L | Soffer Ornithology Collection

Soffer Ornithology Collection Notes (alphabetical by author)

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La Naturaleza periodico cientifico de la Sociedad Mexicana de Historia Natural

La Touche, J(ohn) D(avid) D(igues) (1861-1935). A handbook of the birds of eastern China....

Laman, Tim and Scholes, Edwin Birds of paradise revealing the world's most extraordinary birds

Lambert, Frank and Woodcock, Martin (1932-) Pittas, broadbills and asities

Lambourne, M. The art of bird illustration.

Lambourne, Maureen. Birds of the world Over 400 of John Gould's classic bird illustrations.

Langrand, Olivier (translated by Willem Daniels). Guide to the birds of Madagascar.

Lansdowne, J.(ames)F.(enwick)(1937-2008), Halliday, Hugh Birds of Canada

Lansdowne, J.(ames)F.(enwick)(1937-2008) Birds of the west coast

Lansdowne, J.(ames)F.(enwick)(1937-) The rare birds of china

(Latham, John [1740-1837]). A general synopsis of birds.

(Lattin, Frank Haak, [1861-1937) Lattin's checking list of North American birds (188-)

Lattin, Frank H(aak) (1861-1937), and Ernest H. Short. The standard catalogue of North American birds' eggs.

Lattin, Frank H(aak) (1861-1937). The oologists' hand-book 1885 catalogue American birds' eggs oological supplies....

Lattin, Frank H(aak) (1861-1937). Lattin's catalogue of North American birds eggs 1905

Lauder, Thomas Dick (1784-1848), and Capt. Thomas Brown (1785-1862). The miscellany of natural history.

Lawrence, George N.(ewbold)(1806-1895)Catalogue of the birds of Dominica from collections made for the Smithsonian Institution by Frederick A. Ober together with his notes and observations

Lawrence, George N.(ewbold)(1806-1895) Catalogue of the birds of St. Vincent from collections made by Mr. Fred. A. Ober under the directions of the Smithsonian Institution with his notes thereon

Layard, Edgar Leopold (1824-1900), (Sharpe, R.[ichard] Bowdler [1847-1909], editor). The birds of South Africa....

Le Grand, Gérald W Paul Barruel artiste et naturaliste

Le Maout, Emmanuel (1800-1877). Histoire naturelle des oiseaux.

Lear, Edward (1812-1888)(edited and introduced by Thorpe, Adrian). The birds of Edward Lear....

Lear, Edward (1812-1888) (Root, Nina). The family of parrots.

Lear, Edward (1812-1882). Psittacus augustus Vig.... (Print from Gray's "Genera of birds")

Leavitt & Allen. Child's book of land birds.

Lee, Woo-Shin; Koo, Tae-Hoe; Park, Jin-Young (illustrated by Taniguchi, Takashi; translated by Allen, Desmond). A field Guide to the birds of Korea.

Legendre, Marcel (1890-) (colored plates by Paul Barruel (1901-1982), Perroquets et perruches.

(Legg, John [1755-1802]). A discourse on the emigration of British birds....

Legge, W.(illiam) Vincent, Captain (1841-1918). A history of the birds of Ceylon.

Lehmann, Oskar Unsere Vögel kurze Schilderung unserer wichtigsten einheimischen Vögel

Lemaire, C. L. (fl. mid 19^th century). Histoire naturelle des oiseaux d'Europe.

Lemaire, C. L. (fl. mid 19^th century). Histoire naturelle des oiseaux / exotiques.

Lemoine, J(ames) M(acpherson) (1825-1912). Tableau synoptique de l'ornithologie.

Léotaud, A(ntoine) (1814-1867). Oiseaux de l'ile de la Trinidad.

Lesson, R. P. (1794-1849). Histoire naturelle des colibris suivie d’un supplément....

Lesson, R. P. (1794-1849). Traité d’ornithologie ou tableau méthodique des ordres.

Lesson, R(ené) P(rimevère) (1794-1849). Manuel d'ornithologie.

(Levaillant, François [1753-1824]) (translated by Mosbacher, Eric). Exotic birds parrots birds of paradise toucans.

Levine, Emanuel (editor) (b. 1921). Bull’s birds of New York State.

Lichtenstein, (Hinrich Carl or Heinrich Karl [1780-1857]). Beitrag / zur ornithologischen Fauna von Californien.

Lighton, Norman C(harles) K(ingsley) (1904-) (edited by A. V. Bird). The paintings of Norman Lighton for Roberts Birds of South Africa.

Lilford, Lord (Powys, Thomas Littleton [1833-1896]). Coloured figures of the birds of the British Islands.

Linnean Society of London. Catalogue of the printed books and pamphlets in the library of the Linnaean Society of London.

Linnaei, Caroli (1707-1778) (Linné, Carl von, Linnaeus). Systema naturae per regna tria naturae..10th ed.

Linnean Society of London Transactions of the Linnean Society Volume IV, 1798

Linnean Society of London Transactions of the Linneans Society Volume XIII, 1822

Lippens, Léon (1911-), and Henri Wille (1926-) (photographs by Hubert Lehaen). Les oiseaux du Zaïre.

Littler, Frank Mervyn. A handbook of the birds of Tasmania and its dependencies.

Littlewood, Cyril (Ovenden, D. W., illustrator; Kimball, T. L., foreword). The world's vanishing birds.

Lodge, George (Edward) (1860-1954) (editor, Savory, John [1936-]). George Lodge artist naturalist.

Lodge, George E(dward) (1860-1954). Memoirs of an artist naturalist.

Lodge, George Edward (1860-1954)(Fleming, Charles A.[lexander] [1916-]). George Edward Lodge the unpublished New Zealand bird paintings.

Logan, Peter B. Audubon America’s greatest naturalist and his voyage of discovery to Labrador

Loke, Wan Tho (1915) (foreword by Malcom MacDonald [1901-]). A company of birds.

Longolius, Gybertus (Gilbert)(1507-1543). Dialogus de Avibus, et earum....

Lönneberg, Einar (1865-1942)(Wright, M.[agnus]von[1805-1865], Wright, W.[ilhelm]von[1810-1887], Wright, F.[erdinand]von[1822-1906]). Svenska fåglar efter naturen och på sten ritade.

Low, Susanne M. A guide to Audubon's Birds of America....

Low, Susanne M. An index and guide to Audubon's....

Lowe, P(ercy) R(oycroft) (1870-1948) and Kinnear, N(orman) B(oyd) (1882-1957). British Antarctic (“Terra Nova”) expedition.

Lucas, Frederic A.(ugustus) Expedition to Funk Island, with observations upon the history and anatomy of the great auk

Lynes, H. Review of the genus Cisticola .

Lysaght, A(veril) M. The book of birds five centuries of bird illustration

La / Naturaleza / Periodico / Cientifico / de la / Sociedad Mexicana de Historia Natural Volumes I, II, III. 28.8 x 19.2 cm. Contemporary red sheep-backed marbled boards. Spine with four gilt-ruled raised bands, gilt lettering in second and fourth compartments, gilt coronal design in others. México, Imprenta de Ignacio Escalante Y Compañia.

Tomo I. 1870(comprising 1869-1870) π1-48⁴49²50-51⁴52²53[$1 signed]; 209 ll. Pp. (2)[1]2-412[413-416]. πr, Title; πv, blank;1-413, articles and Society matters; 414, erratas; 415, index. Contains lithographed plates 1-6(7), five hand-colored including lamina 6, "El Seboruco", uncolored lithograph by J. M. Velasco, printed by Lit. dela Vde. Murguia é hijos, Alf. Dugès. Also contains one unnumbered text figure. Ornithological article:"De las Aves del Estado de Veracruz," pp. 298-312, by Don Francisco Sumichrast.

Tomo II. 1875(comprising 1871,1872, 1873). π1-2⁴3²4-5⁴6²7-8⁴9²10-21⁴22²23-36⁴37²38-39⁴40²41-46⁴47²48-49⁴50251-53⁴(counting folded 53 _3-4 as a double-leaf)X²; 199 ll. Pp. (2)[1]2-387[388-396] (counting double-leaf as four [389-392] pages). πr, Title; πv, blank; 1-392, articles; 393, erratas; 395, index. Contains 11 lithographed plates (one colored) including three folded with disparate numbers and including three maps. The hand-colored plate, embellished with gold leaf, one of three designated 1^a, is "Troquilideos del Valle de Mexico agrupados en la Ipomaea triflora de los Señores Velasco" by J. M. Velasco, Lit. dela Vde. Murguia é hijos. Also contains two mounted photomicrographs (sic) of diatoms and six (1-4, 1-2) text figures. Ornithological article: "Troquilideos del Valle de Mexico" by Manuel M. Villada, pp. 339-369 with hand-colored plate described above.

Tomo. III. 1876(comprising 1874, 1875, 1876). π1-2⁴3²4-5⁴6²7-8⁴9²10-11⁴12-13²14-17⁴18²19-20⁴21²22-25⁴26²27-57⁴X²Pp. [1-3 including title page]4-425[426-429(1). 1, Title; 2, blank; 3-426, articles and Society matters; 427, index; 429, erratas. Contains two unnumbered, uncolored text figures and nine unnumbered lithographic plates, eight colored including three of hummingbirds by Rafael Montes de Oca, Lit. de Iriarte. These three plates accompany his article "Esayo Ornitologico/ de la Familia Trochilidae / o sea de los Colibris o chupamirtos de Mexico", pp. 15-31, 59-66, 99-106, 159-167, 203-211, 299-304(concluded). This article describes 48 species and illustrates 10.

This journal was published 1869-1912. These volumes are important ornithologically because of the articles by Villada and Montes de Oca and the fine prints by Velasco and Montes de Oca. According to Carolina Amor de Fournier in her foreword to the series of plates by Montes that she discovered and published in Hummingbirds and Orchids of Mexico (1963), Villada, a relative of hers by marriage, Montes and Velasco shared an interest in natural history and spent much time together out of doors. She tells us that " The Ensayo…appeared in instalments in various issues of La Naturaleza from 1874 onwards and was republished in 1875 in one volume…" That book, also published by Ignacio Escalante, (Wood, p. 47) was entitled "Ensayo Ornithologico de los Troquilideos O Colibriees de Mexico" and contained 12 rather than three hand-colored lithographs. I don't think it's generally recognized that the text and three of the plates had already been published. The book was sold (lot 1,731) as part of the Bradley Martin collection and I compared the plate shown in the catalog with the corresponding plate in this journal. The plates were almost certainly pulled from the same stone. However, in addition to the main colored figures of the bird and plant (Exogonium olivae), the picture in the journal contains two small uncolored detailed figures of anatomical parts of the plant that are missing in the plate for the book. Presumably, these extra scientific details were erased from this stone because none of the other plates had them. Such detail figures are not present in the other two plates in the journal nor in any of those in the book.

Montes de Oca learned how to draw hummingbirds from a master. José Maria Velasco is widely recognized as one of the outstanding Mexican artists of the 19^th century. He specialized in various views of the "Valle de Mexico" one oil of which sold at Sotheby's NYC on 11/18/1991 for $2,420,000. Although he was apparently much interested in nature, I believe that the beautiful colored plate of hummingbirds that he did for his friend Villada's article here, is the only colored print of birds that he executed. The lithograph by him in volume I is much more representative of the work for which he is known. It is interesting that the plates for Ensayo Ornithologico… are attributed to Velasco rather than to Montes by Christie's London in a catalogue (lot #553) of the of the sale (8 April, 2004) of the Quentin Keynes collection. The plates in volume III of Naturaleza and in the Ensayo…are not signed whereas that of hummingbirds in volume II of Naturaleza is signed in the image by Velasco.

Other particularly impressive features of these volumes include fine hand-colored plates of mammals (1), butterflies (1), snakes (1), plants (1) and minerals (1). The two mounted illustrations of diatoms under high magnification may be amongst the earliest photomicrographs.

This journal is now exceedingly rare. Although some old important libraries have complete sets, I suspect that they were subscribed contemporarily and that the print run was very small.

Wood, p. 480. Also listed by AMNH, Harvard, Yale, but not by Cornell, Trinity, Zimmer.

La Touche, J(ohn) D(avid) D(igues) (1861-1935)

A Handbook / of the / Birds of Eastern China / (Chihli, Shantung, Kiangsu, / Anhwei, Kiangsi, Chekiang, Fohkien, / and Kwangtung Provinces). Two volumes. 22.3 x 15.4 cm. Contemporary (?publisher's) green cloth with gilt-lettered spine. Red sprinkled edges. Taylor and Francis, London.

Volume I. 1925-1930. [a]²b²(-b₂)c⁸B-T⁸U²X-2C⁸2D⁴2E²(-2E₂)2F-2K⁸2L⁴2M⁸(-2M₈)[$1, 2 signed]; 261 ll. Pp. [i-iii]iv-xx[xxi-xxii][1]2-500. i, Title; ii, printer's designation (Taylor and Francis); iii, preface; vi, blank; vii, systematic index; xxi, topography of a bird; xxii, blank; 1, introduction; 5, systematic treatment, crows through broadbills including species numbered 1-378; 475, corrigenda and addenda; alphabetical index of scientific names. Contains colored folding map, uncolored frontispieces and uncolored photographic plates I-XIII mostly depicting scenery, all printed on one side only and not included in pagination.

Volume II. 1931-1934. [a]²b²(-b₂)c⁸d²(-d²)B-2N⁸; 295 ll. Pp. [I-iii]iv-xxiii[xxiv][1]2-566. i, Title; ii, printer's designation; iii, preface; vii, systematic index; 1, systematic treatment of woodpeckers through loons, including species numbered 379-750; 534, corrigenda and addenda; 549, index. Contains uncolored frontispiece and uncolored photographic plates XIV-XXIV.

This exceedingly uncommon book is among the most important 20^th century work on the avifauna of China. It was originally issued in 11 parts. Taylor and Francis printed most of the significant ornithological works of the era but were not generally publishers. Moreover, this work was more economically printed than most comparable contemporary commercially published books on birds. These considerations lead me to believe that it was actually privately published by La Touche.

La Touche was an Englishman who spent some years in China and amassed a significant collection of Chinese birds, sufficiently large so that most of his careful descriptions are actually based on his own specimens. He was probably a member of the religious community since cites Père Courtois, the Curator of the Sikawei Museum (Shanghai) was a particular friend and he was also well acquainted with Wilder and Hubbard. He also eulogizes David and Swinehoe as the true pioneers of Chinese ornithology.

For each of the numbered 750 species, the work provides a synonymy for the Chinese representative, a meticulous description including measurements, a careful distributional survey within China and often a brief reference to worldwide occurrence, and, where local knowledge exists, a discussion of nidification and eggs. La Touche estimates that his list probably covers about half of the total in all of China and, in addition to the numbered species, he frequently touches briefly on others that are found in parts of the country which this work doesn't cover.

Trinity, p. 143; Wood, p. 427 (first three parts only); Yale, p. 165.

Laman, Tim, Scholes, Edwin

Birds of paradise / revealing the world’s most extraordinary birds 25.0 x 30.2 cm. Pp. [1-11]12-227[228]. Original publisher’s black cloth with blind printing on spine. Ochre endpapers. Color pictorial printed dust jacket with Greater Bird-of-Paradise on upper cover. Washington, D. C., National Geographic and The Cornell University Lab of Ornithology, @2012.

1, (Colored photograph of) King of Saxony Bird-of-Paradise; 2-3, Greater Bird-of-Paradise; 4-5, King Bird-of-Paradise; 6-7, Twelve-wired Bird-of-Paradise; 8-9, Splendid Astrapia; 10, magnificent Bird-of-Paradise; 11, title; 12, contents; 14, preface: the birds-of-Paradise project; 22, most beautiful and most wonderful; 62, rugged paradise; 112, extreme selection; 154, absurd exaggerations; 200, species atlas; 220, notes on photography; 221, resources; 222, acknowledgments; 224, index.; 228, publication data; ISBN 978-1-4262-0958-1; credits. Contains almost 300 colored photographs ranging from text to double-page illustrations.

