the fact that Comfort was a Canadian artist of some stature, this is interesting because it indicates that both the first and second printings had been exhausted at this early date in the history of this important book. Those two print runs were respectively 2,000 and 3,000 copies. The number of subsequent copies of the first edition printed before the appearance of the second edition is unknown. Although the identifying points of the third and fourth states are well known, it is not clear whether there were one or more printings of these two variants which is why they are often referred to as "states" rather than "printings".

AMNH, Cornell, Yale list first printings. Trinity lists an unidentified later printing. Harvard apparently lacks the first edition.

Peterson, Roger Tory (1908-1996)

A Field Guide to / the Birds / Giving field marks of all species / found in eastern North America 18.5 x 11.5 cm. Pp. [i-v]vi-vii[viii-ix]x-xi[xii-xiii]xiv-xv[xvi-xvii]xviii-xxi[xxii-xxiv][1]2-167(1); 96 ll. Original pebbled green cloth with original pictorial dust jacket (partly defective). Boston, Houghton Mifflin, 1934. First Printing.

1, title; ii, publication data; iii, dedication; iv, blank; v, preface; viii, blank; ix, contents; xii, blank; xiii, list of illustrations; xvi, blank; xvii, how to use this book; xxiii, title; xxiv, topography of a bird; 1, species accounts; 153, home reference selections; 155, index. Contains four unnumbered colored plates printed on recto only and accompanied by unpaginated tissue leaf of identifying letter-press. Contains 32 unnumbered, uncolored plates printed on recto only. Contains 18 unnumbered text illustrations including “topography of a bird” which is full-page.

This is the original printing of what may be the most influential book ever published on birds and natural history. There were 2,000 copies and all were sold within two weeks. The distinguishing points of this original printing are: the year, 1934, appears on the title page instead of on its verso; the misspelled word “Bob-pumper” appears in the index on page 155 instead of “Bog-pumper”; the figures of Whistling Swan, American Egret and Snowy Egret are “dirty”, i. e. not pure white; the leaves of identifying letter-press are tissue rather than full paper. There was a second printing of 3,000 copies that was distinguished by appearance of the year on the back of the title page and by the correction to “Bog-pumper”. There was a third state with the “dirty” images corrected and a fourth state with letter press on ordinary paper. Although these latter two states are dated 1934 and represent “first editions” it is not known how many printings they comprised.

The original, or at least an early dust jacket, is distinguished by the absence of reviews of the book and by the price of $2.75. Such a dust jacket is rare.

This is a nice item to possess!

AMNH, Cornell and Yale list first printings. Trinity lists an unidentified later printing. Harvard apparently lacks the first edition.

Peterson, Roger Tory (1908-1996)

i, Title; ii, copyright; iii, dedication; v, preface; ix, contents; xiii, illustrations; xvii, how to use this book; xxiii, half-title; xxiv, topography of a bird; 1, text; 153, reference suggestions; 155, index. Contains four colored plates with adjacent tissue leaves containing explanatory letter-press and 32 half-tone plates, all printed on recto only and not included in pagination. Also contains 18 text illustrations including one, "topography of a bird", that is full page.

This is the second printing of the first edition identified unambiguously by the presence of the "dirty" Whistling Swan and egrets, and by the year 1934 being printed on the verso but not on the recto of the title leaf. The runs of the first and second printings were respectively 2,000 and 3,000 copies, whereas the numbers of the third and fourth state are unknown but certainly much higher. This copy is ex library from the University of Colorado Library and contains various library marking but is internally in fine condition save for the amateurish reinsertion of the uncolored plate opposite pages 86 and 87.

AMNH, Cornell and Yale have first printings of the first edition. Trinity has an unidentified later printing. Harvard lacks the first edition.

Peterson, Roger Tory (1908-1996)

AMNH, Cornell and Yale have 1934 editions that seem to be first state. Trinity has a 1934 edition that is a later unidentified state. Harvard lacks a 1934 edition.

Peterson, Roger Tory (1908-1996)

I, title; ii, copyright; iii, dedication; v, preface; ix, contents; xiii, illustrations; xvii, how to use this book; xxiii, half-title; xxiv, topography of a bird; 1, text; 153, reference suggestions; 155, index. Contains four colored plates with adjacent tissue leaves containing explanatory letter-press and 32 half-tone plates, all printed on recto only and not included in pagination. The tissue leaf for the colored plate of Fringillidae opposite page 136 has been torn out from this copy. Also contains 18 text illustrations including one, "topography of a bird", that is full page.

This is another copy of the third state of the first edition distinguished by the absence of the year on the title page, by corrections of the word "Bob-pumper" and of the "dirty" swan and egret figures, and by the retention of the tissue leaves for letter-press. The number of copies of the third and fourth states of the first edition before the appearance of the second edition is unknown. Although the identifying points of the third and fourth states are well known, it is not clear whether there were one or more printings of these two variants which is why they are often referred to as "states" rather than "printings".

AMNH, Cornell and Yale list apparent first printings. Trinity lists an unidentified later printing. Harvard seems to lack the first edition.

Peterson, Roger Tory

A Field Guide / to the Birds / Giving Field Marks of all Species / Found East of the Rockies 18.5 x 11.4 cm. Pp. [i-v]vi-xx[xxi-xxii][1]2-180; 101 ll. Original publisher's blue cloth with bufflehead design on upper cover and dark blue lettering on upper cover and spine. Pictorial dust jacket with price of $2.75 on upper flap. Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company, (1939).

i, Title; ii, copyright, printer's designation (Riverside Press); iii, dedication; iv, blank; v, preface; viii, blank; ix, contents; xii, blank; xiii, illustrations; xvi, area covered; xvii, how to use this book; xxi, half-title; xxii, topography of a bird; 1, species accounts; 165, home reference suggestions; 167, index. Contains four unnumbered half-tone colored plates printed on one side only with apposite leaf of legend, all not included in pagination. Also contains 32 unnumbered, uncolored half-tone plates printed on both sides of 16 leaves and 22 unnumbered text line cuts. Signature in ink dated 1943 on front free end paper.

This edition of the Peterson field guide with a slightly different title is not well known because its existence more or less coincided with World War II. It is usually considered the second edition. According to the dust jacket "the text of this revised edition has been rewritten. A great deal of information has been added which gives particular attention to ranges and songs". In addition to the slight change in title, some uncolored plates and text figures have been added and the uncolored plates are printed on both sides of their leaves whereas they were printed on one side only in the first edition. The third edition appeared in 1947 as the first title of the numbered field guide series which became an industry.

The present volume does not contain a date on the title page and is, therefore, not the first printing of this second edition. The copyright dates of 1934 and 1939 appear on the copyright page.

This edition is listed in on-line catalogs by AMNH, Cornell, Trinity and Yale but not by Harvard. It is the edition I used as a child.

Peterson, Roger (1908-1996), Mountfort, Guy and Hollom, P. A. D.A field guide / to the / birds of Britain / and Europe 18.5 x 11.5 cm. [A]¹⁶B¹⁶-L¹⁶[$1 signed]176 ll. Pp. [i-iv]v-xxxiv1-318. Original publisher’s blue cloth with gilt lettering to spine. Color pictorial dust jacket with Bulfinch and Goldfinch and with original price of 25s. Endpapers with “Roadside” and “Flight Silhouettes”. London, Collins, 1954. First British printing with 1954 printed on title page.

i, Half-title; ii, blank; iii, title; iv, dedication; copyright; printed in Great Britain, Collins Clear-Type Press, London & Glascow; v, introduction by Julian Huxley; viii, colour and monochrome reproductions engraved by Messrs. Gilchrist Bros. Ltd., Leeds; ix, preface; xiii, contents; xv, illustrations; xvii, note to British readers; xix, how to identify birds; xxvii, problem of subspecies; xxix, checklist; xxxiv, British ornithological societies; 1, systematic text (covers 551 species); 291, accidentals (100 species); 304 bibliography (about 40 references); 307, index (English and generic). Contains half-tone plates 1-60 of which 36 colored. Plates are not included in pagination and are printed on both sides of their leaves. Also contains 16 line illustrations in the text and small uncolored distribution maps for all species.

The appearance of this field guide was a major ornithological event , particularly in Europe. It was the first field guide to encompass all European species and it introduced the Peterson method of field identification to the continent. It remains a handsome, superb little guide.

Peterson, Roger Tory (1908-1996), Chalif, Edward L.

A field guide / to Mexican birds / field marks of all species found in / Mexico, Guatemala, Belize (British Honduras), El Salvador [i-vi]vii-xx(2)1-298. Original turquoise cloth with black design of quetzal and black lettering on upper cover and spine. Endpaper maps. Pictorial dust jacket with original price of $8.95 on upper flap and series number 20 in red on spine. Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1973.

i, Half-title; ii, list of titles in "Peterson Field Guide Series", this volume, number 20, the last; iii, title with vignette; iv, "first printing"; copyright; ISBN 0-395-17129-6;l v, dedication to wives; vi, blank; vii, preface; x, blank; xi, contents; xiv, blank; xv, list of illustrations; xvii-xx, how to use this book; unpaginated leaf: recto, half-title; verso, topography of a bird; 1, systematic text, Tinamus major-Loxia curvirostra, comprising about 1000 species; 261, bibliography of 26 entries; 263, index of English and Latin names. Contains plates 1-48 printed in color half-tone on recto, so designated on facing letter-press and in list of illustrations. Verso of each plate contains letter-press for next plate. Plates and their letter-press not included in pagination. Also contains text map and three uncolored text figures.

This is the first printing of a book that significantly increased ecotourism in Mexico by facilitating field identification of birds. I felt fortunate that such a useful guide was available for a trip there in 1975. It was not the first field guide for the area but it was certainly the most complete and best illustrated of its time. A remarkable amount of printed and pictorial material is compressed in this little volume including, for each species: size; field marks; similar species; voice; general range; range in Mexico; habitat; and a colored figure.

This first printing listed by AMNH, Cornell, Harvard, Trinity, Yale.

Peterson, Roger Tory (1908-1998)

A Field Guide to / the Birds / Giving Field Marks of all Species / Found in Eastern North America 18.5 x 11.4 cm. Pp. [i-v]vi-xxi[xii-xxiv][1]2-167(1); 96 ll. Original pebbled green cloth with silver printing of author and title on spine and upper cover and with silver vignette of Bufflehead on upper cover. Boston and New York, Houghton Mifflin, 1934. First edition, first issue.

i, Title; ii, copyright; iii, dedication; v, preface; ix, contents; xiii, illustrations; xviii, how to use this book; xxiii, half-title; xxiv, topography of a bird. Contains four unnumbered colored plates with accompanying tissue leaf of letter-press and 32 half-tone plates all printed on recto only and not included in pagination. Also contains 18 unnumbered text illustrations, one of which, "topography of a bird" is full-page.

This is my second example of the first printing of this very important book which comprised 2,000 copies that were allegedly completely sold within one or two weeks. It is identified by the presence of the year "1934" on the title page instead of on its verso and by the name "Bob-pumper" instead of "Bog-pumper" on the first page of the index.

AMNH, Cornell and Yale list copies that are apparently first printings since 1934 is transcribed from the title page. Trinity lists an unidentified "copyright 1934" printing of the first edition. Harvard apparently lacks the first edition.

Peterson, Roger Tory (1908-1996)

A Field Guide to / the Birds of Texas 18.4 x 11.7 cm. Pp. [i-iv]v-xxx[xxxi-xxxii]1-304; 168 ll. Original umber cloth with Gambel's Quail silhouette at lower left corner of upper cover, black lettering of spine. Original gray pictorial dust jacket. Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company for the Texas Game and Fish Commission, 1960.

i, Half-title; ii, books by Roger Tory Peterson; iii, title; iv, copyright; v, preface; ix, introduction; xiii, contents; xv, illustrations; xvii, how to use this book; xxv, checklist; xxxi, half-title; xxxii, topography of a bird; 1, systematic text of species; 266, accidentals; 277, extinct and unsuccessful birds; 280, silhouettes; 289, index. Contains plates 1-60 not included in pagination. These are printed on both sides, not included in pagination, 36 of them are colored and the and the apposite page of letter-press for each is included in pagination. Also contains two maps, 16 unnumberd text illustrations, and nine pages and four endpapers of silhouettes. First edition, first printing.

The first printing of this book is distinguished from what are called later printings by the date of 1960 on the title page, by the umber instead of blue cloth, by the list of "books by Roger Tory Peterson" instead of "The Peterson Field Guide Series" on the verso of the first leaf, and by the "Published for the Texas Game and Field Commission" on the title page instead of "Sponsored by the Texas Game and Field Commission and the National Audubon Society" on the title page. The dust jackets are also different, the later one being blue and proclaiming itself as number 13 of the Peterson Field Guide Series with which this initial printing had no connection. Yet another interesting feature of the first printing is that each copy has a serial number printed in red on the front free endpaper. It is 10049 in this copy.

This is the first, and still the only comprehensive continental state bird book. Many additions have been made to Peterson's original plan as exhibited in the first edition of his eastern guide. The most significant is the increase in colored illustrations. This is truly a change in character since, in the reader's mind, the importance of color in identification is increased at the expense of pattern.

The price of this volume was originally $3.00. When the second 1963 "printing" was promoted as a volume in the Peterson Field Guide Series only three years later, it was priced at $4.95.

Trinity, p. 187 (1963 printing)

(Peterson, Roger Tory [1908-1996])

The / field guide / art of / Roger Tory / Peterson Two volumes. 43.3 x 27. 8 cm. Full brown leather with double ruled gilt frames, enclosing, on upper cover, gilt title and gilt-incised bird with incised foliage. Spines with four raised bands, gilt lettering in second, third and fourth compartments. Vertically patterned tan moiré endpapers. AEG. Norwalk, The Easton Press, (1990). First edition.

Eastern birds Pp. [1-6]7-336. 1, Half-title; 2, blank; 3, title; 4, copyrights; credits: printed by J. D. Lucas Company, Baltimore; color separation by Red Rose Graphics Ltd, Lancaster; binding by Nicholstone Bindery, Nashville; design by Betty Binns; 5, contents; 6, blank; 7, foreword by S. Dillon Ripley; 9, introduction by Peterson; 25, the swimmers; 71, the aerialists; 101, long-legged waders; 117, smaller wading birds; 153, fowl-like birds; 163, birds of prey; 195, nonpasserine land birds; 215, passerine birds; 315, accidentals, escapes, introduced birds; 333, index; 336, cross references to field guide. Contains initial unpaginated leaf with framed sepia image of Baltimore Oriole signed by Peterson; 137 unnumbered full-page colored plates, each with facing identifying letter-press from verso of antecedent leaf, the recto of which contains the antecedent plate. All plates and their letter-press included in pagination; eight unnumbered colored text illustrations; two panels of colored distribution maps; and four unnumbered uncolored text illustrations.

Western birds Pp. [1-6]7-356. 1, Half-title; 2, blank; 3, title; 4, copyrights; credits; 5, contents; 6, blank; 7, introduction; 11, the swimmers; 49, the aerialists; 83, long-legged waders; 95, smaller wading birds; 137, fowl-like birds; 151, birds of prey; 189, nonpasserine land birds; 217, passerine birds; 339, accidentals, escapes and introduced birds; 353, index; 355, cross references to field guide.

These volumes contain the plates from Peterson's A Field Guide to the Birds of Eastern and Central North America, 4^th edition, and A Field Guide to Western Birds, 3^rd edition, published by Houghton Mifflin respectively in 1980 and 1990. The order of plates is identical to that in the field guides and Peterson has here used popular-style (e.g. "aerialists") group headings that appear only in the indexes of the original publications. The pictures are reproduced here in the same size that they were originally painted. There is no text for these illustrations other than identifying letter-press. The first volume contains some interesting introductory material by Peterson about the production of the original guide in 1934 and his subsequent artistic and conservation-related activities.

The production of these well known plates in large format was an excellent idea. This type of picture represented Peterson at his very best and the series of illustrations thus presented is, in my view, the best suite ever published for the purpose of identifying American birds. The large size adds enormously to the usefulness of these images.

This original edition is handsomely produced. A first trade edition was issued without the leather binding by Houghton Mifflin in 1992.

This edition listed by Trinity, Yale. Not listed by AMNH, Cornell, Harvard although the first two list the trade edition.

Peterson, Roger Tory (1908-1996)

A Field Guide to / Western Birds 18.5 x 11.7 cm. Pp. [iii-v]vi-xviii[xix-xx][1]2-240; 129 ll. Original burnt orange cloth with block design of White-throated Swift on upper cover, black lettering on upper cover and spine. Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1941.

iii, Title; ii, dedication, copyright; v, preface; ix, contents; xi, illustrations; xv, how to use this book; xix, half-title; xx, topography of a bird; 1, systematic text of species; 203, subspecies; 225, index. Contains five unnumbered colored plates printed on one side only with facing sheets of letter press and 18 leaves printed on both sides to display 36 two-tone plates, all not included in pagination. Also contains 36 text illustrations. First edition, first printing.

The first printing of this book is distinguished unequivocally from later printings by the date on the title page. The legends opposite its colored plates usually exhibit offset as they do in this copy and I have read that this characteristic is also specific for the first printing. The burnt orange, as opposed to blue cloth binding indicates an early, but not necessarily first printing. The dust jackets (lacking from this copy) of early printings were also different because later issues were part of the "Peterson Field Guide Series".

This book was written before Peterson became an industry and when he still truly believed in the "Peterson plan" for teaching identification. This method emphasized shape and pattern rather than color and arrows were used to delineate the points that distinguished the species. I've always thought of these early depictions as a kind of minimal art. Peterson was able to display the few essentials that enabled recognition without great detail and usually without much attention to color. When his guides became cash cows, and he became an industry, he issued later editions in which virtually every species was shown in color and much of the novelty of the early editions was lost. The change occurred with the publication of the third edition of his eastern guide in 1947 and the "Peterson Field Guide Series" dealing with virtually every aspect of natural history was inaugurated at that time.

The pagination of this volume suggests that it is lacking an initial half-title but I have found the same omission in other copies so the work was presumably issued as such. The same pagination occurs in later printings.

Trinity, p. 187 (1961 edition); Yale, p. 225 (1941 date, printing not specified).

Peterson, Roger Tory (1908-1996)

A Field Guide to / Western Birds 18.5 x 11.5 cm. Pp. [iii-v]vi-xviii[xix-xx][1]2-240; 129 ll. Original burnt orange cloth with block design of White-throated Swift on upper cover, black lettering on upper cover and spine. Black and brown dust jacket with pictures of woodpeckers and quails and price of $2.75. Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1941.

iii, Title, with printed date1941; iv, dedication, copyright date of 1941; v, preface; ix, contents; xi, illustrations; xv, how to use this book; xix, half-title; xx, topography of a bird; 1, systematic text of species; 203, subspecies; 225, index. Contain color half-tone frontispiece and five additional unnumbered colored plates printed on one side only with facing sheets of letter press and 20 leaves printed on both sides to display 40 two-tone plates, all not included in pagination save, perhaps, for the letter-press facing the frontispiece (see below). Also contains 39 unnumbered text illustrations. First edition, first printing.

Like my other copy of the first printing of this work, this one lacks a half-title and it appears that the printed letter-press for the frontispiece may represent pp. i-ii. The volume exhibits the date 1941 on both the title and copyright pages identifying it as a first printing. The dust jacket, lacking in my other copy of the first printing, contains no mention of the “Peterson Field Guide Series” which is to be expected since the first volume of that series was the second (or third depending on how one views the 1939 issue) edition of the eastern guide published in 1947. Dust jackets of later issues of the western guide identify it as the second title of the series.

Peterson, Roger Tory (1908-1996)

A field guide to / western birds 18.5 x 11.8 cm. Pp. [i-v]vi-xviii[xix-xx][1]2-240. Original publisher’s aquamarine cloth with deep blue printing on upper cover, spine and white-throated swift vignette on upper cover. Color pictorial brown and black dust jacket with illustrations of woodpeckers and quail. Lower jacket lists 9 titles of Peterson “Field Guide Series” either written or in preparation. Spine of dust jacket is numbered “2” within a circle designating the western bird guide as the second book in the series. Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company, the Riverside Press, Cambridge (1941).

i, Letter-press for colored frontispiece; ii, blank; iii, title (no date on title page); iv, copyright 1941; printed in U. S. A.;v, preface; ix, contents; xi, list of illustrations; xiv, area covered; xv, how to use this book; xix, half-title; xx, topography of a bird; species accounts, Gavia immer-Calcarius ornatus; 203, subspecies;225, some reference suggestions; 225, index, generic and English. Contains six unnumbered color half-tone plates printed on one side only and not included in pagination. Each has a facing thin sheet of letter-press which is not included in pagination save for that dealing with frontispiece (apparently i, ii). Also contains 20 unnumbered leaves with 40 uncolored half-tone plates not included in pagination and 39 unnumbered text line drawings.