This book required eight years of work on the part of the authors. They were able to photograph all 39 members of the family Paradisaeidae in the wild and they witnessed and photographed several displays for the first time. The photographs are the ne plus ultra for this extraordinary family. The text integrates information on the discovery, taxonomy and life histories of these birds with the photographs.

Lambert, Frank and Woodcock, Martin (illustrator)

Pittas, broadbills / and asities 24.0 / 16.8 cm. Pp. 4PL, 1-271(1). Publisher’s blue cloth with gilt lettering to spine. Fine printed and pictorial dust jacket (colored pictures of [upper] Banded Pitta and [lower] Long-tailed Broadbill). Apple-green endpapers. Sussex, Pica Press, (1996).

PL1r, Half-title page; PL1v, blank; PL2r, title; PL2v, copyright, 1996; ISBN 1-873403-24-0; editor, Nigel Redman; copy editing, Nigel Collar; production and design, Julie Reynolds; colour separation, Staples Printers, Kettering, North Hants; printed and bound by Hartnolls Limited, Bodmin, Cornwall. PL3r-PL3v, contents; PL4r, list of (text) figures; PL4v, dedication; 1, preface; 3, acknowledgements; 5, glossary; 7, style and layout; overview of pitas, broadbills and asities including phylogenetic relationships, classification, biogeography, evolution, distinguishing characteristics, food, behaviour, nesting, migrations and conservation; 31, plates 1-24; 83, Pitta, comprising 32 species; 186, Smithornis, comprising three species; 196, Calyptomena comprising three species; 205, Cymbirhynchus, comprising one species; 210, Psarisomus, comprising one species; 215, Serilophus, comprising one species; 220, Eurylaimus, four species; 231, Corydon, one species; 235, Pseudocalyptomena, one species; 238, Philepitta, two species; 245, Neodrapanis, two species; 255, bibliography (more than 550 references); 269, index of scientific (generic and specific) and English names. Contains colour half-tone plates 1-24. These are bound recto with appropriate facing text printed on the verso of the antecedent plate. Plates and descriptive text are included in pagination. There are also 21 uncolored, unnumbered text figures, mostly line drawings, and there is a distribution map for every species.

OCLC locates about 85 copies.

Lambourne, M.

The Art of Bird Illustration 34 x 25 cm. Pp. [1-6]7-192. Original blue cloth, gilt title on spine, pictorial dust jacket. Secaucus, the Wellfleet Press, 1990. Quarto Publishing, PLC. Printed in Hong Kong.

1, Half-title; 3, title; 5, contents; 7, introduction; 9, early beginnings from cave art to the Romans; 21, from medieval manuscript to the printed book; 41, engravings and paintings from 1660-1800; 71, America: from John White to J. J. Audubon; 97, the great illustrators from Thomas Bewick to Edward Lear; 131, the birds of Australia; 155, bird artists of the later nineteenth century; 181, conclusion: the twentieth century; 185, appendix, print collecting; 188, select bibliography; 189, index; 192, acknowledgments, . Contains about 146 illustrations, most full-paged and colored, a few half or double-paged.

Maureen Lambourne is a direct descendent of John Gould with training in art. She is an authority on Gould about whose work she is a published author. Here she covers largely familiar ground with emphasis on, and many reproductions from, well known figures including mainly Gould, Audubon and Lear and to a lesser extent, Albin, Catesby, Edwards, Swainson, Selby, Wolf and Keulemans. Of more interest are the reproductions from works antedating the printed book and from masters such as de Handecoeter and Bogdani. In addition, there are examples of bird portraits not heretofore reproduced from Francis Barlow, Sydney Parkinson, Ferdinand Bauer, George Raper, Thomas Watling, Edwin Landseer and John Ruskin. Moreover, some unpublished paintings from well known artists including Wolf and Keulemans are shown. I find it significant that Charles Tunnicliffe is her sole paradigm for the short section on the modern era. I think few would argue that he is amongst the most original and gifted of twentieth century ornithological artists.

This is a wide-ranging anthology with some interesting pictures. The color reproduction is average.

Lambourne, Maureen

Birds of / the World / over 400 of John Gould's / classic bird illustrations 35.5 x 26.5 cm.Pp. [1-6]7-304; 152 ll. Publisher's blue cloth, gilt lettering on spine. Pictorial dust jacket. New York, Rizzoli, 1992.

1, Half-title; 2, blank; 3, title; 4, copyright, publisher's note; 5, contents; 7, introduction; 15, birds from the Himalayas; 25, birds of Europe; 47, toucans; 73, trogons; 95, birds of Australia; 145, partridges of America; 157, hummingbirds; 195, birds of Asia; 225, birds of Great Britain; 277, birds of New Guinea; 299, further reading; 300, index; 304, acknowledgements. Contains text colored plates 1-413 of which 64 full-page. Also contains three unnumbered text colored plates (one full-page) in the introduction and 10 unnumbered colored head pieces for the chapters on books, as well as six uncolored plates including four portraits, one full-page.

This is a fine anthology of Gould's ornithological folios written by his great-great granddaughter. The introduction contains brief but informative biographies of everyone associated with his publications including the artists Mrs. Gould, Lear, Wolf, Richter, and Hart; his secretary Prince; Hullmandel, the first of his lithographers; Bayfield, the colorist; and John Gilbert, the explorer who collected for him in Australia and died in the field. The various chapters cover all his folio works save the cancelled parts of the initial Birds of Australia and the Adjacent Islands, and Icones Avium. Some interesting bibliographical and historical information is given as well as discussions of Gould's text for various species and more recent ornithological thoughts about them. The large number of illustrations have been very well chosen and their reproduction is reasonably good.

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

Lansdowne, (James) Fenwick (1937-2008)(drawings). Halliday, Hugh, (text )

Birds of Canada 35.0 x 27.5 cm. Image size 20.4 x 24.0. Contains 23 (of 25, lacking one coloredplate and covering page for the suite) loose leaves. Presented by the Star Weekly, Toronto . (TheStarWeekly, 1959)

With

A new Album of bird paintings 37.0 x 28.0 cm. Five (of six) loose leaves of plates printed on one side only. In pictorial paper album with Red-shafted Flicker on upper cover and Northwestern Crow on lower cover. “This portfolio of bird pictures by Fenwick Lansdowne has been reproduced for your enjoyment from the pages of Maclean’s Canada’s National magazine” (from verso of upper cover). “

“This is the second portfolio of bird pictures by Fenwick Lansdowne reprinted from the pages of Maclean’s” (recto of lower cover). “The paintings in this album, originally published in Macleans’s Magazine in September, 1957…” from About Fenwick Lansdowne” on recto of lower cover.

J. Fenwick Lansdowne is known for a series (five volumes) of large format paintings of North American birds, for the illustrations in Ripley’s “Rails of the world….”(1977) and for a very limited and fine edition of illustrations of some birds of China (“The rare birds of China” [?1991]). He exhibited 40 watercolors of west coast birds at the Royal Ontario Museum of Toronto in 1956 and was an immediate and precocious sensation. Some of his pictures appeared in Maclean’s Magazine and were issued as one or two portfolios with the title “A new album…”.Presumably, others appeared in the Star Weekly and were also issued as a series of 24 leaves entitled “Birds of Canada”.

A complete set of the “Birds of Canada” contained 24 leaves of text and pictures and a covering page. The copy at hand lacks one plate and the covering page. Each leaf has “Birds of Canada” printed above a boxed image. Below the image is printed the name of the species depicted and under that “Text by Hugh Halliday Painting by Renwick Lansdowne”. and “Presented by the Star Weekly, Toronto” appears on the left just below the image. The brief text mentions a few observations on the life history of the species. The 23 unnumbered plates are as follows (order is random): Glaucous-winged Gull; Goshawk and Pheasant; Short-eared Owl; Clarke’s Nutcracker; Shovelers; Red-breasted Merganser; Hermit Thrush; Oregon Junco; Cedar Waxwing; Sharp-tailed Grouse; Cliff Swallow; English Sparrow; Swainson’s Thrush; Sandhill Crane; Hudsonian Curlew; Prairie Falcon; Pied-billed Grebe; Red-Shafted Flicker; Belted Kingfisher; Spotted Towhee; Evening Grosbeak; Sora Rail; Black-headed Grosbeak. Most of the images are not signed but that of the Prairie Falcon is signed and dated 1958. Some of the pictures, particularly those of Passerine birds, are exceptionally good.

The plates of the “new album” contain no printing save that of the name of the bird. The five plates depict: American Goldfinch (boxed); Pelagic Cormorants; Rufous Hummingbird (boxed) and Northern Shrike; Skylark; and Great Blue Heron and Semipalmated Plover, separately boxed.

Both of these suites are very uncommon. OCLC locates only two copies of each.

Lansdowne, J.(ames)F.(enwick)(1937-1980)

Birds of the / west coast Two volumes housed in beige cloth slipcase with "Lansdowne" impressed bottom to top on upper cover. 36.0 x 26.0 cm. M. F. Feheley Publishers Limited, Toronto.

Volume one [1976]. Pp. [1-10]11-175[176]. Full ochre leather (? Morocco) with gilt-empanelled gilt-lettering to spine. Olive-green, unpatterned endpapers. TEG. 1, Half-title; 2, blank; 3, title; 4, copyright 1976; ISBN 0-919880-03-7; printed and bound in Italy; 5, dedication; 6, blank; 7, contents; 10, blank; 11, foreword by S. Dillon Ripley; 12, blank; 13, introduction; 15, paintings; 121, drawings; 169, list of drawings; 171, bibliography and index title leaf; 173, bibliography (16 references); 174, index; 175, colophon: design by Howard Pain; technical consulting, Ernest Herzig; editing, Dorothy Martins; typeset by Computer Typestting of Canada; printed and bound in Verona, Italy by Arnoldo Mondadori, Officine Graffiche. Contains: gilt-printed ochre limitation leaf tipped in before half-title, signed in ink by artist and numbered 168/300; loosely laid in full-page chromolithograph of Varied Thrush signed in pencil by artist and numbered 168/300 covered by a tissue overlay with credits printed in brown: produced under the artist's supervision at the Open Studio, Toronto, by Master Printer Donald R. Holman, Assistant Printer Otis Tamasauskas; plates 1-52 (four folding double-page), so numbered in accompanying text, printed on recto in color half-tone with facing text printed on verso of antecedent plate; early pencil designs for the 52 plates printed on 47 pages of special mat paper. These pencil designs are not numbered but are identified in the artist's handwriting.

Volume two [1980]. Pp. [1-10]11-167[168]. Full deep brown leather (? Morocco) with gilt empanelled gilt lettering to spine. Brown, patterned endpapers. TEG. 1, Half-title; 2, blank; 3, frontispiece, uncolored half-tone of Long-tailed Duck; 4, blank; 5, title; 6, copyright 1980; ISBN 0-999880-19-3; printed and bound in Italy; 7, contents; 10, blank; 11, foreword by H. R. H. Prince Philip; 12, blank; 13, introduction; 15, paintings; 113, drawings; 161, list of drawings; 163, bibliography and index title leaf; 165, bibliography (15 references); 165, bibliography; 166, index; 168, colophon: design by Earl H. Chow; editing by James T. Wills, Sylvia L. Danter; typography by Cooper & Beatty, Limited and Script lettering by Lettering Designs Limited in Canada; printed and bound in Verona, Italy by Arnoldo Mondadori, Officine Graffiche. Contains: gilt-printed ochre limitation leaf tipped in before half-title, signed in ink by artist and numbered 168/300; loosely laid in full-page chromolithograph of American Avocet signed in pencil by artist and numbered 168/300 covered by tissue overlay with credits printed in henna: produced under the artist's supervision at Sword Street Press, Toronto by Master Printer Don Phillips and Assistant Printers Jeannie Thib, Mary Traill and Marc Siegner; plates 1-48, so numbered in accompanying text, printed on recto in color half-tone with facing text printed on verso of antecedent plate; early pencil designs for the 48 plates printed on 47 unnumbered pages of special mat pages with images identified in the artist's handwriting.

Lansdowne, a Canadian, is amongst the more celebrated of 20th century North American ornithological artists. He first received notice with publication of Birds of the northern forest (1966) and Birds of the eastern forest (two volumes1968, 1970) which were in slightly smaller format than the present volumes and which contained text by Robert Livingston. He also distinguished himself with the fine colored plates for Dillon Ripley's Rails of the world (1977). More recently (1994), he has issued Rare birds of China, a suite of 32 very large format colored collotype prints produced in Austria, in an edition of only 100 sets.

The present work is an exceedingly attractive one and this edition de luxe is a handsome one, particularly distinguished by the fine loosely laid in chromolithographs. The text for each species contains an informative overview of its life history. The changing production credits for the two volumes indicate the difficulty that must have been encountered in publication and account for the minor technical differences between the two volumes.

Trade edition is listed by AMNH, Cornell, Trinity and Yale but not by Harvard. None list this limited edition de luxe.

Lansdowne, Fenwick (1937-)

The rare birds of China 30.5 x 22.8. Pp. [1-3]4-48. Original stapled stiff wrappers with color pictorial upper cover. Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Victoria 1998.

1, Half-title inscribed by Lansdowne to George Kidd, a financial backer of the exhibition; 2, uncolored photograph of Lansdowne; 3, contents; 4, director’s forward by Patricia E. Bovey; 5, Royal Bank Financial Group Statement of sponsorship; 6, two uncolored photographs of Lansdowne; 7, artist’s statement; 9, biography of Lansdowne and history of the paintings by Nicholas Tuela; 12-43, color half-tone reproductions of each of the 32 paintings in the exhibition; 44, list of paintings with their sizes and dates of execution; 48, cataloging data.

Lansdowne, a Canadian, is widely known for his illustrations in Birds of the northern forest (1966), Birds of the eastern forest (1968, 1970), Birds of the west coast (1976, 1980) and in Ripley’s Rails of the world (1977). In 1984 he was commissioned to paint 32 pictures of rare Chinese birds and the present brochure was printed to accompany an exhibition of the pictures at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria in 1998.

This set of 32 paintings was reproduced in Vienna by Joffé Collotype and issued in 1991 (?) as "The rare birds of China" in an edition of 100 signed and numbered copies for $25,000 per set. The prints were 88 x 69 cm (32 x 25 inches) and were contained loose in a portfolio with an explanatory brochure.

Langrand, Olivier (translated by Willem Daniels)

Guide to the / Birds of Madagascar 233 x 156 mm. Pp. [i-iv]v-vi[vii-viii]ix[x]xi[xii]1-364(8, blanks for “field notes”); 192 ll. Original red cloth, pictorial dust jacket. New Haven & London, Yale University Press, 1990.

Contains colored plates 1-40, not included in pagination and a few text illustrations by Vincent Bretagnolle. Half-title, i; title, ii-iii; contents, v; foreword, vii; acknowledgments, ix; notes by illustrator, xi; introduction, 1; overview of natural habitats, 3; avifauna of Madagascar, 9; analysis of the bird community, 15; protected areas system, 29; recommended sites... 33; potential species... 47; taxonomic list... 57; species accounts, 73; distribution maps, 315; index of Malagasay, 341; index of scientific names, 357.

The information for each species is summarized under the following categories: description; identification; behavior; voice; habitat; diet; nesting; distribution and status. The work is, thus, something between a field guide and a handbook.

(Latham, John [1740-1837])

A / General Synopsis / of / Birds Six volumes with Supplement / to the/ General Synopsis / of./ Birds and Supplement II / to the / General Synopsis of birds, two volumes, the second containing as well the Supplementum / indicis Ornithologici / sive / systematis Ornithologiae, with Index Ornithologicus / sive / Systemata Ornithologiae; / Complectens / Avium Divisionem / in Classes, Ordines, Genera, Species, / Ipsarumque Varietates: / Adjectis / Synonymis, Locis, Descriptionibus, &c., volumes I and II, the entire set of 10 volumes bound to match. Laid paper. 4^o. Catchwords. Contemporary full brown gilt-paneled calf with elaborate corner gilt designs. Rebacked to style with brown morocco. Flat spines divided into seven compartments by double gilt rules. Gilt red morocco lettering pieces in second, fourth and seventh compartments. AEG. Bookplates of Amos Binney and the Boston Society of Natural History. Amos Binney was one of the founders of the Society and the author of The Terrestrial Air-breathing Mollusks of the United States… (1851-1857).

[Volume I, part 1] London, printed for Benj. White, 1781. πa⁴B-3G⁴[$1,2 signed]; 213 ll. Pp. (2)[i]ii-vii[viii-viii][1]2-416. π1r, engraved title page with colored King Vulture vignette; π1v, blank; a1r-a3v, preface signed by Latham and dated Jan. 1, 1781; a4r, half title: Birds / Division I. Land-Birds / Division II. Water-Birds; 1-416, text. Contains hand-colored engraved plates I-XVI by [?] and after Latham.

Vol. II (Volume I, part 2) London, printed for Benj. White, 1782. π3H-5L⁴5M⁴(-5M4); 204 ll. Pp. (2)417-788(34). π1r, engraved title with colored vignette of White-winged Oriole; π1v, blank; 416-788 (5H2v), text; 5H3r-5H3v, directions for plates; 5H4r-5M3r, index; 5M3v, Errata. Contains hand-colored engraved plates XVII-XXXV.

Vol. II. Part 1^st. London, printed for Leigh & Sotheby, 1783. πA²(-A2)B-2Z⁴3A⁴(-3A4); 185 ll. Pp. (2)[i]ii[1]2-366. π1r, engraved title with undesignated colored ornithological vignette; π1v, blank; A1r-A1v, preface; 1-366, text. Contains hand-colored engraved plates XXXVI-L. Plate XLVII watermarked 1796.

Vol. II. p^t. 2^nd London, printed for Leigh & Sotheby, 1783. π[3A4]3B-5O⁴5P⁴(-5P4); 241 ll. Pp. (2)367-808(38). π1r, engraved title page with undesignated colored ornithological vignette; π1v, blank; 367-808(5K4), text; 5L1r-5L1v, directions for plates; 5L2r-5P3v, index; 5P3v, Errata. Contains hand-colored engraved plates LI-LXIX. Plates LVI and LXVIII are watermarked 1796.

Vol. III. p^t. 1^st London, printed for Leigh & Sotheby, 1785. πa²B-Rr⁴Ss⁴(-Ss4); 162 ll. Pp. (2)[I]ii-iii[iv][1]2-318. π1r, engraved title, undesignated colored ornithological vignette; π1v, blank; a1r-a2r, preface; a2v, blank; 1-318, text. Contains hand-colored engraved plates LXX-XCV. Plates LXX, LXXXII, LXXXIV and XCII all with 1796 watermark.

Vol. III. pt.2^nd London, printed for Leigh & Sotheby, 1785. π[Ss4]Tt-4Q⁴; 178 ll. Pp. (2)319-628(44). π1r, engraved title page with undesignated colored ornithological vignette; π1v, blank; 319-628(4L2v), text; 4L3r-4L3v, directions for plates; 4L4r-4M2v, generic catalogue; 4M3r-4N4v, authors referred to; 4N4v, Errata; 4O1r-4Q4v, index. Contains hand-colored engraved plates XLVI-CVI.

Supplement (I) London, printed for Leigh & Sotheby, 1787. πa²B-Rr⁴Ss²(-Ss2); 160 ll. pp. (2)[1]ii-iii[iv][1]2-298(16). π1r, engraved title with undesignated colored ornithological vignette; π1v, blank; a1r-a2r, preface; a2v, blank; 1, text; 281-298(Qq1v), list of the birds of Great Britain; Qq2r, directions for plates; Qq2v, additional catalogue of authors; Qq3r-Qq3v, additional corrections for former volumes; Qq4r-Ss1r, index; Ssiv, blank. Contains hand-colored engraved plates CVII-CXIX. Plates CXI and CXVII are watermarked 1796.

Supplement II. London, printed for Leigh, Sotheby & Son, 1801. πB-3D⁴3E²π₂B2-K2⁴L₂²(-L₂2); 237 ll. Pp. (2)[1]2-376(22)[i]ii-lxxiv. π1r, engraved title with undesignated colored ornithological vignette; π1v, blank; 1-376(3B4v), text; 3C1r-3E1r, index; 3E1v, printer designation: (London) Luke Hansard; 3E2r, directions for plates; 3E2v, blank; π₂r, title page for Supplementum / Indicis Ornithologici / sive / systematis Ornithologiae, London, for G. Leigh, J. & S. Sotheby, 1801; π₂v, printer designation; i-lxx, supplementum; lxxi-lxxiv, catalogus nominum trivialum. Contains hand-colored engraved plates CXX-CXXXVI, CXXXVI*, CXXXVII, CXXXVIII*, CXXXIX-CXL (Full total of 141 colored plates). Plates CXXVIII, CXXIX and CXXXI are all watermarked 1800.

Index Ornithologicus…Volumen I London, Leigh & Sotheby, 1790. [A]⁴a⁴b²(-b2)B-3O⁴; 245 ll. Pp. [i-ii]iii-xviii[1]2-472. i, Title; ii, blank; lectori salutem; v, dividitur avis…; x, ordinum characteres; xiii, characteres generum; 1, Div. I. aves terresteres. Ordo I. acciptres; 68, Ordo II. picae; 321, Ordo III. passeres.

Index Ornithologicus…Volumen II London, Leigh & Sotheby, 1790. π3P-6A⁴; 225 ll. Pp. (2)473-920. πr, Title; πv, blank; 473, passeres (cont); 539, Ordo IV. columbae; 616, Ordo V. gallinae; 662, Ordo VI. Struthiones; 667, Div. II. aves aquaticae. Ordo VII, grallae; 775, Ordo VIII, pinnatipedes; 786, Ordo IX, palmipedes; 897, index generum; 899, catalogus nominum trivialium.

This is the first relatively modern ( as contrasted with Willughby and Ray) work in English, and still one of very few, that attempts to describe all of the birds of the world. Latham was a distinguished physician who became a leading ornithologist of his day by virtue of his own collection of birds and unlimited access to those of others. He was a close acquaintance of Sir Ashton Lever, some of whose collection he bought, and whose artist, Sarah Stone, he often employed. In his attempt here to develop a global ornithology, Latham displayed a breadth of vision that surpassed that of contemporaries such as Donovan and Lewin, and even that of his good friend, Thomas Pennant. Because this venture was so ambitious, Latham could scarcely afford to be excessively fastidious about his sources of information and he occasionally described species without having himself seen examples of them. For example, Stesemann characterizes Latham's magnum opus (p. 79) in Ornithology from Aristotle to the Present (1975) as "… a mass production job with every consequent failing." Of course, Stresemann and other meticulous scientists could never have attempted such a monumental undertaking and the work is an enduring one in that Latham is credited with naming more than 200 new species, most of which are native to Australia and southern Asia. Indeed, Latham is known as the "Grandfather of Australian Ornithology" by virtue of having provided the first descriptions and designations for so many Australian species. Moreover, Latham and Sarah Stone respectively did the illustrations for the seminal works on Australian natural history by Arthur Phillip (1789) and John White (1790).

Interestingly, Latham lost a great deal of priority in the area of official nomenclature, by providing only vernacular names in his Synopsis. Gmelin seized upon this omission by directly Latinizing Latham's names and publishing them in his, the thirteenth edition of Linnaeus. Latham understood his error and quickly issued his own Latin index to limit the damage.

Mrs. Jackson devotes an entire chapter to Latham in Bird Etchings (1985). Latham writes, in the preface to the third volume of his Synopsis, that he did all his own drawing and etching, but it seems to me that he may have been assisted in the coloring of some copies, including this one, by Sarah Stone. He revised and expanded this work for his A General History of Birds which was published 1821-1828. But time had passed him by and he was still producing an eighteenth-century book in the nineteenth century, when far more sophisticated works had begun to appear.

A complete set such as this one of the Synopsis, with the two supplements, the index and the supplement to the index, is very uncommon. Most of the work was issued in editions of 500 copies, however only 250 copies of the second supplement were printed. This is the single most important volume because it contains most of the new species from Australia. The supplement to the index is also often lacking from otherwise complete sets.

No old ornithological book is more variable in the quality of its coloring than is this one. There were six de luxe copies specifically printed in contra épreuve and colored by Sarah Stone that are so superbly done that the pictures are often mistaken for original paintings. However, most copies exhibit very indifferent coloring. The present copy has exceptionally fine coloring, particularly in volumes II and III. I had the opportunity at the Bradley Martin auction to compare the coloring in an ordinary copy and in one of those done in contra épreuve. The present copy is not done in contra épreuve, however, its coloring resembles that in the de luxe set and is vastly different from that in the ordinary copy. One can see this immediately in comparing the Peacock, Plate LX, in this copy with that pictured in the auction catalog's description of the ordinary copy. The relevant plates in my copy are watermarked 1796 and I believe that this was about the time that Sarah Stone was coloring copies. I believe she may have done this one.

I have a favorite picture in this work. It is the Spectacled Owl, the irides of whose eyes are highlighted with gold. This makes a remarkable pictorial figure.

The various components of the complete work are often listed separately and it is difficult to determine whether a holding contains the Synopsis, the two supplements, the index, and the supplement to the index. The copies described by Wood, p. 427, and Zimmer, pp. 371, 372, 375, 376, are complete. Those at the AMNH, Cornell, Harvard, Trinity and Yale all seem to be lacking one or more of the components.

(Lattin, Frank Haak [1861-1937])

Lattin’s Checking list / of / North American birds / used by / Harry Parker / 1889
21.5 x 14.1 cm. Pp. 1-8. Unbound in home-made cardboard folder entitled Oological Collection of Harry G. Parker (stamp) March, 1889. No place, no date (“This Checking List can be obtained of … Frank H. Lattin, Albion, NYPrice 2c per copy…”

The letters in bold italics above are in manuscript. The date “188-“ indicates that this printing of the list antedates the other one in my collection by Ernest H. Short and Lattin which had the year “190-“. This “Checking List” was probably one of the earliest printed ones intended for the purpose of “checking”.

The list is enumerated based on the nomenclature of Robert Ridgway and the numbers given by the first AOU list are also supplied. The names of the birds are in English only.

The user of this printed list, Mr. Harry Parker, has checked many (about 400) of the 764 (approximate) species and indicated the number of nests he has collected or, more likely, purchased, and the number of eggs associated with each nest.

This is a very rare survival. OCLC locates but a single copy, that at the American Museum of Natural History.

Lattin, Frank H(aak) (1861-1937), and Ernest H. Short.

The Standard Catalogue of / North American Birds' Eggs 15.3 x 8.7 cm. Pp. [1-3]4-65; 64 ll. The first 63 leaves have printed text on recto only with the verso blank save for the designation "The Oölogist, Albion, N. Y." The last leaf has printed text on both sides as well as an advertisement for "The Oologist"(sic). Original stapled maroon card with blue and white labeling piece on upper cover. Albion, N. Y., The Oologist, April 1905. Fifth edition. "Revised, corrected and brought up to date of going to press".

1, Title; 2, note from compilers; 3, text.

This is a remarkable period piece which lists 768 species and subspecies, most with a price for the egg. Despite the title, some Eurasian species are included as well as a few Neotropical birds that could be considered "North American" but are not on the U. S. list. There are some unexplained designations ("r", "c" and *), the first two, probably references, invariably followed by a number and present for virtually every full species. Although this work seems complete, it is not clear whether it is an issue of "The Oologist" and, if so, whether it comprises the entire issue. Lattin and Short were respectively publisher and editor of that journal according to the advertisement for it on the last page. The present work cost 25 cents at the time of publication.

Prices listed for eggs range from $0.03 for that of a Cowbird to $225 for that of a "California Vulture". The second most costly, that of a Swallow-tailed Kite for $25. Others of interest: Eskimo Curlew, $6; Passenger Pigeon, $12. Carolina Peroquet, Ivory-billed Woodpecker and Bachman's Warbler are listed without prices.

This seems to be an uncommonly held work. The first edition of 1885 is listed by AMNH and Melvyl (University of California) which also lists the third of 1892. The third edition 1892 a fourth of1896 are listed by Harvard, the third by the Library of Congress, and the fourth by Cornell. The present fifth edition and the second edition seem to be the scarcest. Absent from Smithsonian, Trinity, Yale. Casey

Wood (p.499) lists The Oologist as 1884-1930, vols. 1-47.

Lattin, Frank H(aak) (1861-1937)

The oologists' / hand-book / 1885 / catalogue / American birds' eggs / oological supplies / with prices at which they may be obtained of / Frank H. Lattin / Gaines, Orleans County, N. Y. / price, 25 cents / copyright 1884 by Frank H. Lattin (from upper cover). 15.5 x 10.7 cm. [1]⁸2-5⁸[6]⁴(-6₇)[$1 signed]; 43 ll. Pp. [1]2-86. Privately published, Gaines, N. Y., 1884. Printed by John P. Smith, Rochester, N. Y.

Upper wrapper: recto, title information as described above contained in wood-engraved decorative frame; verso, advertisement for Lattin's monthly The young oologist; Lower wrapper: recto (internal), how to send money; verso (outer), printer designation: John P. Smith, Rochester; 1, note to friends and customers; 3, catalogue (species 1-764 but many without egg prices); 63, number of eggs in the clutches of various species; 70, instructions for collectors of birds' eggs; 74, how to blow and prepare birds' eggs; 76, how to pack eggs for transportation; 78, instruments and supplies; 80, miscellaneous; 83, books for the ornithologist and oologist. Contains one woodcut tail-piece.

Lattin claims to have begun selling birds' eggs in 1882 but I believe that this very scarce ephemeral item is his first catalogue. The book enumerates 764 species using Ridgway's (Smithsonian) list of 1881 and referencing each to Coues' check-list of 1883 and to Baird's of 1859. Many fewer prices are given than in the catalogue for 1905 which I also possess. The most expensive egg I noticed was that of the Swallow-tailed Kite at $10 to rise to $25 in 1905. The egg of a Passenger Pigeon was 40 cents and rose to $12 by 1905. Egg prices were not listed for most of the rarer species.

This edition is listed by AMNH and Melvyl (University of California) which also lists the third edition of 1892. The third and a fourth of1896 are listed by Harvard, the third by the Library of Congress, and the fourth by Cornell. Absent from Smithsonian, Trinity, Yale. Casey Wood (p.499) lists The Oologist (the later name for The young oologist as 1884-1930, vols. 1-47.

Lattin, Frank H(aak)(1861-1937)

1905 / Lattin’s catalogue / of / North American birds eggs (from upper cover) 15.0 x 8.3 cm. Pp. [1]2-28 (29, advertisement for “The oologist”)(1). Original publisher’s printed wrappers with title on upper cover, advertisement for “The oologist” on lower cover and various printed announcements and instructions on inner surfaces of wrappers (not included in pagination. Albion, N. Y., Frank H. Lattin, M. D., 1905.

I, catalogue and price list / of / North American birds eggs / A. O. U. nomenclature.

Laid into this copy are: a list of 29 species for which single eggs are available from Ernest H. Short, Box 173, Rochester, N.Y. and an unsigned notice, probably from Short, stating that he has bought out Dr. Lattin including the stock of these catalogues, which he will use as his own for the time being, albeit with various price reductions.

This little catalogue seems to be an abbreviation of that by Lattin and Short entitled “The standard catalogue of North American birds' eggs.”, the fifth edition of which was also issued in 1905. That catalogue offered some great rarities (Eskimo Curlew, Passenger Pigeon, Carolina Peroquet, Ivory-billed Woodpecker and Bachman’s Warbler, to name the most conspicuous), which are absent from the present list.

This ephemeral piece must be very rare. OCLC does not locate a copy and I could find no mention of it in standard bibliographies. Lattin’s “Standard catalogue…” is much better known.