This first edition of the Western birds was originally issued in 1941, much before the Peterson Field Guide Series was started, about 1947. This copy differs in several particulars from the original issue most notably in its aquamarine cloth binding as opposed to burnt orange; the lack of a date on the title page; and the dust jacket which contains early particulars about the series. On the other hand, the overall design of the jacket is similar to that for the original issue.

Pfeifer, Sebastian

Die / Vögel unsrer Heimat 18.0 x 12.3 cm. [1]⁸2-16⁸X²; 130 ll. Pp. [1-2]3-259(1). Original publisher's green, cloth-covered board, silver lettering on spine and upper cover, silver ornithological design on upper cover. Photographic pictorial dust jacket. Frankfurt A. M., A. Kramer & Co., 1936. Issued by the Senckenbergischen Naturforschenden Gesellschaft as their Book #4.

1, Title; 2, copyright; 3, contents; 5, general part; 21, systematic part; 243, appendix; 253, index of German names; 259, references. Contains a colored frontispiece, the recto of which serves as the half-title. Also contains plates 1-50 printed on both sides of 25 leaves and not included in pagination. Of these, 23 are uncolored half-tone photographs. The other 27 are half-tone colored paintings four of which depict eggs and 23 birds, these usually as 2-4 small individual pictures per plate. Also contains uncolored title vignette, topographical diagram of a bird, and 56 unnumbered text line cuts. All artwork is signed Ph. Gönner.

This is a compact and quite attractive popular style mini-handbook. Details given for each species include the German and Latin names; points for identification in the field; distribution in Germany; habitat; description of nest, eggs, and period of nidification; voice; and general comments.

This work is uncommon in English language libraries. I found it listed only in those of the BM(NH), AMNH and Harvard. What may be a revised expanded version, entitled Taschenbuch der Deutschen Vogelwelt and published in 1950, was listed by Cornell, Oxford and Yale. This was described as book 23 of the Senckenbergischen Naturforschenden Gesellschaft. Neither work was listed by Trinity.

Phillips, John C.(harles)(1876-1938)

A natural history of / the ducks Four volumes. 31.8 x 23.8 cm. No signatures; Original publisher's brown buckram-backed gray boards with printed paper label on spine. Side and lower edge uncut. Housed in four brown cloth folding cases each within its own slipcase with gilt brown morocco lettering piece on spine by James Macdonald Co. Boston and New York, Houghton Mifflin Company, the Riverside Press, Cambridge, 1922-1926. The complete work contains 102 plates of which 74 are colored including 45 in colored collotype.

Volume I / Plectropterinae, Dendrocygninae, Anatinae (in part) 1922 Pp. [i-vii]viii-x[xi](1)[1-3]4-264; 138 ll. i, Half-title with mounted calling card of "Dr. John C. Phillips"; ii, blank; iii, title with Riverside Press imprint; iv, copyright 1922; Riverside Press designation; v, acknowledgment; vi, blank; vii, contents; ix, list of plates; xi, list of maps; 1, subtitle of the work; 2, poem; 3, introduction including: 10, general distribution; 17, plumage; 22, flight; 23, diurnal movements and wariness; 24, special senses; 25, voice; 26, association of species; 27, courtship and nesting; 30, food value; 31, hunting; 32, enemies; 33, status; 37, damage; 38, behavior in captivity; 41, order Chenomorphae, suborder Anseres, family Anatidae; 45, subfamily Plectropterinae; 118, subfamily Dendrocygninae; 183, subfamily Anatinae. Contains uncolored distribution maps 1-25, each printed on one side of its own unpaginated leaf(one double-leaf); Plates 1-18 of which colored collotype frontispiece after Frank W. Benson; 16 collotype (eight colored) after Louis Agassiz Fuertes; one uncolored collotype after Allan Brooks. The plates are all printed on a single side, guarded by a substantial tissue leaf, and not included in pagination. Total 18 plates, nine colored.

Volume II / The genus Anas 1923 Pp. [i-v]vi-xii[1-3]4-409(1); 211 ll. I, half-title (no card); ii, blank; iii, title; iv, copyright; printer designation; v, contents; viii, blank; ix, list of plates; xi, list of maps; 1, volume (genus) subtitle; 2, blank; 2 systematic text, Mallard-Puna Teal. Contains maps 28-65 (four-double leaf); plates 19-44 including colored collotype frontispiece after Benson; three (one colored collotype, one color half-tone, one uncolored collotype) after Fuertes; 21 (eight colored collotype, eight colored half-tone, five uncolored collotype) after Brooks and one colored collotype after Henrik Grönvold. Total 26 plates, 20 colored.

Volume III / Anatinae (concluded) and Fuligulinae (in part) 1925 Pp. [i-v]vi-ix[x-xi](1)[1-3]4-383(1). i, Half-title; ii, blank; iii, title; iv, copyright; printer designation; v, contents; vii, list of plates; x, blank; xi, list of maps; subfamily subtitle; 2, blank; 3, systematic text, Marbled Duck-Harlequin Duck. Contains maps 66-95 (five-double leaf); plates 45-70 including colored collotype frontispiece after Benson; three color half-tones after Fuertes and 22 (10 colored collotype, seven color half-tone, five uncolored collotype) after Brooks. Total 26 plates, 21 colored.

Volume IV / Fuligulinae (concluded), Oxyurinae, Merganettinae / and Merginae 1926 Pp. [i-v]vi-ix[x-xi](1)[1-3]4-489(1); 251 ll. i, Half-title; ii, blank; iii, title; iv, copyright; printer designation; v, contents; vii, list of plates; x, blank; xi, list of maps; 1, subfamily subtitle; 2, blank; 3-302, systematic text, Black Scoter-Brazilian Merganser; 303, addenda; 319, bibliography; 448, errata; 449, index; Contains maps 96-118 (seven double-leaf); plates 71-102 including colored collotype frontispiece after Benson; one colored collotype after Fuertes, 21 (10 colored collotype, four color half-tone, seven uncolored collotype) after Brooks, seven (six color half-tone, one colored collotype) after Grönvold, and two (one colored, one uncolored collotype) after S. Kobayashi. Total 32 plates, 24 colored.

This extraordinarily treatise is probably the most comprehensive ornithological monograph published in the United States during the 20^th century. In it, the author describes in detail, for each species, the various, all encompassing characteristics that he discusses at a general level in the introduction. The bibliography is so exhaustive that, in addition to forming a part of this published work, it was also issued on its own. The large number of plates printed in expensive colored collotype indicates that every effort was made to achieve a publication of the highest quality. Unfortunately, the pictures by Allan Brooks do not represent his best work and suffer by contrast with those of Thorburn in British Diving Ducks by J. G. Millais. There is a very fine plate of the Crested Sheldrake (Korean Shelduck) by S. Kobayashi which provides by far the best image in a western publication of that probably extinct species.

Wood, p. 518; Zimmer, p. 492. This work is present in virtually all major ornithological collections.

Phillips, W.(illiam)W.(atts)A.(ddison)(Lushington, [née Kershaw], Cicely, illustrator)

Birds of Ceylon Four volumes. 18.3 x 12.3 cm. Colombo, Associated Newspapers of Ceylon.

1 Familiar birds of the garden (from upper card cover which represents full title page with prospectus on verso). 1949. Pp. (6)1-31[32]. Printed white card covers with kingfisher design on upper cover. Pictorial dust jacket. First preliminary leaf (PL)r: half-title; PL1v, "First published 1949; printer designation: Ceylon Daily News Press, Colombo; PL2r, contents; PL2v, list of illustrations; PL3r, acknowledgments; PL3v, blank; 1, introducing Ceylon birds; 9, text for 20 species, Ceylon house-crow-white-breasted kingfisher; 29, bird watching; 32, printer designation. Contains: 20 unnumbered plates printed in color half-tone on one side only and not included in pagination, each facing its full page of explanatory text; one map printed in color by stencil on one side only and not included in pagination; uncolored half-tone photographs 1-4 of which 1 printed on one side only and not included in pagination, 2-4 in text.

2 Birds of our swamps / and tanks (from title page, "..tanks and / swamps" in prospectus on verso of first leaf). 1952. Pp. [1, misprinted "3"-12]13-49[50-52]; Slightly stilted printed white card covers with cotton teal design on upper cover; pictorial dust jacket; 1, opinions of first volume; 2, prospectus; 3, half-title; 4, blank; 5, title; 6, "Birds of Ceylon 1952; printer designation; 7, contents; 8, list of illustrations; 9, acknowledgments; 10, blank; 11, preface by S. Dillon Ripley; 13, introducing birds of our tanks and swamps; 17, species accounts, great reed warbler-little grebe; 37, bird photography in Ceylon; 50, prospectus for third volume; 51, opinions of first volume, continued; 52, printer designation. Contains 20 unnumbered half-tone colored plates, uncolored half-tone photographs 1-2, and colored topographical map printed by stencil contained on 12 unpaginated leaves, the bird pictures facing appropriate text. Uncolored text photographs 3-5 are also full page but have text on their versos and are included in pagination.

3 Birds of our highlands 1955. Pp. (2, blank)[1-8]9-51(1). Slightly stilted printed white card covers with blue magpie design on upper cover. Pictorial dust jacket. 1, half-title; 2, other books by author; 3, title; 4, "First published 1955"; printer designation; 5, contents; 6, acknowledgments; 7, list of illustrations; 8, blank; 9, introducing birds of our highlands; 13, birds of Nuwara Eliya; 24, species accounts, Ceylon magpie-black-winged kite; 44, bird migration in relation to Ceylon; 51, books on Ceylon birds. Contains: 20 unnumbered plates printed in color half-tone on both sides of 10 leaves, not included in pagination, each facing its own full page of relevant text; map printed in color by stencil on one side of unpaginated leaf; uncolored half-tone text photographs 1-5(so numbered in list of illustratiosn only); uncolored text map.