Lauder, Thomas Dick (1784-1848), and Capt. Thomas Brown (1785-1862)

The miscellany / of / natural history / volume I. / parrots 16.5 x 10.3 cm. [A]⁶B-O⁶P²[$1 signed]; 86 ll. Pp. [i-v]vi-x[11]12-170[171](1). Later red cloth with gilt lettering to spine. Edinburgh, Fraser & Co., London, Smith, Elder & Co., Dublin, W. E. Wakeman, 1833.

i, Half-title; ii, blank; iii, title; iv, printer designation: Edinburgh: Andrew Shortrede; v, advertisement; ix, contents; 11, biographical sketch of Audubon; 37, physical characters of parrots; 59, intellectual and imitative powers; 91, geographical distribution; 97-166, accounts of 34 species; 167, terminology of birds; 171, "advertisements will be accepted" terms. Contains: steel-engraved portrait of Audubon painted by John Syme in 1826 and engraved here by Charles Wands; additional engraved title leaf with uncolored vignette of girl with parrot engraved by Charles Wands; engraved leaf containing uncolored figures I-V of anatomical parts after Joseph B. Kidd; and hand-colored engraved plates 1-35 (two of azure blue-rumped parrot) after Kidd. The engraver and printer for these plates are not designated but may be Brown and Shortrede or even conceivably Lizars. This copy also contains an unsigned19^th century watercolor of a king parrot tipped in at iv/v.

The Miscellany was a short-lived competitor of Jardine's Naturalist's Library and only one other volume of it, on cats, was published. This work contains the first published picture of Audubon who authorized neither its publication nor that of the accompanying biography. Audubon was angry about this and cancelled an agreement he had made with Kidd, a successful Scottish artist, to copy all his pictures of North American birds in oils. Some of those copies had been made and are occasionally sold as paintings by Audubon. Thomas Brown is better known for his large folio book on American birds than for this one. He also colored the very rare "royal-octavo" edition of Wilson that was published by Shortrede in 1832 and was the author and illustrator for another rare work Illustrations of the genera of birds…(ca. 1846). This is Lauder's only published ornithological contribution.

This work preceded by three years Selby's parrot volume with illustrations by Lear in the Jardine series. It is much rarer than that book. The pictures here are attractive and lively, but the coloring, in this copy at least, is careless with parts of several birds mistakenly left uncolored. There is an interesting 21 page section on the "Carolina Parrot" accompanying is plate that is mostly ascribed to Wilson and Audubon. The engraved portrait of Audubon to which he objected is very well known and is reproduced on page 285 of Christine Jackson's Bird Etchings (1985).

Wood, p. 428. Also listed by Harvard, Yale. Not listed by AMNH, Cornell, Trinity, Zimmer.

Lawrence, George N. (ewbold)(1806-1895)

Catalogue / of the / birds of St. Vincent / from collections made by Mr. Fred. A. Ober, / under the / directions of the Smithsonian Institution, / with his notes thereon Pp. (2, title as on wrapper and blank) 185-198. Signature “Proc. Nat. Mus. 78-13” and stamp “Oct. 15, 1878.” appear at the base of p. 193. Original gray printed wrappers with title and publishing information printed within black frame. Washington, Government Printing Office, 1878 (appeared in the series Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., Washington, Smithsonian Institution Press, 1879, Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collection, V. 1, 1878, pp.185-198.

This is an off print of an article that appeared in the Proceedings of the United States National Museum, Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collection, volume 1. The article was issued on October 15, 1878 but the volume was not published until 1879.

Frederick Albion Ober (1849-1916) enumerated 59 species most of which he collected. He provides measurements and notes. Of particular interest is his description of the “souffriere bird”, the local race of the rufous-throated solitaire and apparently very shy. Also of special interest is his careful description of the St. Vincent Parrot: “I have appended a description of this rare and beautiful species.”

This article is an early fairly comprehensive annotated list of birds in St. Vinncent and an important contribution to Caribbean ornithology.

OCLC locates seven copies.

Lawrence, George N.(ewbold)(1806-1895).

Catalogue / of the / birds of Dominica / from / collections made for the Smithsonian Institution / by Frederick A. Ober, / together / with his notes and observations 23.1 x 14.9 cm. Pp. (1, title as on wrapper)48-69(1). Signature “Proc. Nat. Mus. 78-4” and stamp “July 31, 1878.” at base of p. 49. Original gray printed wrappers with title and publishing information printed within black frame. Washington, Government Printing Office, 1878 (appeared in the series Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., Washington, Smithsonian Institution Press, 1879, Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collection, V. 1, 1878, pp.48-69.

This is an off print of an article that appeared in the Proceedings of the United States National Museum, Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collection, volume 1. The article was issued on July 13, 1878 but the volume was not published until 1879.

Frederick Albion Ober (1849-1916) described 56 species most of which he collected. He provides measurements and notes. Of particular interest is a very detailed description, of the imperial parrot of which he says “specimens...rare in collections….description of it not readily available”. He also makes mention of the “Diablotin” a petrel that was alleged to be abundant 20 years before his arrival, nesting in high mountain burrows. Lawrence speculates that this may be the same as a petrel, “Prion caribbaea” that had been discovered fairly recently in Jamaica.

This article is an early fairly comprehensive annotated list of birds in Dominica and an important contribution to Caribbean ornithology.

OCLC locates eight copies.

Layard, Edgar Leopold (1824-1900), (Sharpe, R.[ichard] Bowdler [1847-1909], editor)

The / Birds / of / South Africa, //// New Edition / thoroughly revised and augmented / by / R. Bowdler Sharpe 24.8 x 16.1 cm. [a]⁴b⁸c²B-3H⁸3I-3M⁴[$1,2 signed]; 454 ll. Pp. [i-v]vi-xv[xvi][ix₂]x₂-xviii[xviii-xx][1]2-856, [867]868-890(640 misprinted 642). Contemporary brown half morocco and marbled boards rebacked with brown morocco to style. Spine with four raised ridges gilt rules and lettering in second and fourth compartments. Marbled endpapers. London, Bernard Quaritch, 1875-1884.

i, Title; ii, printer designation: London, G. Norman and Son; iii, dedication by Sharpe to Layard; iv, blank; v, introduction; xiii, list of essays published in the "Ibis" on South African birds; xvi, blank; ix₂-xvii, list of birds (812 species) of South Africa; xviii, errata; xix, list of plates; 1, systematic text covering species 1-769; 793, appendix with additional species and updating of status; 867, index. Contains hand-colored lithographed plates I-XII after Keulemans with no designation of printing firm. The copy is complete despite numerous printing errors such as that omitting pages 857-866.

The first edition of this book was published in Cape Town in 1867 and was by Layard, alone. This second edition was issued in six parts and was massively augmented by Sharpe with rewriting, with many additions to the text, and with the colored plates. According to Zimmer, there are numerous descriptions of new species and genera and "these are to be accredited to Sharpe who, as editor, rewrote many parts of it and added much new matter". The difference in the number of species described in the systematic text, 769, and the number in the list beginning on page ix₂, 812, is accounted for by the late additions described in the appendix. Layard's first edition listed 702 species. For each species, Sharpe provides the original source of nomenclature; a detailed survey of distribution and status; a meticulous description with measurements; reference to an antecedent published illustration; and, where feasible, information concerning life history including nesting and eggs.

Wood, p. 428; Zimmer, p. 378; Also listed by AMNH, Harvard, Trinity, Yale. Unlisted at Cornell.

Le Grand, Gérald W. (text reviewed and completed by Marcel S. Jacquat with the collaboration of Suzanne and Jean-Claude Badin and Christian and Nicole Jouanin)

Paul Barruel / artiste et naturaliste 25.0 x 19.5 cm. Pp. [1-6]7-190[191-192]. Original publisher’s fine beige cloth with impressed black vignette of wren and Barruel’s signature on upper cover. Pictorial dust jacket. La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, Editions de Girafe, Musée d’histoire naturelle, in collaboration with the Musée d’histoire naturelle of Grenoble, 2001. This copy #301, one of 500 de luxe examples (with cloth bindings) of a total edition of 3,000 copies.

1, uncolored vignette of wren; 2, blank; 3, half-title; 4, blank; 5, title; 6, quotations; 7, preamble by Jacquat; 9, Préface by Christian Jouanin; 13, avant-propos; 17, premières voies; 37, le naturaliste; 69, le professionel; 115, la plenitude; 155, la nature a toujours raison; 171 un dernier mot; 173, remerciements; 175, bibliographie chronologique ( of Barruel); 191, contents; 192, credits including printing by Imprimerie Favre SA and photolithography by Studio 444, both of La Chaux-de-Fonds; limitation statement: 301/3,000; ISBN 2-88423-041-6. Contains approximately 45 full-page plates (35 colored) and 95 smaller illustrations (22 colored) most printed in half-tone, a few line drawings. None are numbered and all are included in pagination. Includes photographs and artwork reproduced from antecedent works or published here for the first time.

Paul Barruel (1901-1982) was amongst the most distinguished French ornithological artists of the 20th century. He received several important commissions from and was a close friend of Robert Etchecopar and had an important professional relationship with Etchecopar’s publisher, Boubée. He wrote and illustrated Vie et Moeurs des oiseaux (1953) which was translated into four other languages. Some of the better known publications that he illustrated include: Iconographie des oiseaux de France (1953); Géroudet’s Oiseaux nicheurs d’Europe (1958-1962); Salim Ali’s Birds of Sikkim (1962); Etchecopar’s series on birds of North Africa, the near and mid-east, and China(1964-1978); Haverschmidt’s Birds of Surinam (1968); and Sick’s Ornitologia Brasileira (1984) (English version, Birds of Brazil a natural history[1993])

He also did two exceedingly attractive commissions, each of 60 watercolors, for Etchecopar, dealing respectively with titmice and old world warblers. In 1983, I had the pleasure of examining these at Etchecopar’s apartment in Paris. Some of them are reproduced on pp. 88 and 89 of this work.

This book was published to commemorate the 100th birthday of the artist and is very attractive and well done.

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

Le Maout, Emmanuel (1800-1877)

Histoire Naturelle / des/ Oiseaux / suivant la Classification / de / M. Isidore Geoffroy-Saint-Hilaire / avec l’Indication de leurs Moeurs / et de leurs Rapports avec les Arts, le Commerce et l’Agriculture (Half-title: Les / Trois Règnes / de la Nature / Règne Animal) 270 x 187 mm.π²a-f⁴ 1-52⁴[53]² 54⁴[$1 signed]; 240 ll. Pp. (4)[I]II-XLVIII, 1-425[426-428]. Morocco-backed pebbled green cloth. Elaborately gilt spine with four double raised ridges. AEG. Paris, L. Curmer, 1853.

π1, half-title; π2, title; I, introduction including anatomy, physiology and classification; 1, descriptive text of families and representative species; 421, index; 426, contents; 427, errata; 428, list of illustrations.

Contains 14 hand-colored, steel-engraved plates, one hand-colored, wood-engraved plate and 20 uncolored, wood-engraved plates, 18 of which are tinted. Plates are unnumbered and not included in pagination and their artists are usually not identified. Numerous (501 fide Zimmer) text woodcuts

Curmer’s publishing house specialized in wood engravings and their books are always particularly attractive in this area. The present volume borrowed some of its illustrations from Bernard’s Le Jardin des Plantes published by them in 1842 and to which Le Maout also contributed. Of the 14 steel-engraved and hand-colored plates, seven were copied from the lithographs of Descourtilz’s Oiseaux brillans du Brésil (1834) and used first in Le Jardin des Plantes. These plates were not copied quite exactly. The same engravings were then used for the present work but in most instances minor additions, such as a butterfly, were made on the original engraving. For some reason, almost all bibliographers refer, incorrectly in my view, to the steel and/or wood-engraved plates in this work as “lithographs”. Moreover, Wood’s designation of the book as “very rare” is certainly not the case.

This work is a very attractive general treatise on the birds of the world. After a discussion of anatomy and physiology, it presents an overall classification and then discusses each family in some detail describing representative species. The book is apparently part of a series and, according to Zimmer, Le Maout did a companion volume on botany that was published in 1851.

Trinity, p. 145; Wood, p. 431; Yale, p. 167; Zimmer, p. 383.

Lear, Edward (1812-1888) (edited and introduced by Thorpe, Adrian)

The birds / of / Edward Lear / A selection of the / 12 finest bird plates by the artist 56.0 x 38. 0 cm. 32 Unpaginated leaves including 12 colored plates as described below. Original pictorial card covers. London, The Ariel Press, (1975).

First leaf: recto, half-title; verso, blank.

Third leaf: recto, dedication; verso, acknowledgment.

Fourth leaf, recto, through seventh leaf, verso: introduction containing biography of Lear.

Eighth leaf: recto, list of plates I-XII; verso, blank.

Ninth through 32^nd leaf: 12 pages of text with name and number of plate printed on recto, descriptive text by Thorpe on verso; 12 plates printed in multi-color half-tone on recto only with facing text by Thorpe.

These outstanding reproductions by Lohse are printed on matte paper in full-size and come from Lear's Illustrations of the family Psittacidae or parrots, 1832 (2); Gould's Monograph of the Rhamphasidae or family of toucans, 1835(1); and Gould's The birds of Europe, 1837 (9). Lohse also printed Mr Gould's tropical birds by Eva Mannering (1955) and Thorpe's The birds of Daniel Giraud Elliot, something of a companion volume to this one, in 1979.

One of the birds selected for presentation here is the Strix varia, the Barred Owl of North America, about whose presence in Gould's Birds of Europe, I have always wondered. Thorpe writes that it formerly existed in Europe but I have my doubts.

This book was also issued with a cloth cover in an edition of 1000 copies.

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

Lear, Edward (1812-1888) (Root, Nina)

The Family / of Parrots 22.9 x 15.5 cm. Pp. [1-4]5-64 (page numbers printed as words); 32 ll. Original publisher's olive cloth with gilt lettering on spine. Green endpapers. Pictorial dust jacket. New York, American Museum of Natural History; San Francisco, Pomegranate Artbooks, (1997). First edition.

1, Half-title; 2, blank; 3, title; 4, copyright; 5, introduction by Root; 11-12, blank; 13, half-title; 14, blank; 15, colored plates; 57-58, blank; 59, modern nomenclature for illustrations by Alllison Andors; 64, references. Contains 42 unnumbered full-page colored plates after those in Lear's folio printed on both sides of leaves and included in pagination. Actual image size 11.9 x 7.8 cm.

Lear's great folio was issued in 12 parts, 1830-1832, and the large, hand-colored lithographs, printed by Charles Hullmandel are widely considered amongst the most beautiful of published ornithological illustrations. They were important not only for their beauty, but also because they were the first large folio lithographs of birds printed in England and, as such, stimulated Gould to emulate their format. Moreover, the work, although issued without text, is regarded as the first English publication devoted to a single family of birds i.e. family monograph. The original title was Illustrations of the family Psittacidae, or parrots.

The 42 plates are reproduced in small format in the present work and the introduction by Nina Root, Chief Librarian at the American Museum of Natural History, provides a biography of the artist and some information about the publication of the original work.

Although Root tells us that only 175 copies of the original folio were printed, it comes up for sale quite frequently and a copy once spent the night in my house when I served as courier between dealer and prospective buyer.

Copies of the present little book are listed for the AMNH and for Trinity.

Lear, Edward (1812-1882)

PSITTACUS augustus Vig. 35.5 x 28.0 cm. Hand-colored lithograph. Plate CIV from G. R. Gray's Genera of Birds, London, 1844-1849. Newly fixed in acid-free mat.

This beautiful print is intended to represent the genus Psittacinae as designated at the top center of the plate. At the lower left is "From life by E. Lear" and at the lower right, "In Lithotint by D. M." (David Mitchell). The species is designated "PSITTACUS / augustus Vig." at the lower center.

The magnificent parrot that is depicted is now known as Amazona imperialis, the Imperial Amazon or Imperial Parrot of Dominica. It is the largest of all the Amazons and amongst the rarest since it exists only in two shrinking tracts of unspoiled rain forest on this small Caribbean island. Vigors described a specimen that was living in the London Zoo in 1836 and Lear doubtless used the same individual as his subject.

As far as I know, this print was Lear's only large-format hand-colored lithograph of a parrot that was published outside of his magnificent folio monograph on the family. He was also the artist for the volume of the Naturalist's Library that dealt with parrots but those small plates were engravings that were produced indifferently for a mass market. The present print, while slightly smaller than those in Lear's Illustrations of the Family of Psittacidae or Parrots, London, 1830-1832, is every bit their equal in artistry and technical production. It was lithographed by David Mitchell, the artist for most of the plates in Gray's Genera of Birds, and was probably printed by the firm of Hullmandel & Walton who were designated on most of the other plates of that work though not on this one. This was one of only two plates that Lear contributed to the work which contained a total of 150 hand-colored lithographs as well as many that were uncolored.

Leavitt & Allen

Child's Book / of / Land Birds 8.1 x 5.4 cm. No signatures. Pp. [1-2]3-8; 4 ll. Original publisher's blue printed wrappers with wood cut design of bird's head on upper cover. Leavitt & Allen, New York, 1855.

1, title with vignette; 2, full page wood cut of "The Secretary; 3-8, text including text wood cut figures of (Eurasian) Goldfinch, Linnet, Titmouse, (Eurasian) Sparrow Hawk, Hoopoe. Thus, total of seven wood cuts not including upper wrapper.

This is a child's miniature book dealing with European species. Presumably, the American publishers, Leavitt & Allen, have copied or adapted both the text and figures from an antecedent English work. I have other similar chap or miniature books for children from the middle of the 19^th century that were issued and printed by American publishers yet contained pictures and information dealing with common English species.

This little book is not listed for any of the major libraries although the Beinicke Library, which seems to contain a large collection of 19^th century chap and miniature books, lists an impressive number of other works published by Leavitt & Allen.

Lee, Woo-Shin; Koo, Tae-Hoe; Park, Jin-Young (illustrated by Taniguchi, Takashi; translated by Allen, Desmond)

A Field Guide to the / Birds of / Korea 18.3 x 11.7 cm. Pp. [1-4]5-328(2, about the authors); 165 ll. Original decorated stiff wrappers, upper endpaper with "quick reference" generic figures, lower wrapper with map of Korea. Seoul, LG Evergreen Foundation, First Edition, 1 December, 2000.

1, Half-title; 2, blank; 3, title; 4, copyright and printer's (Toyokan Publishing Co., Ltd., Tokyo) designation; 5, contents; 8, foreword; 10, preface; 12, acknowledgements; 13, introduction; 18, bird topography; 19, checklist of Korean birds; 41, how to identify birds; 48, systematic text; 288, references; 299, index of Korean names; 308, scientific names; 319, English names. Contains 120 unnumbered colored plates with facing text all included in pagination, the plates showing approximately 450 species, many in several plumages, in flight and at rest. Also contains partially colored distribution map for every species and numerous uncolored, unnumbered illustrations apart from the systematic text.

This field guide is virtually identical in design and format to A field guide to thebirds of Japan, first published in 1982 by the Wild Bird Society of Japan. Therefore, it is not surprising that the editor-in-chief of the present work, Noritaka Ichida, was a contributor to the antecedent book, that the artist, Takashi Tanaguchi, has been in charge of illustrations for several field guides published by the Wild Bird Society of Japan, and that the present work was printed in Japan, probably by the same printer responsible for the field guide to Japanese birds.

This book covers about 450 species, all recorded for the Korean peninsula including North Korea. Korean, Latin and English names, length measurements, principal field marks, and the status in Korea are presented for all species. There is also a distribution map covering nearby Asia for each.

Legendre, Marcel (1890-) (colored plates by Paul Barruel (1901-1982), line drawings by G. Boca and Y. Bouisset)

Perroquets / et / Perruches 27.0 x 18.2 cm. 1-11⁸12⁴[$1 signed]; 92 ll. Pp. [1-9]10-179[180-181(1)(2, blank). Original electric green cloth with colored plate of Ara ararauna and Amazona aestiva on upper cover, yellow lettering on upper cover and spine. Paris Éditions Boubée & C^ie, 1962.

1, blank save signature; 2, blank; 3, half-title; 4, other books by Legendre; 5, title; 6, identification of birds on cover; copyright 1962; 7, avant-propos; 8, topography of a bird, line diagram; 9, le monde des perroquets; 17, histoire des premiers perroquets importés en France; 31, les nourritures; 35, les psittacidés; 39, les cacatoès; 49, les loris et les loriquets; 61, les loricules; 65, les micropsittes; 67, les perroquets américaines; 89, les perroquets africains; 95, les perruches à collier; 103, les perruches australiennes; 125, autres perroquets d'océanie; 137, les cages et les volières; 149, les perroquets parleurs; 159, les maladies; 165, postface; 167, list of illustrations; 170, alphabetical list of French and Latin names; 178, contents; 181, colophon: printing finished June 1962 at L'Imprimerie de Tournon et C^ie, Paris; Colur plates by L'Imprimerie Polychrome, Gentilly. Contains: colored plates I-VIII depicting 31 species printed in half-tone on one side only and not included in pagination; uncolored half-tone photographic plates 1-8 displaying 10 images, printed on both sides of five leaves not included in pagination; text line drawings 1-51; 12 unnumbered tail pieces including two in duplicate.

This work deals mainly with the behavior, care and maintenance of parrots in captivity but does touch upon most of the world's species, providing for each a very brief description, distribution, and a variable avicultural section. The pictures are nicely done and the plates well printed. The author was an authority on cage birds.

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

(Legg, John [1755-1802])

A / Discourse / on the / Emigration of British Birds / or / this Question at last solv'd: / Whence come the Stork and the Turtle, the / Crane and the Swallow, when they know / and observe the appointed Tiime of their coming? / Containing / A curious, particular and circumstantial Account of the / respective Retreats of those / Birds of Passage / Which visit our Island at the commencement of Spring, and / depart at the Approach of Winter; as the //////////////////// By a Naturalist 17.8 x 11.2 cm. Laid paper. 8^o. π⁴a²B-G⁴[$1, 2 signed]; 30 ll. Pp. (2)[I-ii]iii-ix[x][1]2-45[46](2, advertisement for "A new Treatise on the Art of Grafting and Innoculation…" by Legg). Twentieth century plain leather with two raised ridges on spine. Salisbury, Collins and Johnson for the author, 1780.

π1r, Half-title; π1v, blank; π2r, title; π2v, blank; π3r-a2r, introduction;a2v, errata; 1, of summer birds of passage; 31, of winter birds of passage; 37, birds which are not regular emigrants; 39, reflections on the annual migration of birds.

This work is considered the first treatise in English devoted entirely to migration. In it, the author lucidly and logically considers and abandons three theories, namely that birds hibernate, that they spend winters underwater, and that they fly to the moon, to arrive at what he considers a correct description which is that they fly to more felicitous and nutritious environments on the earth. He then analyzes the movements of individual species. Legg is not the first to have arrived at a correct description of migration. Richard Brookes, in his Natural History of Birds (1863) comes to the same conclusion (pp. xviii-xviii) and Willughby and Ray, while less forceful in their Ornithology (1678), seem to believe (p. 212) similarly. What comes through clearly in the present work, however, is the author's recognition of the the extraordinary nature of the phenomenon of migration and of the questions it raises as to the abilities that enable birds to perform it. The phenomenon still elicits awe and the responsible abilities are still the subject of scholarship and debate.

The book is extremely rare, particularly in this original Salisbury printing. There were also London editions that were undated, 1795, and 1814, the latter bearing the name of George Edwards on the title page. BM(NH), p. 1081; Mullens & Swann, p. 347; Trinity, p. 145; Wood, p. 430. Also in Oxford catalog but this edition lacking at Cornell, Harvard, Library of Congress, Smithsonian, and Yale.

Legge, W.(illiam) Vincent, Captain (1841-1918)

A History / of the / Birds of Ceylon One volume in three. 32.0 x 25.0 cm. Contemporary gilt-ruled maroon half morocco and marbled boards. Five gilt-ruled and decorated raised bands on spine with gilt lettering in second and fourth compartments. Marbled endpapers. TEG. Original three printed gray upper wrappers for parts I, II, III bound respectively with volumes 1,2 and 3 (so designated on spine only). Rebacked with original spine maintained. Bookplate of Hanbury Barclay who was acknowledged by Henry Dresser in Birds of Europe for supplying specimens. London, for the author, (1878-)1880.

The complete work, as described below, contains a colored map, 34 colored plates and 12 uncolored text illustrations. The colored plates are hand-colored lithographs (33) after J. G. Keulemans (31), Strutt (1), J. Smit (1) and one chromolithograph of eggs (artist undesignated). The printer is designated as Hanhart for a few of the plates but undesignated for most.

Volume 1. Wrapper; recto, Part No. (I); date (November 1880); title; contents, Accipitres-Picaria; verso, notice to subscribers. [a]²b-f⁴g⁴(-g4)B-2X⁴2Y⁴(-2Y2-4)[$1, 2 signed]; 198 ll. Pp. [i-v]vi-xlvi[1]2-4[1₂]2₂-345(1). i, Title; ii, printed and engraved printer's designation: Taylor and Francis; iii, dedication; iv, blank; v, preface; vii, introduction; xxix, systematic index of birds for entire work; xliii, list of plates I-XXXIV, so numbered here only; xliii, list of woodcuts; xliv, errata et corrigenda; xlv, dates and contents of parts (includes preliminaries with part III, but here bound with Part I);xlvii, subscription list (accounts for 247 copies); 1-345, systematic accounts, Neophron gingianus-Caprimulgus asiaticus. Contains color-printed engraved map by E. Weller as frontispiece; 10 colored plates unnumbered save in list of plates; and five unnumbered, uncolored text illustrations including one full page of the topography of a bird.

Volume 2. Wrapper: recto, Part II, September 1879. Passeres-Columbae; verso, blank. 2Y-4Z⁴5A²(-5A2); 193 ll. Pp. 345-730, systematic text, Caprimulgus asiaticus-Osmotreron pompadora. Signature Y1, page 345 appears in both Part I and part II, in each case containing on the recto, the final 12 lines of text for Caprimulgus asiaticus. In part I, the remainder of the recto and the verso are blank whereas in Part II they contain the continuation of the descriptive text including page 346. Contains 11 colored plates and four text woodcuts.

Volume 3. Wrapper: recto, Part III, September 1880. Gallinae-Steganopodes; verso, opinions of the press. 5B-7S⁴7T²; 254 ll. Pp. [731]732-1237(1). 731-1207(1), systematic text, Pavo cristata-Fregata minor; 1209, appendix I, elaboration of and addition to systematic text; 1224, appendix II, still later update; 1227, index; 1237, printer designation. Contains 13 colored plates, three text woodcuts.

Modern systematic ornithology had begun in Ceylon in the 1850s with work by Edgar Leopold Layard and Dr. Kelaart who seem to have been uneasy collaborators with Layard claiming to have done most of the field work and to have deceived by Kelaart concerning publication of the results. In the early 1870s, E. W. H. Holdsworth published a comprehensive catalog of Ceylonese birds in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society. In the present work, Legge covers 371 species, adding 24 to Holdsworth's list. He concludes that 47 of these are endemic but many are no longer recognized as such, the late 20^th century figure being about one-half of that. For each species, Legge provides us with a synonymy/ bibliography; extensive descriptions in both Latin and English with measurements; distribution; habits; notes on nidification and eggs; location from which depicted specimens were obtained; and a variable section containing virtually everything ever written in either published work or personal correspondence about the species in Ceylon as opposed, for example, to the similar form in India.

This is certainly one of the great regional treatises of the late 19^th century and has always been regarded as a very beautiful production. Therefore, it is of special interest that Legge, in the appendix, deplores the failure of Keulemans to follow carefully his instructions concerning coloration of soft parts (which fade after death and can't be taken from specimens). He cites in particular, one of the barbets with a red bill that is depicted as horn-colored.

A "second" edition of this work, essentially unchanged save for an extra appendix leaf, was published in 1881. Since the subscription list of the original edition accounts already for 247, the total number of copies for both is probably around 500.

Wood, p. 430; Zimmer, p. 382-383. Also listed by AMNH, Cornell, Harvard, Trinity, Yale.

Lehmann, Oskar (illustrated by Albert Kull and with appendix on aviculture by M. Kohler)

Unsere Vögel / kurze Schilderung unserer wichtigsten ein- / heimischen Vögel 21.2 x 14.9 cm. In gothic style print. π⁶1-6⁸7²[$1 signed]; 56 ll. Pp. [I-V]VI-XI[XII][1]2-100. Publisher’s olive-backed gray-green cloth with gilt decorations, enclosed circular chromolithograph of house martin, black block lettering on upper cover, black lettering on spine. Edges dyed red. Stuttgart, Süddeutsches Verlags-Institut, 1895.

I, blank; II, series title: Schriften / des / Deutschen Lehrvereins für Naturkunde; volume half-title: I Band / unsere Vögel; III, volume title page; IV, blank; V, foreword by R. G. Lutz, series editor; VII, list of colored plates (here designated I-XII) and the 163 species they depict; XII, contents; 1, text to accompany plates; 75, appendix on aviculture; 99, index of German common names; 100, corrections. Contains chromolithographic plates (Tafeln) designated 1-12 depicting about 200 figures comprising 163 species. The plates are designated “Lith. Anst. Reichert & Wahler, Stuttgart” and are signed by Kull.

This is one of many popular turn-of-the century German books describing their common birds. These books contained chromolithographs and were printed in large numbers but seem always to have been quite scarce outside of Germany. The present work deals with 163 of Germany’s commonest birds for which it provides synoptic essays that comprise a description of the bird, its status in Germany, its nests and eggs, and its feeding habits.

A second edition was printed in 1911.

Listed by Wood (p. 430) and Bavarian and Berlin regional libraries. Not listed by AMNH, BM(NH), Cornell, Harvard, Melvyl, Oxford, Trinity, Yale, Zimmer.

Lemaire, C. L. (fl. mid 19^th century)

Histoire Naturelle / des / Oiseaux D'Europe ////// Première Partie. / Passereaux 23.6 x 14.9 cm. π²1-20⁴20*-20*****⁴[$1 signed as Liv. #]; 104 ll. Pp. (4)[1]2-203[204]. Contemporary gilt-ruled half red morocco, marbled sides. Spine with four raised ridges, gilt lettering in second and fourth compartments, gilt paneling in other three. Marbled endpapers. Companion binding to that of Oiseaux Exotiques. Paris, L. De Bure, (1837). First edition.

π1r, series title; Bibliothèque Zoologique; π1v, blank; π2r, title; π2v, blank; 1, avant-propos; 3, generalities of ornithology; 12, systematic text; 201, contents; 204, errata, printer designation: Imprimerie de Moessard. Contains engraved, hand-colored frontispiece or half-title and engraved, hand-colored plates 1-80 drawn and engraved by Pauquet.

This work was published in 20 livraisons, 1-20, each containing four colored plates. Five additional livraisons, 20*-20*****, without plates were presumably issued with the 20^th to complete the text.

The work was the third in a series called the Bibliothèque Zoologique and, together with its companion ornithological volume, Oiseaux Exotiques, according to Ronsil in his L'Art Français…(p. 56) "…nous offrent un bon exemple de vulgarisation zoologiqe." That is, they were intended for popularization rather than as serious scientific treatises. The present work covers passerine birds which, at that time included cuckoos, swifts, goatsuckers coraciiformes and woodpeckers in addition to the families it now comprises. Lemaire describes the criteria for the various genera as well as species accounts that give synonymy, description, distribution, nest and eggs and some life history for the more familiar birds.

The illustrations are interesting as they are pure hand-colored engravings without any etching or color printing. Some color printing was used in most contemporary French ornithological color plate. The firm Pauquet Frères was involved in the production of many color-plate books of the era. Some of the pictures from this and the companion volume were copied subsequently by James Andrews and published (first edition 1854-1856) in Beautiful Birds Described from the Manuscript of John Cotton by Robert Tyas.

The author may be the "Charles Lemaire" who wrote or coauthored several important botanical books in the mid 19^th century including Iconographie des Cactées.. and Flore des Serres et des Jardins de L'Europe….