4 Birds of the Ruhuna / National Park 1961. Pp. [1-8]9-50(2, blank). Publisher's red cloth with black design of peacock on upper cover, black lettering on upper cover and spine. Pictorial dust jacket with obituary of author dated 31.3.57 on upper flap. 1, Half-title; 2, other books by author; 3, title; 4, "First published 1961"; printer designation; 5, contents; 6, acknowledgments; 7, list of illustrations; 8, blank; 9, introducing birds of Ruhuna National Park; 14, species accounts (20), white-browed fantail-flycatcher-white-necked stork; 34, list and status of all birds of Ruhuna National Park; recto of rear free endpaper: books on Ceylon birds. Contains: 20 unnumbered colored plates printed on both sides of 10 unpaginated leaves; uncolored half-tone text photographs 1-6, so numbered only in list of illustrations; map printed in color stencil on one side only of unpaginated leaf; endpaper maps of park printed in blue and black.

This interesting and fragile series small volumes was printed by a newspaper company in Colombo over a 12-year period and so the complete set is scarce. The work covers almost 100 relatively common species in some detail with a colored illustration of each and summarizes as well the status of many others from the highlands and Ruhuna National park. The work is written in a 19th century style ("Like the poor, the Sparrow is always with us", volume 1, page 23) but the information is first hand and includes a discussion of the local status and habits, world-wide distribution, and nesting and eggs for the common species. The author was also an authority on the mammals of Ceylon.

The illustrations are by Cicely Lushington who, as Cicely Kershaw, wrote and illustrated Familiar birds of Ceylon in 1925. Although the color printing is dreadful, her knowledge of the birds and excellence as a draughtsman are evident.

Copies in cloth originally cost 5Rs whereas those with card covers were 3Rs.

AMNH and Trinity have all four volumes, Cornell and Yale, volumes 1-3 only, and Harvard, apparently only volume 1 although not so explicitly stated.

Pinto, Antonio Augusto Da Rosa (illustrated by Conçeirão, Alfredo Da)

Ornitologia / de Angola /////// Volume I / (Non Passeres) 30.4 x 23.4 cm. Pp. [I-VI]VII-CXXXVI1-695[696-697(1). Original publisher's red cloth with gilt lettering to spine, pictorial dust jacket. Lisboa, Instituto de Investigação Cienrifica Tropical, 1983.

I, Half-title; II, note that volume commemorates centenary of founding of Institute's precursor; III, title; IV, note that the work (writing) was completed in 1977; V, dedication; VI, blank; VII, contents; VIII, blank; IX, preface by Fernando Frado; XI, acknowledgements; XIII, list of plates numbered here only 1-48; XIV, blank; XV, list of text figures; XVI, blank; XVII, systematic index of higher taxonomic categories; XIX-XXX, English translation by John Voice of pp. VII-XVIII; XXXI, introduction in Portuguese and English, general; LXI, historical; LXXXI, geographical; XC, habitats; 1, systematic accounts (Portuguese), Struthio camelus-Thripias xantholophus, species 1-446; 653, index of scientific names; 687, index of Portuguese names; 693, new place names in independent Angola; 695, errata; 697, printer designation: Imprensa Portuguesa. Contains folding finely colored (by stencil ?) map; uncolored plate of bird topography; colored map plate; 48 plates of birds printed in color half-tone on one side only with tissue guards; uncolored text figures 1-26. All plates excluded from pagination.

This is a fine modern regional treatise, a worthy successor to the Barboza de Bocage's Ornithologie d'Angola published more than a century before. It treats authoritatively 446 non passerine species found in Angola. The comprehensive accounts of species include synonymy/bibliography; description with measurements; distribution; habits and behavior; nests; and eggs. The printing and artistry are excellent. The colored plates depict a single species attractively shown in an appropriate setting. The line drawings are equally notable.

The second volume on passerine birds had not appeared as of 2007. The first (present) volume was not at all promoted and did not receive the attention it deserves.

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

Pizzey, Graham (1930-) (illustrated by Roy Doyle)

A field guide to the / birds of Australia 21.3 x 13.7 cm. Pp. (4)1-460. Original publisher's green cloth with gilt lettering to spine. Endpaper maps. Pictorial dust jacket. Princeton, Princeton University Press, (1980).

First preliminary leaf: recto, half-title; verso, blank; second: recto, title; verso, copyright 980; printed in Hong Kong by South China Printing Company; ISBN 0-691-08277-4; 1, contents; 4, blank; 5, foreword by D. L. Serventy; 6, blank; 7, acknowledgements; 9, introduction; 21, species accounts, Dromaius novaehollandiae-Corvus splendens, comprising species 1-726; 411, distribution maps (almost 600, printed in red); 445, index of scientific names; 453, index of English names. Unpaginated plate section at pp. 300/301 contains plates 1-88(56 colored) printed in half-tone on both sides of 44 leaves. Also contains about 15 unnumbered line drawings (two anatomical).

This well illustrated work could almost be considered a handbook. Each species account contains: a length measurement; field marks; similar species; voice; habitat; breeding and eggs; range and status. The book was published by Collins in Sydney simultaneously and was reprinted many times over various imprints.

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

Buffon, George-Louis Leclerc, compte de (1707-1788) (Daubenton, Edmé Louis [1732-1785], Martinet, François Nicolas [1731-?])

(Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux. Planches Enluminées) Tome V. 29.5 x 20.0 cm. 4o (laid paper). Near contemporary half-calf and marbled boards with blue calf lettering piece on spine labeled “Oiseaux / par / Buffon / Planches”. Lower down the spine lettered in gilt “Tom. V” and lower still, “C. Raben”. Endpapers and flyleaves folio sheets of laid paper watermarked C. &. I. Honig. Blue speckled edges. (Paris, l’Imprimerie Royale, 1778). Contains, without accompanying text, 93 (of 98) hand-colored plates within yellow borders, drawn and engraved by Martinet.

The “Planches Enluminées”, the pictures of which these are a fraction, were issued, beginning in 1765, by the firm of Panckouke in 42 cahiers of 24 plates each. Birds constituted 973 of the 1008 plates, the others representing insects. They were drawn and engraved by Martinet under the supervision of Daubenton and were intended to illustrate the ornithological volumes, the preparation of which was then in progress, of Buffon’s great general natural history. However, it was not feasible to prepare sufficient color plates for the print run of 3000 copies so a separate uncolored suite of 262 bird plates by de Sève was used for this purpose. The colored plates were employed instead to illustrate a separately published work, Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux, issued in 10 volumes (1770-1786), both in quarto and on large paper. The text, by Buffon, P. Gueneau de Montbeillard and the Abbé Bexon, was the same as that used for the nine-volume ornithological section of the general natural history containing de Sève’s 262 uncolored plates. Sometimes, the text and plates of the Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux were bound separately, as was evidently the case for the present volume. This fifth volume was published in 1778 and contained many colorful Passerines including Tanagers, Cotingas and Manakins to name a few. The only non-Passeres in the volume are Swifts and Caprimulgids. This is an extraordinarily clean, fresh and beautifully colored copy. At the base of each plate, in old manuscript, is a binomial Latin designation conceivably taken from Pieter Boddaert’s Table des Planches Enluminées de M. D’Aubenton, originally published in 1783, and reissued by the Willoughby Society some 100 years later.

The Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux was the most ambitious ornithological work ever undertaken since it attempted to describe in depth and to illustrate at the highest artistic level, every known species of bird. It was certainly in a class by itself in the 18th century and a strong case can be made for deeming it the most impressive of all ornithological publications.

Ronsil, 413; Trinity, p. 48; Wood, p. 267; Yale, p. 47; Zimmer, 104.

Poesch, Jessie (J.)

Titian "Ramsay Peale 1799-1885 and his journals of / the Wilkes expedition 30.0 x 23.5 cm. Pp. [i-iv]v-x[1-2]3-214. Publisher's gray cloth with portrait of Peale on upper cover, black and red lettering on upper cover, black lettering on spine. Endpaper maps, the lower one partially folding. Pictorial dust jacket with same portrait of Peale. Memoirs of the American Philosophical Society, Volume 52. Philadelphia, American Philosophical Society, 1961.

1, series half-title: Memoirs of the American Philosophical Society; ii-iii, illustrated title; iv, copyright 1961; v, preface; vii, contents; ix, list of illustrations; 1, part one title leaf: Titian Ramsay Peale (biography); 119; part two title leaf: Peale's journals of the Wilkes expedition; 204, references including manuscripts, archival materials, collections and more than 100 books; 209, index. Contains uncolored line and half-tone text figures 1-76 including reproductions of old photographs, of old portraits, sketches from Peale's journal etc.

Titian Peale was the only member of his highly gifted artistic family who was interested in natural history and he contributed illustrations to several important zoological books including Thomas Say's American entomology (1824), Charles Bonaparte's American ornithology (1825-1833) and, most importantly, the Mammalia and ornithology volume of the Wilkes expedition (plates published in 1858.) He had been the naturalist on that expedition and his account of it, published in 1848, contained descriptions of 265 species of which he thought that 119 were new. When writing this work, he did not have access to extensive literature facilities where many of these species had been previously described. He had numerous differences with Charles Wilkes concerning this work and Wilkes suppressed it almost immediately after publication so that it is now among the rarest of American natural history books. It did not include the plates which Peale refused to complete and which were eventually (1858) published with the additional ones elicited mainly from George White in Cassin's revised Mammalia and ornithology volume. The Wilkes expedition (United States Exploring Expedition [1838-1842]) was the most important of its type to be carried out by the United States and the controversy about the publication of this volume is of much interest. It is considered extensively in the present work which also contains the first publication, in their entirety, of Peale's journal from the expedition. These journals do not throw any light on the subsequent acrimony between Peale and Wilkes.

Listed by AMNH, Cornell, Harvard, Trinity and Yale. Poesch has written extensively on Americana and the arts.

(Wolf, Joseph) (1820-1899)

The Poets of the Woods Twelve Pictures of English Song Birds 24.5 x 18.5 cm. [A]⁴ (-A4)B-H⁴I² (-I2)[$1 signed]; 32 ll. Pp. [i-vi]1-37[38]39-53[54]55-56[57-58]. Fine full morocco with gilt spine in six compartments, gilt turn-ins and gilt paneling with rolled devices on upper and lower covers. AEG. London, Thomas Bosworth, 1853. [i], title; [iii], contents. Contains 12 chromolithographs after Joseph Wolf.

This book and its companion volume of a year later, Feathered Favorites, represent a genre called “Victorian Gift Books” that is characterized by poems, decorative bindings and decorative illustrations. C. E. Jackson discusses both of these works on page 69 of her Bird Illustrators.... (London, 1975) and they are also described in some detail by Palmer on page 311 in his The Life of Joseph Wolf (London, 1895). Paul Jerrard did similar decorative bird books such as The Hummingbird Keepsake.. and The Hummingbird Offering at around the same time.

The Poets of the Woods was assembled and illustrated anonymously yet all bibliographers seem to know that Wolf was the illustrator and Mrs. Jackson tells us that the poems from various well known and highly regarded writers were selected by a Joseph Cundall. The twelve birds represented in this volume include Passerines, the Cuckoo, a Pigeon and a Dove. In this and the similar Feathered Favorites, they were selected by Cundall based on two criteria: they are found in the British Isles and they inspired and figured in the accompanying poetry. The pictures in Poets... are among the first chromolithographs used to illustrate a British bird book. They are not the type of work Wolf liked to do and he accepted the commission only because of his relative youth. According to Mrs. Jackson, the lithography was done by the Hanharts and it is excellent. The pictures are circular and are mounted in the center of a decorative gilt design.

On 18 December, 1998, I noticed the following item advertised by Bow Windows Book Shop: Jones, Owen. Winged Thoughts. London, Longman & Co., 1851. …”comprising 12 fine chromolithograph plates of birds…printed verse….the drawings on stone executed by E. Bateman…printed under the direction of Owen Jones”. Perhaps this was truly the first British book with chromolithographs of birds.

Mullens & Swann, p. 659; Trinity, p. 260. Unlisted by Wood, Yale and Zimmer.

Pope, Alexander, Jr. (1849-1924, artist) (Ingersoll, Ernest[1852-1946], text)

Upland game birds and waterfowl of the United States Sheet(somewhat trimmed), 44.4 x 59.7 cm ; image, (untrimmed), 35.6 x 50.8 cm. Plate XIII, the Valley Quail. One of 20 chromolithographed plates by Armstrong & Co. after paintings by Pope. New York, Scribner & Armstrong Co., (1877-1878).

Pope was an artist of the Boston area who specialized in hunting and fishing scenes. The present print comes from a book that was issued in 10 parts, each containing two leaves of text and two chromolithographs mounted on thick card. The untrimmed sheet size was 56 x 72 cm. It was a sister volume to Samuel A. Kilbourne’s “Game fishes of the United States” published just afterwards in virtually identical format.

The plates in both works were amongst the largest ever printed in chromolithography in the United States. Armstrong and Co. was a highly regarded chromolithography firm of the era. In my view, however, the prints in “Upland game birds…” were not nearly so beautiful as those found in Kilbourne’s Fishes.

Both works are scarce and highly sought. OCLC lists 29 locations for “Upland game
birds”.

Calkins, N. (orman) A. (llison)(1822-1895.

Prang’s natural history series, / for schools and families. Arranged for instruction with object lessons, by N. A. / Calkins, author of “primary object lessons” and “manual of object teaching.” / birds, I. / swimming birds from printed envelope (ca 11.7 x 7.0 cm). 12 Unnumbered chromolithographic cards (vide infra), each 10.2 x 6.1 cm. One sheet (21.7 x 13.8 cm, double columns) of descriptive text taken from “a manual to accompany Prang’s natural history series”), Boston, L. Prang & CO., 1872.

Prang’s natural history series for children (as opposed to the present “Prang’s natural history series for schools and families” )was composed of six books devoted respectively to: swimming birds; wading birds; scratching birds; birds of prey; the cat family and the cow family. There was no volume on gallinaceous birds and pigeons. Each volume had pages 1-17 comprising a title page and text. Each also had four unnumbered chromolithographic plates printed on one side only and not included in pagination. One was a full-page rendition of a single species, the other three illustrated four species each.

The present format “for schools and families” must be scarce. OCLC locates only two copies. The leaf of descriptive text here seems to come from a manual that I have never seen i. e. “ A manual to accompany Prang’s natural history series”

The cards are 10.2 x 6.1 cm and depict: Swan; Barnacle Goose; Canada Goose; Eider Duck; Widgeon; Canvas Back; White Pelican; Cormorant; Albatross; Loon; King Penguin; Herring Gull.

Calkins, N. (orman) A. (llison)(1822-1895.

Prang’s natural history series, / for schools and families. Arranged for instruction with object lessons, by N. A. / Calkins, author of “primary object lessons” and “manual of object teaching.” / birds, IV. / gallinaceous birds and pigeons from printed envelope (ca 11.7 x 7.0 cm). 12 Unnumbered chromolithographic cards (vide infra), each 10.2 x 6.1 cm. One sheet (21.7 x 13.8 cm, double columns) of descriptive text taken from “a manual to accompany Prang’s natural history series”), Boston, L. Prang & CO., 1872.

“Prang’s natural history series for children” (as opposed to the present “Prang’s natural history series for schools and families”) was composed of six books devoted respectively to: swimming birds; wading birds; scratching birds; birds of prey; the cat family and the cow family. There was no volume on gallinaceous birds and pigeons. Each volume had pages 1-17 comprising a title page and text. Each also had four unnumbered chromolithographic plates printed on one side only and not included in pagination. One was a full-page rendition of a single species, the other three illustrated four species each.

The present format...for schools and families must be scarce. OCLC locates only three copies. The leaf of descriptive text in the present work seems to come from a manual that I have never seen i. e. “ A manual to accompany Prang’s natural history series”

The cards are10.2 x 6.1 cm and depict: Peacock; Guinea Fowl; (Golden) Pheasant; Jungle Fowl; Hen; Prairie Chicken; Partridge; Virginia Quail; California Quail; Wild Pigeon; Dove; Carrier Pigeon.

(Prang, L.) Calkins, Norman A., Diaz, Mrs. A. M.

Prang’s / natural history series / for children / Birds of prey 24.2 x 16.0 cm. 1PL[1]2-17(1, advertisement for the six-part natural history series). Title and text printed within red frame. Original thick paper covers with gold and black design and printing within decorative frame. Lower cover with advertisement for the six-part series. Boston, L. Prang and Company, 1878.

PL 1r, title; PL1v, copyright 1877; Welch, Bigelow & Co. University Press. 1-17, text. Contains four unnumbered chromolithographic plates including one depicting a golden eagle and three others, each with four figures of diurnal and nocturnal birds of prey.

This is a work for children and the text presents some aspects of the life histories of 13 species within the context of a family discussion. The other parts of the series are: swimming birds; wading birds; scratching birds; cat family; and cow family. Each has the same format including four chromolithographic plates with one large figure and 12 smaller ones. The figures are adapted from antecedent works.

The chromolithography by Prang & Co. is superior to that found in the pulp children’s publications such as those by Stecher and by Mcloughlin Bros.

This work and the others of the series are quite uncommon, at least in part because of their fragility. OCLC locates about 20 examples.

Prang, L(ouis, fl. late 19^th century)

Untitled chromolithograph depicting 22 birds from Eurasia, Australia and South America, each numbered with identifying letter-press at the base of the sheet. 31.0 x 22.6 cm. Designated "L. Prang & Co. Boston" at lower left.

This extraordinary chromolithograph comes from Funk & Wagnalls A Standard Dictionary… , 1895. The 22 figures are exquisitely reduced and copied from ornithological plates by Edouard Traviès in A. d'Orbigny's Dictionnaire Universel d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 1849. Prang's firm was the best known of its kind during the last quarter of the 19^th century. They also copied fine European art, in this case from Brehm's Thierleben for a popular work entitled "Animate Creation" by John G. Wood and Joseph B. Holder published in 1885. They were best known, however, for their prints of western American scenery.

The present chromolithograph is superbly executed and very beautiful.

Pratt(Pearless), Anne (1806-1893)

Our native songsters 13. 4 x 10.3 cm. [A]⁴B-Z⁸χ²[$1, 2 signed]; 132 ll. Pp. [i-iii]iv-viii[1]2-350[351](1)(4, publisher' advertisements). Later blind-ruled half brown calf, marbled boards. Round spine divided into five compartments by double blind rules. Gilt lettering in second compartment. AEG. London, Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1857.

i, Title; ii, printer designation: London: R. Clay; iii, contents; vii, list of plates; 1-350, text covering approximately 72 passerine birds; 351, printer designation. Contains: scenic frontispiece signed "Whimpe[r?]", 72 additional unnumbered plates after Anne Pratt, all engraved on wood and printed in color by William Dickes (1815-1892); three uncolored engraved text tail-pieces probably by Dickes.

The SPCK produced quite a few interesting ornithological books that were targeted to a popular audience and usually concerned British birds. The Society always managed to recruit able writers and artists to its cause and the books it produced were usually reissued numerous times and stayed in print for many years. This little book was first issued in 1852 and stayed in print at least into the 1890s.

Anne Pratt was better known for her botanical books but was evidently also interested in and knowledgeable about local birds. For each of the common British song birds, she provides a very brief description followed by an substantial essay that emphasizes song, nesting and life history. William Dickes, the chromoxylographer responsible for the pictures here, and Benjamin Fawcett, were the two printers of the mid and late 19^th century who specialized in color-printed wood engravings of natural history subjects. The technique is very demanding and there are almost always visible problems with registration. That is certainly the case here although the plates have considerable charm.

Wood, p. 514(1852). Also listed by Trinity (1853) and Yale (1853). Not listed by AMNH, Cornell, Harvard.