This book and its companion volume, Oiseaux Exotiques, went through at least three later editions with approximate dates of 1845, 1864 and 1879. The later editions contained an extra section of 12 pages and two uncolored plates concerned with hunting and preparing birds. Strangely, all the later editions had, as senior author, Florent Prévost with Lemaire relegated to junior author status.

This original edition is uncommon. Casey Wood (p. 431) and Yale list it. Later editions only are listed by AMNH, Berkeley, BMNH, Harvard, Trinity and Zimmer. The work is unlisted by Cornell, Library of Congress, Oxford and the Smithsonian.

Lemaire, C. L. (fl. mid 19^th century)

Histoire Naturelle / des Oiseaux / Exotiques 23.6 x 14.9 cm. π²1-18⁴19²20⁴[$1 signed as numbered Liv.]; 80 ll. Pp. (4)[1]2-156. Contemporary gilt-ruled red half morocco with marbled sides. Spine with four raised ridges, gilt lettering in second and fourth compartments, gilt panels in other three. Marbled endpapers. Binding matched with that of companion volume, Oiseaux D'Europe. Paris, Pauquet, 1836.

π1r, series title: Bibliothèque Zoologique; πv, blank; π2r, title; π2v, printer designation: Imprimerie de Moessard; 1, avant-propos; 3, systematic text; 148, errata, additions; 149, contents (index of species names with original and first French references. Contains steel-engraved, hand-colored plates 1-80.

This volume was the second in the series, Bibliothèque Zoologique, the first having been devoted to butterflies. The third book in the series, Oiseaux D'Europe, can be considered a companion volume to this one (see my description of that work). About the two, Ronsil comments in L'Art Français …(p. 56) "Le premier represente de superbes oiseaux tropicaux…Dans l'ensemble ce sont deux ravissants petits ovuvrages…". The books are enhanced by the fact that the artist, Pauquet, did his own engraving. For this one, the most splendidly colored species were selected, for the most part parrots, hummingbirds, trogons, cotingas and birds-of-paradise. The pure hand coloring is brilliant and often heightened with gold. The fanciful positions of the birds are extremely artistic and beautiful if not exactly faithful to life. Peter Dance remarks , in The Art of Natural History (p.91) "A colored engraving of an animal adorning a high-class French book was a work of art, a jewel set down on the page..." This work is a paradigm for that description.

The short text reflects the lack of knowledge concerning most of these tropical birds. For each species, classification, the original reference, a description and the distribution are provided. This volume and its companion work also appeared in later editions dated approximately 1845, 1864, and 1879. The later editions were supplemented with an appendix containing 12 pages and two uncolored plates entitled "De la Chasse et de la Preparation des Oiseaux." They also differed from the first editions like this one in listing Florent Prévost as the senior author and the name of this work was altered by the substitution of Étrangers for Exotiques in at least one of them.

This first edition is listed by Harvard, Oxford, Wood, Yale and Zimmer. Only a later edition is present at AMNH, BMNH, Library of Congress, Smithsonian and Trinity. The book is lacking at Berkeley and Cornell.

Lemoine, J(ames) M(acpherson) (1825-1912)

Tableau Synoptique / de / L'Ornithologie / du / Canada: / Classification et nomenclature du "Smithsonian / Institution" de Washington 15.6 x 11.0 cm. No signatures. Pp. [1-3]4-24. Original printed blue wrappers with woodcut of eagle on upper cover. Québec, Des Presses À De Leger Brousseau, 1864.

1, Title; 2, blank; 3, systematic list; 23, author's note.

This little pamphlet lists French, English and Latin names for about 250 species found in Québec. It was adapted from and enumerated according to Baird's Catalogue of North American Birds Chiefly in the Museum of the Smithsonian Institution (1858). There are occasional added comments by the author as well as a note at the end.

Sir James Macpherson Lemoine was a prolific writer on Québec but birds must have been one of his earlier interests since he wrote an extensive "Ornithologie du Canada" that was published in 1860.

The present pamphlet is described as "very rare" by Casey Wood (p. 431). Apparently, the McGill copy was a photoreproduction of "the finest copy" in the Canadian National Museum at Ottawa. The British Museum of Natural History lists, in its on-line catalogue, a copy that is bound into his "Ornithologie du Canada" volume. The pamphlet is unlisted by all major American ornithological libraries. OCLC locates six copies. The present copy is in superb condition and was part of the Bradley Martin collection.

Léotaud, A(ntoine) (1814-1867)

Oiseaux / de / L'Ile de la Trinidad, / (Antilles) 24.6 x 15.7 cm. No signatures. Pp. (2 preliminary leaves)[I]II-XX (XIX misprinted XXI)(1 unpaginated leaf designated "Partie Descriptive" on recto, blank verso)[1]2-560(1 unpaginated leaf designated "Tables Alphabétiques" on recto, verso blank)[I₂]II₂-VIII₂[I₃]II₃-IV₃; 300 ll. Contemporary half red morocco with marbled boards. Spine with four gilt-decorated raised ridges, gilt lettering in second compartment. Marbled endpapers. Marbled edges. "ouvrage publié par souscription nationale", Port D'Espagne: Chronicle Printing Office, 1866. Bookplate of Sir Arthur Gordon.

First preliminary leaf: recto, half-title; verso blank; second preliminary leaf: recto, title, verso blank; I, preface; IX, list of Trinidadian birds; XV, general observations; 1, systematic accounts; 557, appendix; I₂-VIII₂, index of Latin names; I₃-IV₃, index of common (French) names. Unillustrated.

This book is the foundation of Trinidadian ornithology. Trinidad (including adjacent Tobago) differs from other Caribbean Islands in possessing a South American avifauna. It possesses many more species (more than 400 have now been recorded) than any of the other islands and is regarded as a good place for the bird student to experience an introduction to neotropical birds. When Léotaud, a French-trained physician, lived there, virtually the sum total of knowledge concerning the local bird life was a minor article Jardine had written on the birds of Tobago in 1846. Léotaud must have been a prodigious field worker. He lists 294 species, many of which he collected. For most, he provides synonymy, measurements, very detailed descriptions of each sex and stage and information on status, habitat, habits and often on nourishment, displays and nesting. He laments his lack of access to museum facilities but is lavish in his gratitude to Pucheran of the Paris Museum, with whom he apparently had a rewarding correspondence concerning specimens that he sent to Paris.

I know of no work in original descriptive ornithology of a fairly complex area that is more complete, and scholarly than this one.

Wood, p. 432; Zimmer, p. 385. Also present at AMNH, Harvard, Trinity, Yale. Lacking at Cornell.

Lesson, R. P. (1794-1849)

Histoire Naturelle des Colibris Suivie d’un Supplément à l’Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux-Mouches; Ouvrage Orné de Planches Dessinées par les Meilleurs Artistes, et Dedié à M. le Baron Cuvier 230 x 143 mm. π⁶ (blank, half-title, title, dedication to Cuvier, preface)1-12⁸ X²+1(table of Colibris, table of Oiseaux Mouches, blank)[$s 1, 2 signed]; 105ll. Pp. Blank[i-vii]viii-x1-192[193]194[195]196, blank. ). Modern red half-morocco and marbled boards by Starr Book works . Marbled edges. Paris, Artus Bertrand, (1830-1832

Contains 66 plates printed in color and finished by hand comprising 1-12, 12 bis, 13, 13 bis, 14-25 for the Colibris and 1-39 for the supplement on Oiseaux-Mouches. This copy is from the Boston Society of Natural History for which there is a blind stamp on the title page. The plates contain a small BSNH blind stamp that does not touch the image or printed portion.

This was the second of Lesson’s three fine works on hummingbirds. According to Ronsil in his Bibliographie (# 1774), the work was probably published in 14 livraisons with a publication date of December 1831 although livraisons 1-3 were issued in 1830, 4-12 in 1831 and 13 and subsequent parts in 1832. These works by Lesson contain plates that represent a paradigm of excellence for French color printing, yet in his L’Art Français, Ronsil mentions that fully two thirds of the copies he had examined contained hand-coloring without color printing. This copy contains very fine color printing and thus falls into the desirable category. All of the plates are printed by the firm of Rémond. Most of the original designs for the plates were drawn by J. G. Prêtre save for six that were done by Bévalet. Ten engravings were executed by Teillard, the remainder by Coutant. The plates were copied in other 19th century works, most notably in Jardine’s volumes on hummingbirds.

Lesson was an authority on classification yet his distinction between Colibris and Oiseaux-Mouches has mainly to do with the structure of beaks and tongues, is not definitive, and has not been maintained.

Ronsil, # 1774; Trinity, p. 146; Wood, p. 433; Yale, p. 169; Zimmer, p. 388.

Lesson, R. P. (1794-1849)

Traité d’Ornithologie ou Tableau Méthodique des Ordres, Sous-Ordres, Familles, Tribus, Genres, Sous-Genres, et Races d’Oiseaux 80 (printed on laid paper), 24 x 16 cm. Two volumes (text and atlas). (Vol. I.) π⁸**⁸ 1-41⁸ 42² [$1 signed]; 346 ll. Pp. [i-vii]viii-xii[xiii]xiv-xxii[xxiii]xxiv-xxxii[1]2-659 (pagination includes endpapers which contain printed material in each volume). Publisher’s printed and engraved blue boards. Uncut. Paris, F. G. Levrault, (1830-)1831.

i, half-title; iii, title; v, dedication; vii, preface; xiii, considérations sommaires; xxiii, tableau méthodique; 1-659, text. (Vol. II.) Planches. No signatures. Pp. [i-v]vi[vii]viii-xii. Six ll. i, half-title; iii, title; v, avertissement; vii, table des planches. Contains 119 plates numbered 1-119 and beautifully engraved, printed in color and finished by hand. Private library stamp partially removed from first page of each volume.

According to Zimmer, this work appeared in eight livraisons from February 1830 to June 1831. This is a work of considerable scholarly importance because in it, Lesson tried to classify all the species in the collection of the Paris Museum and in some instances devised his own system of discrimination. Most of the world’s known species at the time are classified and, for each, synonymy, description and distribution are described. Lesson was one of few serious ornithologists of that era who combined museum skills with field experience. He was the naturalist on the voyage of the Coquille (Duperry) and the first westerner to observe birds-of-paradise in their native habitat. He is best known for his popular works on hummingbirds and birds-of-paradise but this is a much more scholarly work than any of those. He was an extraordinarily prolific scholar and writer.

The illustrations in this work contain color printing as fine as any I have ever seen in an ornithological work. According to Ronsil in L’Art Français dans le Livre d’Oiseau (p. 43), they first appeared in the Dictionnaire des Sciences Naturelles, also published by Levrault between 1816 and 1830. Prêtre supplied the drawings for these plates which is unfortunate because he had little, if any, experience with live birds and his representations from stuffed figures lack veracity. The plates also bear the designation “Turpin dirext”. The engraving was done mostly by Massard and Guyard with a few plates each by six other engravers. Ronsil remarks that several plates are “ rehaussées d’or dans les beaux exemplaires”. In this magnificent copy, the figures of a bird-of-paradise, sunbird and jacamar are heightened with gold.

The colored atlas for the work is extremely rare.

Trinity, p.146 (lacks atlas); Wood, p. 433; Yale, p. 169; Zimmer, p. 387

Lesson, R(ené) P(rimevère) (1794-1849)

Manuel d'ornithologie / ou / description / des genres et des / principales espèces d'oiseaux Two volumes Laid paper, vertical chain lines. 13.7 x 8.6 cm. Contemporary red calf-backed marbled boards. Spine with four gilt-decorated and demarcated raised bands with gilt lettering in second, third, fourth compartments, blind tool decorations in first and fifth, and gilt roll in fifth. Marbled endpapers. Paris, Roret, 1828.

Tome Premier π²1-35⁶36²(-36₂)[$1 signed]; 213 ll. Pp. [i-iii]iv[1]2-421(1). I, Title; ii, blank; iii, avertissement (notice to the reader); 1, reflections on birds; 14, brief review of antecedent classification methods starting with Brisson in 1760; 67, author's method with detailed "description des genres et des principales espèces."

Tome Second π²1-36⁶[37]⁶[38]²1₂-3₂⁶; 244 ll. Pp. (4)[1]2-448[1₂]2₂-36₂. π1r, Half-title; π1v, advertisement for accompanying atlas to be sold separately; iii, title; iv, blank; 1, author's classification method, continued; 434, classification table; 1₂-36₂, book advertisements by Roret.

Lesson accomplished a great deal in a rather short lifetime. He was the physician-naturalist aboard the Coquille and the first westerner to see a bird-of-paradise in the wild. He wrote two highly regarded books on the exotic natural history he had observed on the voyage, as well as the first important monographs devoted solely to hummingbirds and to birds-of-paradise. In addition, he immersed himself seriously in the academic pursuit of classifying birds which is the subject of this uncommon little work. An atlas of 129 little plates designed to accompany these volumes was issued separately, colored or uncolored, and is usually, as here, lacking. The only one I've seen or heard of was that of Bradley Martin which was colored.

Wood, p. 433; Zimmer, p. 386. Also listed by AMNH, Cornell, Harvard, Trinity. Not listed by Yale. The listed copies all lack the atlas.

(Levaillant, François [1753-1824]) (translated by Mosbacher, Eric)

Exotic birds / parrots / birds of paradise / toucans 40.3 x 29.3 cm. Original publisher's blue-gray cloth with gilt bird of paradise on upper cover, gilt lettering on spine. Gray endpapers. Pictorial dust jacket. All printed matter on gray sheets. Nineteen unpaginated printed leaves on gray paper and 16 colored plates on white matte paper as described below. New York, the Viking Press, 1963. Published in England by André Deutsch Limited.

First leaf: recto, half-title; verso, blank.

Third leaf: recto-verso, anonymous explanatory introduction with brief biographies of Levaillant and Jacques Barraband (1767-1809).

Fourth through 19^th leaves, translation of Levaillant's text for accompanying plates.

Contains 16 unnumbered colored plates after Barraband (14) and Auguste (2) printed by color half-tone on one side only, of matte paper.

These fine plates of four parrots, four birds of paradise, three toucans, two touracos, two jays and a jacamar, are reproduced from color-printed engravings in Levaillant's Histoire naturelle des perroquets (1801-1805) and Histoire naturelle des oiseaux de paradis et des rolliers, suivie de celle des toucans et des barbus ([1801-]1806). Barraband was the best known French painter of birds of his time. Auguste, was Auguste Pelletier (active c. 1800-1847) who, in addition to some paintings for Levaillant, also contributed illustrations to Thomas Horsfield's Zoological Researches in Java and the neighboring islands

([1821-]1824). The engravers and printers for the original prints from which these plates were reproduced included, among others, Louis Bouquet and the firm of Langlois who also collaborated on some of the botanical plates for Redouté.

K. G. Lohse, the German printing company responsible for these splendid reproductions, also produced four other fine facsimile collections of 19^th century prints. These included three Ariel Press publications: Eva Mannering's Mr Gould's tropical birds (1955) and Adrian Thorpe's The birds of Edward Lear (1975) and The birds of Daniel Giraud Elliot (1979); as well as Hummingbirds and orchids of Mexico (1963) by Rafael Montes de Oca.

The selection of prints for this book is amusing because it includes two that have conspicuous errors. The blue jay has a blue iris (probably a glass eye introduced by the taxidermist) and the great jacamar has white primaries and outer tail feathers, perhaps because it was a partially albino individual. Levaillant's text for these generally little-known birds is little more than a written description of the picture and a statement of where the specimen was obtained.