Pratt, H. Douglas (1944-), Bruner, Phillip L., Berrett,Delwyn G.(illustrated by H. Douglas Pratt)

A field guide to / the birds of Hawaii and the / tropical Pacific 19.2 x 12.9 cm. Pp. [i-ix]x-xx[1-3]4-409(1)(2, title leaf for plate section and letter-press for plate 1)(2, publication data). Original publisher’s red cloth with gilt lettering to spine. Color pictorial printed dust jacket. Endpaper maps. Princeton, Princeton University Press, (1987).

i, Half-title; ii, sponsored by the Hawaii Audubon Society; iii, title; iv, copyright 1987; ISBN 0-691-08402-5; composed in Linotron Baskerville; printed by Princeton University Press; v, dedication; vi, blank; vii, contents; ix, list of color plates and tables; xi, preface; xv, introduction (with double-page map); xix, abbreviations; 1, half-title; 2, blank; 3, how to use this book; 13-14, topography of a bird; 15, birder’s-eye view of the tropical Pacific; 45, species accounts, Gavia arctica-Padda oryzivora; 321, hypothetical list; 329, regional checklists; 359, regional maps; 373, glossary; 379, bibliography (about 150 titles); 389, index of English, generic and local names. Contains half-tone color plates 1-43 with facing letter—press for each on the verso of the preceding plate and 44-45 (colored photographs of plants) without letter-press. Plates are not included in pagination. Also contains uncolored text figures 1-48, mostly drawings reproduced by half-tone.

This excellent work covers over 400 species, many relatively poorly known. For each is provided a section entitled: appearance; habits; identification; occurrence; other names; and note. Pratt’s illustrations are amongst the best to be found in a field guide.

This field guide is one of those of which only a few, including this one, were issued with a hard cover, the vast majority being paper-bound.

Pratt, H. Douglas (bird photographs by Jack Jeffrey, an appendix by Sheila Conant).

The Hawaiian / honeycreepers / Drepanidinae 24.7 x / 18.4 cm. Pp. [i-ix]x-xxxiii[xxxiv][1-3]4-342. Original publisher’s blue cloth with silver lettering to spine. Color pictorial dust jacket depicting Apapanes. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2005 (first printing).

i-ii, Blank; iii, description of series “Bird Families of the World” listing 16 titles of which this volume is #13; v, title; vi, copyright; ISBN 0 19 854653 X; first printing; printed in India on acid-free paper; vii, dedication; ix, preface; xiii, acknowledgements; xv, contents; xix, list of colour plates; xx, abbreviations; xxiii, plan of book; xxxi, honeycreeper topography; xxxii, frequently mispronounced words of Hawaiian origin; 1, part I, general chapters; 3, chapter 1, ; evolutionary triumph and ecological tragedy; 7, 2, honeycreeper’s world; 33, 3, historical perspectives; 44, 4, origin and evolution; 72, 5, classification; 83, 6, form and function; 110, 7, behaviour; 129, 8, ecology and breeding biology; 157, 9, diseases and parasites; 172, 10, status, conservation and the future; 185, part II, species accounts (51 species including fossils); 278 appendix 1: honeycreepers in Hawaiian material culture by Sheila Conant; 285, appendix 2: scientific names of mentioned plants; 289, appendix 3: scientific names of mentioned non-Hawaiian birds; 291, bibliography (more than 1,200 references);335, index.

Contains half-tone color plates 1-8 after Pratt with pertinent letter-press on obverse of preceding page, thus facing appropriate plate and plate 9 showing colored photographs of Hawaiian feather artefacts. The plate section is between parts I and II and is not included in pagination. Also contains distribution maps for all extant species and 89 text illustrations numbered separately for each chapter, most being uncolored photographs.

The Hawaiian Honeycreepers form an exceptionally interesting family and they are properly treated in this fine monograph of the “Bird Families of the World” series. In addition to the extremely comprehensive general chapters in Part I, the species accounts are equally detailed including sections on: synonymy; etymology; systematics; description; voice; field identification; distribution, habitat, and population status; diet and foraging; social and interspecific behaviour; predation; breeding biology; life cycle and demography.

Pratt’s colored figures are well executed and printed.

OCLC lists 524 locations.

Price-Jones, Humprhey (1941-)

Australian / birds of prey 42.0 x 32.4 cm. Pp. [1-10]11-127(1), Original publisher's fine blue cloth, gilt lettering to spine. Peach-colored endpapers. NSW, Doubleday Australia, 1983.

1, Half-title; 2, blank; 3, title partly printed in brown; 4, year of publication; copyright; credits: design, Diane Quick; typeset, B&D Monographic, Adelaide; printing and binding, Dai Nippon, Tokyo; 5, acknowledgements; 6, blank; 7, contents; 8, blank; 9, introduction; 10 blank; 11-125(1), text with accounts of 24 species; 127, index of English and Latin names. Contains 45 plates printed in color half-tone, 12 full-page ucolored half-tone illustrations and two uncolored text illustrations, all unnumbered, printed on both sides, and included in pagination.

This is a well written and attractively illustrated monograph that covers well known territory, was published without much promotion, at least outside of Australia, and slipped quickly and unnoticed, out of print. It is quite a handsome production although perhaps not quite so appealing as Frank Morris's similar monograph of 1972. The colored plates are printed within black-ruled tinted frames. The use of uniform tinted backgrounds for bird paintings, not particularly to my liking, is common in books of this era, for example in Fenwick Landsdowne's series on North American birds (1966-1976) and in William Cooper's portfolio of Australian birds (1968). Accompanying uncolored rough sketches, which I do like, is another characteristic of the era, found again in Landsdowne's books as well as those of Frank Morris.

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

Priest, Cecil D(amer)

A guide / to the / birds of Southern Rhodesia / And a Record of / Their Nesting Habits 24.5 x 15.8 cm. [Q]²[A]⁸B-P⁸Q⁶[$1, 2 signed]; 128 ll. Pp. [i-vi]vii-xix[xx]1-233[234](2, printer's designation). Original publisher's green cloth with gilt lettering of upper cover and spine, gilt wood ibis design on spine. London, William Clowes and Sons Ltd., 1929.

i, Half-title; ii, blank; iii, title; iv, "made in Great Britain"; v, contents; vi, blank; vii, foreword by Major A. L. Cooper; ix, introduction; xii, blank; xiii, glossary; xv, notes; xvi, blank; xvii, list of illustrations; 1, text; 187, notices relating to the protection of birds; 189, standard taxonomic list of birds; 221, alphabetical list of species. Contains 14 unnumbered colored plates after Mrs. I. Mount printed on one side only and not included in pagination. Contains one uncolored anatomical plate on a single unpaginated sheet by the author. Also contains 112 text illustrations by the author.

Although the area is comprised within that covered by Stark and Sclater, the present book is the first devoted exclusively to the avifauna of the Rhodesias and as such, represents a heroic effort on the part of its author. Cecil Priest, a Captain, was later (1933-1936) to author a classical four-volume handbook on "The Birds of Southern Rhodesia" that contained colored plates by Norman Lighton and text illustrations by Gronvold. But he produced the present pioneering work based largely on personal knowledge without access to modern ornithological facilities, employed an artist from Salisbury to paint the colored plates and actually supplied the numerous text illustrations from his own untrained, and not particularly skilled, hand.

The text is arranged in a way that I have not seen elsewhere. The families are presented in an alphabetical sequence based on their English name (i. e. "finches")! For each such family, Priest provides a general section that covers local names; chief physical and behavioral features; haunts; voice; nesting period and material; eggs and food. He then supplies a fairly detailed physical description including a length measurement for each species within the family. A list of the orders, families, genera and species in a standard taxonomic order is presented after the principal text.

Trinity, p. 192; Wood, p. 524; Yale, absent from Ripley & Scribner but present in on-line catalog.

Prints and Paintings, A Fine Collection. Folio and 4to. Various places, ca. 1731-1857.

There are five original paintings. The two by Thomas Lewin are mounted in 20 x 16 inch mats whereas larger mats, 24 x 20, were used for the Manetti and the two Chinese paintings.

Two superb, finely finished watercolors by Thomas Lewin, each signed and dated 1825 on the recto with information about the species written lightly in pencil, probably by Lewin, on the verso. Wove paper. 38.6 x 30.2 cm. Thomas Lewin was the son of William Lewin who produced 60 copies of a well known British ornithology containing original paintings as illustrations, and the brother of John William Lewin, who wrote and illustrated the first Australian ornithology. Thomas was the best artist of the group but did most of his work on commission. There are three known collections of his paintings: at McGill University (44 paintings), in the British Museum (75), and most importantly, a set of 143 in a beautiful album that was sold for $82,500 at Sotheby’s New York in 1987, offered by Donald Heald for $180,000 in 1993, and sold for £133,500 by Christie’s London on 30 April, 1997. I have examined the latter closely and its pictures are like these two in size, artistry, and pencilled notations. In that collection, as with these, many of the species are illustrated for the first time and Lewin has given them names that are no longer in usage and has often erred as to the country of origin. One of my paintings depicts a species called the “Billom Flycatcher” by Lewin and said to be from Africa. It is clearly of the genus Ficedula (Muscicapa) and I believe it is probably a race of the Eurasian Pied Flycatcher. The other painting is of a woodpecker termed by Lewin “The Guinea Tail Woodpecker” and is described as coming from the Ivory Coast. It is actually a perfect representation of the Ceylonese race of the Lesser Yellow-naped Woodpecker, Picus chorolophus wellsi. The first published illustration of this species was in Gray and Hardwicke’s Illustrations of Indian Zoology, 1830-1834, and the first description of this, the Ceylonese race, was by Meinertzhagen in the 20th century.

A fine watercolor of a partridge from Manetti’s Ornthilogia Methodice....(1767-1776). Laid paper. Folio configuration. 47.4 x 35.6 cm. Identified by a caption beneath it in Italian calligraphy as Coturnix Mexicana Crystata, although it is not clear to me precisely which species is intended by this designation. The picture is unsigned but is on laid paper with a watermark identical to that on which the engravings in the book are printed. The complete work contained 600 hand-colored engravings of which this painting is the original for number 246. The illustrations have often been the subject of derision but it seems likely from the excellence of this portrait and its companion, a Snipe representing the original for plate 445 and assigned to Bob Braun , that the engravers failed to do justice to the originals. Three artists, Manetti, Vanni and Lorenzi were responsible for the paintings and this one is not signed.

Two finely detailed Chinese watercolors, each on wove paper, 33 x 46 cm, watermarked Whatman, one with the year 1805 visible in the watermark. These paintings are of a bird on a branch with leaves and flowers. The brushwork is incredibly fine, so much so that the lines in the feathers almost look engraved. The petals of the flowers also have a particular charm. These particular features are also very apparent in plate 78 of Lysaght’s The Book of Birds (London, 1975), that reproduces a picture from the Reeves collection of Chinese natural history paintings done around 1800. The resemblance in style is so striking that it seems likely to me that the same artist may have been responsible. My paintings are not signed. Like that shown by Lysaght, they seem to depict a composite rather than an individual species. One of mine obviously represents a member of the genus Lorius but this beautifully colored parrot does not correspond to any known species. The bird shown in the other painting is very puzzling but I think has some Laughing-thrush features. Unlike contemporary western artists who drew birds, Chinese (and Japanese) artists of this period were more concerned with artistry than accuracy. Early 19th century paintings such as these, on Whatman paper, were almost always done by anonymous Chinese artists on commission from wealthy western traders, usually in port cities such as Canton.

In addition to these five original paintings, there are 33 prints as follows:

There are nine large folio (63.0 x 45.4 cm) hand-colored lithographs from Traviès’ Les Oiseaux les plus Rémarquables... (ca. 1857 and before). These were mounted in 30 x 24 inch mats and comprised the following plates: 6, Le Loriot d'Europe (Eurasian Oriole), Imp. Becquet, Paris; 19, Le Colibris-topaz (Crimson Topaz), Imp. Becquet, Paris; 26, L'Efarvatte (Garden Warbler), lithographer-printer undesignated; 27, Le Bouvreuil (Eurasian Bullfinch), Imp. Becquet, Paris; 31, Le Pinson (Chaffinch), Imp. Becquet, Paris; 32, L'Hirondelle au croupion blanc ou Hirondelle de fenetre (House Martin), printer not designated; 37, Le King (Long-tailed Sylph) and Oiseau Mouche Sappho (Red-tailed Comet), Imp. Becquet, Paris; 68, Le Geai (Eurasian Jay), Imp Bequet, Paris; and 75, La Béthyle (Magpie Tanager), printer not designated. The publisher for most of these plates is designated Jourdan Barbot & C^ie (Anciens fonds Ledot). My bound copy was published by Ledot and its plates were all printed by Lemercier. Thus, I believe there were probably at least two issues of which these examples come from the later.

There are three uncolored etchings from P. J. Selby’s Illustrations of British Ornithology ([1819]1821-1834), 65.5 x 53.5 cm, that I also mounted in 30 x 24 inch mats.

These are the Rough-legged Buzzard, (Volume I), plate VII signed and dated 1821 by Selby in the image and watermarked 1821; (Volume I), plate XXV, the Tawny Owl, unsigned, by Robert Mitford, also watermarked 1821 and (Volume I, plate XLII^• ,the Goatsucker, male, unsigned, by Selby, watermarked 1820. These magnificent etchings are spectacularly clear and precise, perhaps because they were among the very early ones drawn from the copper plates as indicated by the watermarks. The tawny owl and rough-legged buzzard are among the finest of the 222 plates in the complete work which is more often found in the colored state. There were numerous printings, both of this edition and of the later Bohn edition.

There are three spectacular hand-colored lithographs from works by Gould that are mounted in 24 x 20" mats. The prints are on wove paper, 56 x 38 cm. They are Calyptorhynchus funereus and Callocephalon galeatum (Black and Gang-gang Cockatoo), plates 11 and 14, volume V, The Birds of Australia[1840-1848]), and the hummingbird, Eucephala hypocyanea (plate 334, volume V, A Monograph of the Trochilidæ....[1849-1861]). All are designated J. Gould and H. C. Richter del. et lith., Hullmandel & Walton, Imp.

There are 13 hand-colored etchings on 12 sheets from the first edition of Pennant’s British Zoology ([1761]-1766). These were also mounted in 24 x 20 inch mats. The prints are on laid paper in 2⁰ configuration. 54 x 37 cm. They were all engraved by Peter Mazell although some are undesignated. The Buzzard was drawn by Charles Collins whereas the other 11 were either drawn by Peter Paillou or are unattributed. They include, besides the Buzzard: the Bustard, the Bittern, the Marsh Harrier, the Ringtail (Hen Harrier female), the female Sparrowhawk, the Honey Buzzard, the Velvet (White-winged) Scoter, the female Eider, the Brent Goose (Brant), the Roylston (Hooded) Crow and a single plate depicting both Short and Long-eared Owls.

The complete work was published in five parts and contained 121 plates of birds and 11 of quadrupeds. The fifth part with 21 plates is often missing. The Buzzard by Collins and the Marsh Harrier, undesignated but drawn by Paillou, are particularly noteworthy. Collins had previously (1736) supplied the paintings for a set of colored prints depicting 58 species of British birds on 12 plates entitled Icones avium cum nominibus anglicis, which is often cited as the first publication with colored prints devoted exclusively to British birds.

There is a single folio hand-colored etching of a Creeper drawn by J. C. Sepp for Nozeman’s Nederlandsche Vogelen... (1770-1829) that I mounted in a 24 x 20" mat. The print is on laid paper in the 2⁰ configuration. 53 x 37 cm. It is designated "Certhia" without the name of the artist or printer. The complete work was issued in five volumes and contained 250 colored plates and five colored title pages. This is an early plate from the first volume and is an exceptionally fine print for its finely composed and executed background.

Finally, there are five prints in quarto format that have been mounted in 20 x 16 inch mats. Two of these are from Eleazar Albin’s A Natural History of Birds (1731-1738 or second edition, 1738-1740). 28.5 x 22.5 cm. Hand-colored engravings depicting the "Sea Lark" (Ringed-plover), plate 80 of the first volume, and "The Crown Bird from Mexico" ( actually one of the Green Touraco superfamily of Africa), plate 19 of the second volume. The first is after Elizabeth Albin whereas the second is unattributed. The first is printed on laid paper in 4⁰ format. The second, unexpectedly for the presumed date of printing, is on wove paper. I have compared this print with that in my first edition which is printed on laid paper. Although the coloring is somewhat different, it is clear that both prints have been made from the same copper plate. Anker (No. 6) describes a 1750 French translation of the work but I know of no later editions.

Two others are color-printed engravings from the 4to edition of Levaillant’s Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux d’Afrique(1796-1812). Wove paper. 33.3 x 25.0 cm. Drawn by J. Lebrecht Reinhold, engraved by Fessard, and printed by the great firm of Langlois that did much of Redouté’s output. Plate 23 (changed in ink manuscript to 73) from volume 2 depicts "Le Grenouillard" a hawk, whereas plate 59 of volume 2 displays "La Pie Rousse", an Asian treepie, one of many nonafrican birds that mistakenly found their way into this work. Whereas the color-printed botanical books of the era were usually engraved in stipple, those dealing with ornithology were printed by line engraving or etching. The difference is significant. With stipple (or aquatint as well), the engraved areas are close enough to one-another so that the color printing seems continuous. In the case of line engraving or ordinary etching, the incised areas are sufficiently separated so that the printed color is fragmented, rendering the depiction less effective despite the technical expertise of the craftsmen. This work was also printed in a large paper format, usually with the plates in both uncolored and colored states.

The last picture is a color-printed engraving from the 4to edition of Audebert’s Oiseaux Dorés.... ([1800]-1802). Wove paper. 33.0 x 24.8 cm. Le Brin blanc femelle, Pl. 18 ( a female hummingbird). Metallic gold has been used in the depiction of the bird’s green mantle. Audebert was one of the first to employ liquid gold to show iridescence. The plates in this work were engraved by Bouquet and printed by Langlois, the craftsmen involved in many of the great botanical books of the era. This quarto edition with captions printed in black was the most inexpensive format but was issued in a print run of only 100 copies. There was a large paper edition of 200 copies with the captions to the plates printed in gold and another, of 12 copies only, in which the entire text was also printed in gold.

Prints, 19th century hand-colored lithographs

Sylvicola Kirtlandii Baird 21.0 x 14.4 cm. Male, natural size. Hand-colored lithograph. Also on the sheet are two uncolored lithographic images of shells. The print comes from an article by S.(pencer)F.(ullerton) Baird (1823-1887), Annals Lyceum Natural History N. Y. V, 216, 1852, plate VI. A penciled note on the verso states that this is the male type specimen taken in Cleveland. Artist and lithographer not designated.

Pittasoma Michleri 22.6 x 15.0 cm. Proc. Acad. Philadelphia, 1864. Plate 3. (2/3 natural size). Bowen & Co. Lith & Col Phila Hand-colored lithograph. Artist undesignated for this image of the Black-crowned Antipitta. The plate comes from an article by John Cassin (1823-1869) “Notes on some species of birds from South America”, Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, 1864, plate 3. On the verso is a penciled note stating that this is a male type specimen, obtained in “R. Truando, NW. Colombia”.

Gould, J.(ohn)(1804-1881). &. E.(lizabeth)(1804-1841) lithog. Printed by C. Hullmandel. Three (of four) hand-colored lithographs , 31.8 x 24.5 cm, from “On the quails and hemipodii of India” by Lieut.-Colonel William Henry Sykes (1790-1872) in Transactions of the Zoological Society of London, II, 1-24, 1841 (Communicated April 14, 1835.)
Pl 1, Coturnix erythrorhyncha
Pl 2, Coturnix Argoondah
Pl 3 Coturnix Pentah
The images are all of natural size.

(Gould, John) Three hand-colored lithographs, probably proof prints, from “The zoology of the voyage of H. M. S. Sulphur under the command of Captain Sir Edward Belcher during the years 1836-1842 Birds” by John Gould, Parts III and IV, London, Smith, Elder & Co., 1843, 1844. These prints are on soiled paper and their versos contain unrelated, uncolored lithographs. There are no mechanically printed words on the present colored prints but there is some identifying manuscript printing.
Pl 20 Pipra Lineatis 31 x 20.4 cm. (natural size)
Pl 28 Pteroglossus Erythropygius 30.4 x 20.7 cm (1/2 natural size)
Pl 30 Pterocles Personatus 27.9 x 22.0 cm. (1/2 natural size)
The Goulds furnished a total of 16 colored plates for this work. The lithography was done by Benjamin Waterhouse-Hawkins.