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

Levine, Emanuel (editor) (b. 1921)

Bull’s Birds of / New York State 22.9 x 15.4 cm. Pp. [i-iv]v-xx[1-2]3-622(6, blanks); 324 ll. Original decorated cloth. Comstock Publishing Associates, Ithaca and London, 1998. First printing.

i, Half-title; iii, title; iv, publishing details; v, contents; vii, foreword by Governor George E. Pataki; ix, list of contributing authors; xv, history of the Federation of New York State Bird Clubs, Inc. by Stanley R. Lincoln, Past President; xvii, acknowledgments; 3, origin and structure of the book; 11, the physical environment by John Bull; 15, the ecozones of New York State; 29, bird habitats in New York State by Charles R. Smith and Shari K. Gregory; 42 the role of the Federation in conservation of New York birds: the past twenty years by Charles R. Smith; from glaciers to global warming: long-term changes in the birdlife of New York State by David W. Steadman; 72, whither taxonomy by Carole S. Griffiths; 74, historical review of the New York State checklist; 79, checklist of the birds of New York State; 93, species accounts; 577, bibliography; 611, index of English bird names; 617, index of scientific names. Contains about 30 text illustrations (four full-page) by Dale Dyer and three uncolored maps, all included in pagination. Also contains five full-page colored maps on two leaves not included in pagination.

This book was prepared under the auspices of the Federation of New York State Bird Clubs, Inc. and the American Museum of Natural History. It is the latest survey of birds in New York State following works by DeKay (1844), Eaton (1910-1914) and Bull (1974). Of course, sections of the state, particularly the New York City area, have been the subject of numerous other publications.

The general distribution as well as that within the state, areas and dates of breeding or of occurrence if it is not a breeder and maximal counts are given for each species. In addition, there is an interesting section entitled “Remarks” which includes diverse anecdotal information. The preliminary sections are intended to provide a framework for interpreting the material presented in the species accounts.

The editor, Manny Levine, and his wife Micky (Miriam) have been close friends of mine for more than 30 years. This scholarly and broadly based book reflects his breadth of vision as well as his extensive knowledge of birds.

Lichtenstein, (Hinrich Carl or Heinrich Karl [1780-1857])

Beitrag / zur ornithologischen Fauna von Californien / nebst / Bemerkungen über die Artkennzeichen der Pelicane und über / einige Vögel von den Sandwich-Inseln 28.0 x 22.7 cm. Laid paper. 4^o. Ggg-Kkk⁴Lll²[$1,2 signed]; 18 ll. Pp. [417]418-451(1). Late 20^th century half-brown buckram and gilt and brown marbled boards. (Abhand. Königl. Akad. Wiss. Berlin, 1838). Gelesen in der Akademie der Wissenschaften am 27 Juni, 1837.

417, title, introduction, general considerations and conclusions; 424, systematic accounts of 14 species including seven pelicans. Contains hand-colored lithographic plates (artist, lithographer not identified) I-V. III and V are slightly larger than the others and are partially folded. The plates are all designated "..Lichtenstein's Abb. über nordern Vögel"

This important and rare extract deals mainly with a selection of birds collected by F. Deppe who traveled from Matzlatan to Baja California and made a land journey of 125 miles ending in San Diego. He returned to Germany via Hawaii and collected a few birds there as well. The work also contains a classification of pelicans, the relationship to Herr Deppe's collection being, to me, unclear. According to Coues (first instalment, p. 676), seven new species are described including a motmot from Mexico and two Hawaiian honeycreepers which are very beautifully illustrated.

This is a rare work. Wood, p. 435. Also listed by AMNH, BMNH, Harvard. Not listed by Cornell, LOC, Melvyl, Oxford, Smithsonian, Trinity, Yale, Zimmer.

Lighton, Norman C(harles) K(ingsley) (1904-) (edited by A. V. Bird).

The paintings of / Norman Lighton / for Roberts / Birds of South Africa / plates from original paintings by Norman C K Lighton 46.6 x 33.1 cm. 58 Unpaginated leaves as described below. Publisher's gray buckram with gilt lettering to upper cover and flat spine. Cape Town, South African Natural History Publication Company, (1977).

First leaf: recto, half-title; verso, blank.

Second: recto, title, partly printed in red; verso: copyright without date; credits: lithographic reproductions, Hirt & Carter (Pty) Limited, Cape Town; printing, Creda Press (Pty) Limited, Cape Town; binding, E. D. Seabrook, Cape Town; ISBN 0 620 02027 X.

Third: recto, uncolored photograph of C. S. Barlow, chairman, John Voelker Book Fund; verso, list of subscribers for "first" and "subscribers'" editions (this volume standard, unsubscribed edition).

Fourth: recto, subscribers (cont.); verso, preface by C. S. Barlow.

Fifth: recto: editorial notes by Bird; verso, biography of Lighton with photograph.

Sixth: recto, biography (cont.); verso, blank.

Seventh: recto, blank; verso, letter-press for plate 2.

Eighth-58^th: 51 colored plates (2-30, 33-39, 41-47, 49-56) printed in color half-tone on recto with facing enumeration and identifying letter-press printed on verso of preceding plate.

Birds of South Africa, by Austin Roberts (1883-1948), originally published in 1940, has been issued in numerous editions and printings and remains (2003) the icon of South African ornithological guides quite comparable to Roger Tory Peterson's field guide for North America. It was illustrated with 56 colored plates by Norman Lighton but these plates contained many species on a small page and were not well printed. Bird decided to go back to the original paintings and reproduce them in large format with better color printing. Of the original 56, five were either lost or deemed unsatisfactory for reproduction. The remaining 51 are here reproduced very well at about two-thirds the size of the original paintings and the book is a beautiful one.

Lighton admitted to being very much influenced by Claude Gibney Finch-Davies, not surprising since he worked on these for three and one-half years at the Transvaal Museum where Finch-Davies' original paintings were located. This "influence" was manifested by the fact, never explicitly stated, that many of the figures of birds by Lighton were copied directly from Finch-Davies. This is of particular interest because Roberts, under whose direction Lighton was working, had been an enemy of Finch-Davies helping to expose his theft of prints from the museum. Finch-Davies committed suicide because of the resulting humiliation. Lighton's real originality here comes from the arrangements on a page of the many individuals he was required to depict. Martin Woodcock, in a note in one of the volumes of The Birds of Africa, remarks that this is one of the most difficult tasks facing an illustrator who desires that his work be artistic. It has never been more successfully accomplished than in these plates by Lighton.

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

Lilford, Lord (Powys, Thomas Littleton [1833-1896])

Coloured Figures / of the / Birds of the British Islands Seven volumes. 25.2 x 17.0 cm. All leaves mounted on linen hinges. Contemporary gilt-ruled three-quarter red morocco, red marbled boards. Spine with five gilt-ruled and demarcated raised bands with gilt lettering in second, fourth and sixth compartments. Matching marbled endpapers. TEG. London, R. H. Porter, 1885-1897. (First edtion). Upper paste-down slips London Zoological Society acknowledging bequest of this copy from Major H. Jones, an original subscriber, benefactor of the Zoological Society, and a well-known painter of birds, vide infra, on April 30^th, 1921. Rubber stamp of Zoological Society on title pages. This copy contains 430 instead of the usual complement of 421 colored plates (vide infra)

Volume I. Signatures and pagination only for preliminaries. a-b⁸c⁴[$1, 2 signed]; 20 ll + 56 ll of text; total 76 ll. Pp. [i-vii]viii-xxxix(1)[1-112]. i, Title; ii, engraved printer's designation: Taylor and Francis; iii, dedication to Alfred Newton; iv, blank; v, contents of volume I; vi, blank; vii, preface by Newton; xxii, note by Osbert Salvin; xxv, collation of (two) editions; xxvii, list of (523 accounting for 528 copies) subscribers; xxxvi, blank; xxxvii, list of plates in volume I numbered 1-51 here only, not on plates; [1-112], systematic accounts, Aquila Chrysaetos-Strix flammea. Contains uncolored photogravure portrait of Lilford by Swan Electric Engineering Company after Bassano. Also contains 52 unnumbered colored plates including duplicate of White-tailed Sea Eagle from second edition.

Volume II. [a]⁴b²(-b2); 5 ll + 60 ll of text; total 65 ll. Pp. [i-v]vi-ix(1)[1-120]. i, Title; ii, printer designation; iii, contents; iv, blank; v, collation; vii, list of plates 1-54; [1-120], systematic accounts, Geccinus viridis-Troglodytes parvulus. Contains 55 colred plates including second edition duplicate of Magpie.

Volume III. [a]⁴b²(-b2); 5 ll + 65 ll of text; total 70 ll. Pp. [i-v]vi-ix(1)[1-130]. i, Title; ii, printer designation; iii, contents; iv, blank; v, collation; vii, list of plates 1-66; [1-130], systematic accounts, Accentor collaris-Anthus richardi. Contains 66 colored plates.

Volume IV. [a]⁴b²(-b2); 5 ll + 77 ll of text; total 82 ll. Pp. [i-v]vi-ix(1)[1-154]. i, Title; ii, printer designation; iii, contents; iv, blank; v, collation; vii, list of plates 1-65; [1-154], systematic accounts, Otocorys alpestris-Grus virgo. Contains 66 colored plates including extra of Turtle Dove.

Volume V. [a]⁴b²(-b2); 5 ll + 69 ll text; total 74 ll. Pp. [i-v]vi-ix(1). I, Title; ii, printer designation; iii, contents; iv, blank; v, collation; vii, list of plates 1-59; [i-138], systematic accounts, Otis tarda-Numenius borealis. Contains 63 colored plates including second edition duplicates of Golden Plover, Avocet, Oyster-catcher and Black-winged Stilt.

Volume VI. [a]⁴b₂(-b2); 5 ll + 75 ll text; total 80 ll. Pp. [i-v]vi-ix(1). i, Title; ii, printer designation; iii, contents; iv, blank; v, collation; vii, list of plates 1-65; [1-150], systematic accounts, Hydrochelidon nigra-Fulmarus glacialus. Contains 65 colored plates.

Volume VII. [a]⁴b²(-b2); 5 ll + 72 ll text; 1²2⁸3⁴(-3₄); 13 ll; total 90 ll. I, Title; ii, printer designation; iii, contents; iv, blank; v, collation; vii, list of plates 1-61; [1-144], systematic accounts, Phalacrocorax carbo-Mergus cucullatus; 1₁r-1₂r, appendix, list of birds said to have occurred but not figured; 1₂v, blank; 2₁r-3₃v, index. Contains 63 colored plates including second edition duplicates of Gannet, Spoonbill.

This work was published in 36 parts and was finished by Osbert Salvin after Lilford's death on June 17^th, 1896. The second edition was published 1891-1897. Parts 1, 6, and 7-19 of the first edition were reprinted with corrections for the second edition and some of the plates were altered slightly. The publication dates of the plates for each edition are bound into each volume. This was possible because publication of the second edition caught up with that of the first and parts 28-36 appeared simultaneously for each. The parts could not be reassembled and bound until the entire work had been completed. There were 550 copies of the first edition at a subscription price of £17. 2s compared with 450 copies of the second at £22. 10s. A fire destroyed 90 copies of the second edition which is noticeably scarcer than the first. Howard Radclyffe has written a very informative short account of this work. (Arch. Nat. Hist. 21 (1), pp. 11-16 (February, 1994)

This is a work that is defined by its illustrations. The text accounts include only a brief synonymy/bibliography and discussion of status. However, the very particular Lilford made every effort to assemble the finest possible collection of colored plates at a manageable price. Six lithography firms participated although W. Greve of Berlin contributed most of the chromolithographs and Mintern Bros. were responsible for the plates that were hand-colored. The other firms included Chromo-Litho Art Studio, Hanhart, Judd & Co., and West, Newman. The usual complement of plates was 421. The artists were Archibald Thorburn , 265; Thorburn after Wolf, 4; John Gerrard Keulemans, 139 (14 neither designated nor inscribed); George E. Lodge, 6; Edward Neale, 5; William Foster, 1; Joseph Smit, 1. Of the 421 plates, 359 in the first edition were chromolithographs, the other 62 hand-colored. Most of these were plates by Keulemans (46) but there were also five each by Thorburn, Lodge and Neale and one by Smit.

This copy contains nine extra plates for a total of 430. Eight of these are duplicates from the second edition of the plates identified by Mullens & Swann, (p. 354-355) as being noticeably superior to their counterparts in the first edition. The other, the Turtle Dove by Thorburn was issued with Lilford's permission in a print run of 100 copies specifically for subscribers who complained about Lodge's illustration of the same species. This is not considered an integral part of the book but its presence is an asset. Thorburn also did an extra plate of a Marsh Warbler to replace the one that Keulemans had mistakenly drawn from a Reed Warbler. For some reason, this plate by Thorburn was not included and, like that of the Turtle Dove, is rarely found and not considered an integral part of the book. It is not present here.

In the early 20^th century, this book was as highly valued and priced comparably to Gould's five-volume set on The Birds of Great Britain. Nissen (p. 65) remarks of it "…vielleicht die schönste und volkommenste ornithologische Iconographie überhaupt." Inexpensive reproductions of its plates have maintained their popularity throughout the 20^th century in such works as Coward's Birds of the British Isles (1919-1926) and Benson's Observer's Book of British Birds (1937), each of which has been reissued innumerable times.

This copy has an interesting association, having originally belonged to Major Henry Jones (1838-1921), an artist who bequeathed 1,200 water colors to the Zoological Society. Jones contributed 11 plates to William Beebe's Monograph of the Pheasants (1918-1922) and then was apparently forgotten until David Bannerman used his pictures for The Birds of Tropial West Africa (1930-1951) and The Birds of Cyprus (1958). The Zoological Society issued a commemorative collection of some of his paintings in 1976 and another collection, The Wildfowl Paintings of Henry Jones, was published in 1987.

Wood, p. 436 (first edition). Zimmer, p. 562 (second edition). This work is present in all major ornithological collections.

Linnean Society of London

Catalogue / of the / printed books and pamphlets / in the library of the / Linnaean Society of London / New Edition 21.6 x 14.1 cm. π³A-3G⁸3H⁶[$1 signed]; 433 ll. Pp. (6)1-860. Contemporary blue cloth with black lettering to spine. London, (Linnaean Society), 1925.

π1r, Half-title; π1v, blank; π2r, title;π2v, printer designation: Turnbull & Spears, Edinburgh; π3r, preface by B. Daydon Jackson, General Secretary in which he identifies Spencer Savage as the bibliographer; π3v, blank; 1, catalogue; 847, supplement of late entries and re-catalogued titles.

This is a listing of a large and eclectic collection of books on natural history, some of which came from Linneus's own personal library. The information about each work is scanty and includes author, title, date and place of publication and a rough designation (e. g. "4to") of size. Occasionally multivolume works are broken down by volume but virtually no bibliographic details are given, not even an indication of pagination. However, there are some very rare books in this library including ornithological works. This type catalog has been rendered completely obsolete by the placement of library catalogs on-line.

This edition listed by AMNH, Harvard, Trinity, Yale. Not listed by Cornell.

Linnaei, Caroli (1707-1778) (Linné, Carl von, Linnaeus)

Systema / Naturae / per / Regna tria Naturae, / secundum / Classe, Ordines, / Genera, Species, / cum / Characteribus, Differentiis, / Synonymis, Locis. // Editio Decima, Reformata Two volumes. 19.5 x 12.5 cm. Laid paper. 8^o. Catchwords. Comtemporary full brown calf. Spines with five raised ridges, gilt tan calf labeling piece in second compartment, gilt volume designation in third compartment, elaborate gilt designs (slightly different in the two volumes) in other four. Color-patterned paste-downs in first volume, marbled paste-downs in second. Endpapers lacking in both volumes. Holmiae, Impensis Direct. Laurentii Salvii. This copy was in the collection of Daniel Webster Evans (bookplate laid in loosely), the son of Evan Morton Evans who amassed one of the most significant ornithological collections of the 20^th century.

Tomus I. 1758. π²A-Eee⁸Fff⁴[$1-5, signed]; 414 ll. Pp. (4)[1-5]6-823[824]. π1r, Title; π1v, "O Jehova.."; π2r, dedication; π2v, "Magnus est Deus…"; 1, list of editions; 3, introduction; 5, imperium naturae; 9, regnum animale; 14, classis I, mammalia; 78, classis II, aves; 194, classis III, amphibia; 239, classis IV, pisces; 339, classis V, insecta; 641, classis VI, vermes; 822, appendix; 824, emmendanda, addenda.