Przewalski (Prjevalsky), Nikolai, M. (1839-1888) [Pleske, Theodor, D. (1858-1932) and Bianchi, Valentin (1857-) are the authors of the ornithological volume]

Wissenschaftliche Resultate / der von / N. M. Przewalski nach Central-Asien / untergenommen Reisen / auf Kosten einer von / seiner kaiserichen Hoheit / dem Grossfürsten Thronfolger Nikolai Alexandrowitsch / seiner Majestät dem jetzt regierenden Kaiser / gespendeten Summe / herausgegeben von der / kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften / Zoologischer Theil 365 x 284 mm Text and wrappers printed in Cyrillic and German. Text pages have two columns, one in each language, whereas wrappers are printed on recto and verso in Cyrillic and German, respectively.

Band I. Säugthiere. By Eug. Büchner.

(Lieferung 1. Lacking from this copy. Contains pp. 1-48, Tafel I-V.)

Lieferung 2. 1889. 7-11⁴χ⁵ [$1, 2 signed]; 25 ll. Pp. 49-88(10, explanation for plates). Contains five plates. Plates VI, VII and X are hand-colored lithographs drawn and lithographed by Gustav Mützel and printed by C. Böhm Berlin. Plates VIII and XI are uncolored “phototypie”s (photogravures) of teeth produced by W. Clasen of St. Petersburg.

Lieferung 3. 1889. 12-17⁴ χ⁵ ; 29 ll. Pp. 89-136(10, explanation for plates). Contains five plates of which IX, XII, XIV are hand-colored lithographs by Mützel and XIII and XV are uncolored photogravures.

Lieferung 4. 1890. 18-23⁴χ⁵ ; 29 ll. Pp. 137-184(10, explanation for plates). Contains five plates. XVI, XVII and XX are colored lithographs as above and XVIII and XIX are uncolored photogravures.

Lieferung 5. 1894. 24-29⁴χ⁵; 29 ll. Pp. 185-232(10, explanation for plates). Contains five plates. XXI-XXIII are colored lithographs, XXIV and XXV are uncolored photogravures.

(Band I. Abtheilung 2. Ungulata by W. Salensky. Lieferung 1. Lacking from this copy. Indicated as published on the wrapper of Lieferung 4 of Band III issued in 1912. This single part on ungulates is not cited in the catalog of the British Museum or its supplement nor by Casey Wood.)

Band II. Vögel by Theodor D. Pleske (Lieferungen 1-3) and Valentin Bianchi (Lieferung 4).

Lieferung 1. 1889. 1-10⁴ χ² [$1, 2 signed]; 42 ll. Pp.[1-3]4-80(4, explanation for plates). Contains two hand-colored plates, I and III, drawn and lithographed by Mützel and printed by Böhm.

Lieferung 2. 1890. 11-18⁴χ⁴; 36 ll. Pp. 81-144(8, explanation for plates). Contains hand-colored plates II and IV-VI by Mützel, V depicting eggs.

Lieferung 3. 1894. 19-24⁴ χ² ; 26 ll. Pp. 145-192(4, explanation for plates). Contains two hand-colored plates, VIII and IX, drawn and lithographed by J. G. Keulemans and printed by Mintern Bros. imp. London.

Lieferung 4. 1905. π25-45⁴ χ; 86 ll. Pp. [I]II(foreword by Bianchi)193-360(2, explanation of plate). Contains colored lithographic plate X by Keulemans. Also contains an introductory errata-like slip explaining that the remaining plates (XI-XIV as called for in the text) are being prepared in England and will accompany the next Lieferung (which never appeared). Also called for by the wrapper of this Lieferung, but lacking in this copy, is plate VII (by Keulemans) and its accompanying explanatory leaf.

Band III. Abtheilung 1. Amphibien (Lieferung 1) und Reptilien (Lieferungen 2-4). By Dr. J. von Bedriaga.

Lieferung 1. 1898. 1-9⁴ [$1, 2 signed]; 36 ll. Pp. [1-3]4-8[9-11]12-69[70](2, explanation of plate). Contains plate I, an uncolored lithograph drawn by T. Arcellazi and printed by Firenze, Lit. A. Ruffoni, Piazza S. Croce 20.

Lieferung 2. 1907. 10-35⁴χ⁴ ; 108 ll. Pp. [71-73]74-278(8, explanation for plates). Contains uncolored lithographic plates II-V by Arcellazi.

(Lieferung 3. Lacking from this copy. Presumably contains text pp. 279-502, plates V-VII.)

Lieferung 4. 1912. π³ 64-96⁴97²χ⁵; 142 ll. Pp. [I-V]VI503-769[770](10, explanation for plates). Contains plates VIII-X, drawn by M. Martinucci, produced by Ruffoni. Blank, I; German title, II; Cyrillic title, III; contents, V-VI.

(Band III. Abtheilung 2. Fische by S. Herzenstein. Lieferungen 1-3, 1888-1891 containing pp. vi, 262 and 25 plates according to BM(NH), p. 1786. This section lacking in the present copy.)

Three volumes bound (in reverse order, i. e. III-I) in one in late 20th century gray-brown linen with paper label on spine. All upper covers and most lower covers of wrappers to individual Lieferungen included. Uncut and unopened. St. Petersburg, Imperial Academy of Sciences, 1889-1912.

As indicated above, this volume contains a substantial fraction of the material published by the Imperial Academy of Sciences on the zoological results of Przewalski’s expeditions to Central Asia. The entire ornithological volume, including the particularly rare fourth part, is included except for plate VII. The work is extremely rare and important.

Przewalski is best known to ornithologists for his original explorations of the avifauna of Mongolia and Tibet. He wrote about his first expedition in a work called Mongoliya i strana Tangutov published in two volumes, 1875 and 1876. Rowley published a translation of his ornithological results from this expedition entitled The Birds of Mongolia, the Tangut Country, and the Solitudes of Northern Tibet in Ornithological Miscellany(1877-1878). Charles Vaurie devotes a considerable section (pp. 81-88) to Przewalski in Tibet and its Birds (1972). He characterizes Przewalski as the “..most famous of all the explorers of central Asia and Tibet and very deservedly so” whose contributions were in Geography, Botany and Zoology, especially in birds. He says that it is “difficult to overestimate its importance”. In the first expedition alone, Przewalski collected 1000 bird skins comprising 289 forms, 20 or which were new including 19 from Tibet. Vaurie tells us that, all told, on his four expeditions, Przewalski reckoned he collected 5000 specimens of birds comprising 430 species.

Przewalski’s four expeditions were carried out from 1871-1888. He died just before the fifth expedition which was carried out by his assistants, M. V. Petsov and V. I. Roborovsky. Apparently, much of his material, particularly that from expeditions after the first, was never published. The present work, posthumously published by the Imperial Academy and very incomplete, is none-the-less, of extremely high quality. A biography of Przewalski by D. Rayfield, The Dream of Lhasa. The Life of ..... was published by Ohio University Press in 1976.

The ornithological volume of this work covers almost 200 Passerine species in meticulous detail. For each species, there is an exhaustive systematic section that identifies each individual that was collected and describes its body measurements and the site at which it was procured. This is followed by sections on geographical distribution and life history. One of the most exciting species discovered by Przewalski is the Crested Tit-Warbler and there is a fine depiction of it (the first?) on plate VI by Mützel in part 2.

BM(NH), p. 1786; Supplement, p. 1124; Wood, p. 520; Yale, p. 229, the latter two describing only the bird volume.

Pulich, Warren M. (illustrated by Anne Marie Pulich)

The golden-cheeked warbler / a bioecological study 22.8 x 15.3 cm. Pp. [i-vi]vii-xv(1)1-172. Original color pictorial wrappers printed on upper cover and spine. Austin, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, 1976.

i, Colored frontispiece; ii, blank; iii, title; iv, blank; v, dedication; vi, blank; vii, acknowledgments; ix, foreword by W. C. Glazener dated March 15, 1975; x, blank; xi, contents; 1, introduction; 3, approach; 5, origin of the species; 9, population; 13, distribution; 63, habitat; 76, life history; 121, plumage and development; 125, weights and measurements; 129, summary and conclusion; 133, literature cited (about 180 references); 142, other background material; 147, appendices 1-9; 165, bird species index alphabetized by English name with Latin name appended; 169, subject index. Contains tables 1-20; text uncolored half-tone photographs 1-24; text maps 1-4; text figures 1-5 (graphs); Also contains color half-tone frontispiece (repeated on wrapper) and seven unnumbered, uncolored line sketches (head-pieces) by Mrs. Pulich.

An exhaustive and definitive monograph on a species with an extremely restricted breeding area.

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

Pycraft, W.(illiam) P.(lane) (1868-1942) (illustrated by Roland Green)

Birds in flight 24.8 x 18.6 cm. [A]⁸B-I⁸[$1 signed]; 72 ll. Pp. [i-iv]v-x1-133[134]. Publisher's green cloth with kestrel design on upper cover, black lettering to upper cover and spine. London, Gay & Hancock Limited, 1922.

i, Half-title; ii, list of books "uniform with this volume"; iii, title; iv, printed in Great Britain; v, contents; vii, list of illustrations; ix, preface; 1, concerning wings; 15, the first bird; 21, sizes and shapes of wings and their relation to flight; 35, modes of flight; 53, courtship flights; 71, how to tell birds on the wing; 117, wings of nestling birds; 127, flightless birds; 134, printer designation: Morrison and Gibb Ltd, London and Edinburgh. Contains: 12 unnumbered colored plates (17.5 x 12.5 cm) printed in half-tone and mounted in double blue-ruled frames on gray card not included in pagination; eight unnumbered uncolored plates printed in half-tone on one side only and not included in pagination; nine unnumbered full-page text line drawings printed on one side only with both sides included in pagination.

A treatise on bird flight intended for lay readers that is very well illustrated. Pycraft wrote many popular works on subjects of natural history interest. Roland Green was amongst the most able British ornithological artists during the first half of the 20^th century and contributed plates and/or line drawings to several important works by Bannerman as well as to Mathews's Birds of Australia.

Wood, p. 526; Zimmer, p. 497. Also listed by AMNH, Cornell, Harvard, Trinity and Yale.

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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