Tomus II. 1759. π2Ggg-Ssss[$1-5 signed]; 282 ll. Pp. (4)825-1384. π1r, title; π1v, "Opera Jehovae.."; π2r-π2v, preface; 825, regnum vegetabile; 841, classis I, monandria; 845, II, diandria; 857, III, triandria; 883, IV, tetrandria; 903, V, pentandria; 971, VI, hexandria; 994, VII, heptandria; 996, VIII, octandria; 1009, IX, enneandria; 1011, X, decandria; 1041, XI, dodecandria; 1052, XII, icosandria; 1067, XIII, polyandria; 1089, XIV, didynamia; 1124, XV, tetradynamia; 1138, XVI, monadelphia; 1151, XVII, didelphia; 1182, XVIII, polyadelphia; 1186, XIX, syngenesia; 1140, XX, gynandria; 1253, XXI, monoecia; 1281, XXII, dioecia; 1300, XXIII, polygamia; 1316, XXIV, cryptogamia; 1353, appendix; 1357, genera plantarum, nova addenda; 1384, errata.

This tenth edition of Linnaeus is the single most important contribution ever made in the field of zoological classification. In it, he lists every species of animal then known withits habitat, references to antecedent literature, description and, for the first time, provides a comprehensive, all encompassing system of binomial designation. It thus represents the origin of modern taxonomy and zoological nomenclature. The part devoted to plants is less significant since he had dealt similarly with them in previous editions of the work.

Class II of the animal kingdom, Aves (Vol. I, pp. 78-193), is divided into six Ordines: Acciptres, Picae, Anseres, Grallae, Gallinae, and Passeres. These are further divided into 63 Genera and approximately 553 species.

This highly important edition is quite uncommon and rarely seen for sale. It is absent from the Ayer, McGill and Trinity collections. It is present at AMNH, Cornell and Yale and Harvard lists four copies.

Linnean Society of London

Transactions / of the / Linnean Society / Volume IV 29.2 x 23.0 cm. Text on laid paper, plates on wove paper. 4to. Catchwords. Watermark “97”. π[A]⁴B-Qq⁴[$1, 2 signed]; 157 ll. Pp.[i-iv]v-vii[viii-ix(1)[1]2-304. Old blue paper covered boards. Uncut, unopened. London, / printed by J. Davis / sold at the Society’s House…./ and / by John White, Fleet Street, 1798.

i, Half-title; ii, blank; iii, title; iv, blank; v, contents; viii, errata; ix, directions for placing plates; 1, text including articles I-XXIV. Contains engraved plates 1-22 including five hand-colored, one partially hand-colored and 16 uncolored of which one folding. Also contains a folding table (vide infra) not included in pagination.

Publication of this venerable journal began in 1791. The journal always maintained the highest quality, not only in terms of the excellence of its scientific articles, but also as regards the layout, printing and graphic material. Although the main emphasis has always been on botany, other areas of natural history have also received attention. In the present volume, four of the 24 articles are ornithological, and the two most extensive of these, those on Sussex birds by Markwick and on the tracheas of birds by Latham and Romsey, have remained well-known. The four ornithological articles are:

Markwick, William (d.1812[?]) Aves Sussexienses; or, a catalogue of birds found in the county of Sussex, / with remarks Pp. 1-30. Contains uncolored engraved plate 1 and a folding table with the dates of arrival and departure of various species not included in pagination. This work can be considered the first substantial county avifauna. Markwick lists 175 species with an indication of their county status and detailed notes on many of them. The tabular summary of migration data is also precocious. Markwick was an acquaintance of Gilbert White and, more or less, did for Sussex what White did for Selbourne. OCLC locates 23 copies of this work, 22 of which are in microform.

G.(eorge) Montagu (1749-1815) Descriptions of three rare species of British birds Pp. 35-43. Contains engraved partially colored plate 2. Montagu was to become well known for his Ornithological Dictionary published in 1802 and its Supplement in 1813. I possess a specially colored presentation copy to John Latham of the latter. In the present work, Montagu discusses the wood wren, Sylvia sylvicola (now wood warbler); the phayrelarn sandpiper, Tringa nigricans (now purple sandpiper), and the rock lark, Alauda petrosa, now rock rock pipit. OCLC locates 22 copies, all in microform.

John Latham (1740-1833), L. S. Romsey An essay on the tracheae or windpipes of various kind of birds Pp. 90-128. Contains uncolored engraved plates 9-16. This article is amongst the early and most detailed pinpointing the windpipe as an important consideration for the taxonomy and classification of birds. As a physician, Latham probably had more interest and knowledge of internal organs than did most individuals concerned with classification of birds. OCLC locates 28 copies of which 22 are in microform.

Davies, Major-General Thomas Account of a new species of Muscicapa, from New South Wales. Pp. 240-242 Contains hand-colored engraved plate 21. The author sent the specimen to Dr. Shaw who named it Muscicapa malachura, soft-tailed flycatcher. The bird is now known as Stipiturus malachurus, the southern emu-wren. The present article seems to be the first concerned with this extraordinary genus. The spectacular appearance of the bird, well conveyed by the superb plate, must have aroused much interest.

Linnean Society of London, Vol. XIII.

The / transactions / of / the Linnean Society / of / London / Volume XIII 28 x 22 cm. Wove paper. Catchwords. [A]⁶B-2M⁴2N²2O-4M⁴4N²[$1, 2 signed]326 ll. [i-ii]iii-vi [i₂-ii₂]iii₂-iv₂[v₂-vi₂][1]2-637[638-640]. Old half-tan buckram, blue board sides. London, printed by Richard Taylor / sold at the Society’s House, Soho-Square; / and by Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, Paternoster-Row, 1822. Bookplate of Bowdoin College Library on upper paste-down and its blindstamp on title page.

i, Title; ii, blank; iii, contents Part I and Part II; i2, title page for “part the first” dated 1821; ii2, blank; iii2, contents part I;, v2, directions for placing the plates; vi2, blank. 1, articles I-XVII;[275], title page for “part the second” dated 1822;[276, blank]; 277, articles XVIII-XXVIX; 628, catalogue of the library of the Linnean Society; 633, list of donors to the library…; 636, donations to the Museum of the Linnean Society; 638, directions for the placing of the plates of the thirteenth volume; 640, printer designation and logo, Richard Taylor. Contains engraved plates I-XXII, XXV-XXX of which one folding, six colored (five hand-colored, one color-printed in aquatint). Plates XXIII and XXIV are cited in the list of plates for the first part where it is stated that they “will be delivered with part II”. It is not clear to me that they were ever actually issued.

Most of the plates were engraved by “I. Curtis”. One, plate, VII, of a bat was drawn by him and engraved in very fine aquatint. Several fine animal pictures are engraved after C. Hamilton Smith. Eight engravings with aquatint by J. Basirc are after Franz Bauer including one, plate XV, Rafflesia arnoldi, which is superbly color-printed in aquatint. There are three colored plates of pratincoles for which the artist is not designated although Curtis is the engraver.

The ornithological contributions in this volume are:

Temminck, C.(oenraad)J.(acob)(1770-1858). Account of some new species of birds of the Genera Psit- / tacus and Columba, in the Museum of the Linnean Society Pp. 107-130. Save for the title, this article is written in French. Most of the specimens described had been collected in Australia by the botanist, Robert Brown. Ten species of parrots and six species of doves are described, presumably for the first time. Ghe article is not illustrated.

Leach, William Elford 1790-1836. Descriptions of three species of the Genus Glareola Pp. 131-132. Contains hand-colored engraved plates XII-XIV. Describes in Latin, three species of pratincoles, two apparently for the first time.

Horsfield, Thomas (1773-1859) Systematic arrangement and descriptions of birds from the / island of Java Pp. 133-200. I possess an extract of this article which I believe is the single most important contribution to the ornithology of southeast Asia. Horsfield, an American physician, describes, mainly in Latin, about 205 species, as many as 71 of which may be new. The specimens were collected by him between 1811 and 1817. The article is unillustrated.

Raffles, Sir Thomas Stamford (1781-1826) Second part of the descriptive catalogue of a zoological / collection made in the island of Sumatra and its vicinity. Aves. Pp. 277-340. Raffles describes a collection apparently made by two Frenchmen whom he subsequently dismissed. 157 species of birds are enumerated with some notes concerning appearance, distribution and habits. Raffles was at one time governor-general of Java and is credited with founding the city of Singapore.

Lippens, Léon (1911-), and Henri Wille (1926-) (photographs by Hubert Lehaen)

Les Oiseaux / du Zaïre 33.0 x 24.3 cm. Pp. [1-10]11-509]510-511](1). Original publisher's olive cloth with gilt outline of Zaïre on upper cover gilt lettering to spine. Olive endpapers. Pictorial dust jacket. Tielt (Belgium), Editions Lannoo, (1976, from colophon).

1-2, Blank; 3, half-title; 4, colored frontispiece; 5, title; 6, presentation by Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu Wa Za Banga, President de la République du Zaïre; 8, copyright "La Présidence de la République du Zaïre"; ISBN 90 209 0653 4; printed in Tielt by Lannoo; 9, contents; 11, avant-propos; 13, introduction, la mission ornithologique de la présidence1973-1974; 16, world-wide interest in the birds of Zaïre; 32, comparison of avifauna of Zaïre with those of other African countries; 36, en guise de conclusion; 40, references (36 entries); 45, systematic accounts, Podiceps ruficollis-Linergus olivaceus, species 1-1086; 499, index of Latin names; 505, index of French names; 511, colophon: "Le present livre a ete realise a l'initiative du Citoyen President Mobutu Sese Seko"(sic including absence of accents); printed by l'Imprimerie Lanno, Tielt, Belgium; photographs reproduced by Photogravure Steurs, Anvers (Belgium); Printing and binding finished in 1976. Contains; uncolored map of route of ornithological expedition; uncolored African distribution maps 1-1086; uncolored half-tone photograph of Mobutu; about 600 unnumbered photographs (two full-page) printed in color half-tone throughout text.

This is a splendid production that went relatively unnoticed while slipping out of print. It derives largely from an ornithological expedition carried out from June 1973 through May 1974 and called the "Mission Ornithologque de la Présidence". The seven members of the expedition comprised Wille, his wife, the photographer Hubert Lehaen, and four Zaïrians but not Lippens a well known Belgian ornithologist. The expedition added three new species to the national list and 11,000 photographs were taken that included 430 species of birds. From the 11,000 photographs, 591 were selected for the book including 577 of birds depicting 398 species. The other pictures show representative biotypes. These photographs are all the property of the Présidence. In addition, pictures of 17 other species apparently not taken during the expedition, were used. The work enumerates all 1,086 species known for the country, provides an African distribution map for each, describes the locations in Zaïre where it can be found, and supplies very brief descriptions and , where known, life histories and nidification. The photographs were taken either from blinds or after mist netting. 357 Species were captured in mist nets. The work also provides a brief discussion of the species variation relative to topography and compares the national avifauna with those of other African nations.

This is the third important comprehensive contribution to the ornithology of the former Belgian Congo. The others are those of Chapin and of Schouteden.

There is much fawning flattery paid to President (General) Mobuto and it is obvious that it must have been very difficult to obtain permission to do the work and that Mobutu must have enjoyed some or all of its profits if there were any.

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

Littler, Frank Mervyn

A handbook / of the / birds of Tasmania / and its dependencies 23.7 x 15.7 cm. π²[1]⁸2-16⁸17⁸(-17₂)[$1 signed]; 131 ll. Pp. (2)[i-iii]iv-xviii[1]2-242. Original tan cloth-backed printed gray boards with price of 4/- on upper cover. Launceston, Tasmania, by the author, 1910. Contemporary review from "The Examiner" laid in loosely. Bookplate of Clifford Brodie Frith, Australian natural history photographer, on upper pastedown. Inscribed by author and dated 23 May, 1910 on half-title.

π1r, Half-title; π1v, blank; i, title; ii, blank; iii, preface; v, introduction; vii, systematic index; xvii, list of illustrations; 1, specific accounts, Circus gouldi-Biziura lobata, comprising more than 200 species; 227, appendix, extract from Tasmanian game protection act of 1907; 237, vernacular index; 242, printer designation: Walker, May and Co., Printers, Melbourne. Contains 49 unnumbered, uncolored, half-tone photographic images, many by H. C. Thompson, printed on one side only of 42 plates not included in pagination.

This is the first full volume devoted to Tasmanian birds although the first list of its birds was published by T. J. Ewing in 1855 and Vincent Legge had issued a subsequent check-list. The author claims that there are 21 "peculiar" of "insular" forms and four more that occur only on the dependencies but most of these are not now considered full species. Each account contains the following: a description of male, female and young with measurements; a description of nests and eggs and of the breeding season for breeding birds (about 110 species); global geographical distribution; a section titled "observations" that includes field notes relating to local distribution, dates, behavior and life history.

Wood, p. 439; Zimmer, p. 403. Listed by AMNH, Cornell, Harvard, Trinity, Yale.

Littlewood, Cyril (Ovenden, D. W., illustrator; Kimball, T. L., foreword)

The world's / vanishing / birds 27.8 x 20.8 cm. Pp. [1-4]5-62[63-64]; 32 ll. Original blue cloth with white lettering on spine. Attractive and imaginative pictorial dust jacket. New York, Arco Publishing Company Inc., 1972. Printed in Great Britain.

1, Half-title; 2, blank; 3, title; 4, publication data; 5, contents; 6, introduction; 7, foreword; 8, Africa and Asia minor; 14, the Americas; 28, Asia; 38, Australasia; 46, Europe; 52, oceans and islands. Contains 28 unnumbered full-page colored plates depicting 60 species all included in pagination. Also contains 28 distribution maps.

Littlewood was director of the Youth Services division of the World Wildlife Fund and he explains in the introduction that this volume and its companion book on mammals are intended for "school and public libraries" so it is not surprising that the work is written at a popular level. It covers 60 species from the various biogeographical areas of the world. A brief history, description and distribution is given for each species along with a distribution map at global level and a colored picture. The plates are rather nicely drawn, and the color printing, though obviously inexpensively done, is still presentable.

Although written only about 30 years ago, the book seems dated since the DDT-related scare concerning raptor populations has been reversed and species such as the Peregrine and Eurasian Sparrowhawk could hardly now considered to be "vanishing". The Trumpeter Swan as well has increased significantly and no longer merits inclusion in a book devoted to rare birds. None-the-less, this work contains attractive illustrations of many rare and uncommon birds.

The dust jacket for this volume is unusual and eye-catching, a densely packed and unlikely mélange of rare birds flying over what might be construed as an island mass. This jacket may have inspired the cover illustration for the later, and much more important, Threatened Birds of the World published by Lynx Edicions in 1999.

Trinity, p. 149. Absent from on-line catalogs of Harvard, Yale, Cornell and AMNH.

Lodge, George (Edward) (18601954) (editor, Savory, John [1936-])

George / Lodge / artist naturalist 24.6 x 19.0 cm. Pp. [1-5]6-118. Original publisher's gray cloth, gilt lettering to spine. Blue-gray endpapers. Pictorial dust jacket with price of £25 on upper flap. London, Croom Helm (1986).

1, Half-title; 2, uncolored frontispiece; 3, title; 4, copyright 1986; ISBN 0-7099-3366-5; typesetter designation: Leaper & Gard Ltd, Bristol; 5, contents; 6, quotation from obituary; 7, acknowledgements; 8, blank; 9, introduction by Savory; 27, biography by David Bannerman; 45, changing methods of book illustration by Christine Jackson; 63, Lodge the falconer by Phillip Glasier; 77, Lodge the artist by Donald Watson; 95, some observations on painting birds by Lodge; 113, pictures exhibited at the Royal Academy by Lodge; 114, bibliography of books and journals illustrated by Lodge. Contains colored plates 1-48, printed in half-tone on both sides of 24 leaves and uncolored half-tone figures 1-73 (14 full-page), all included in pagination.

This interesting and attractive book examines Lodge from various perspectives and provides a large number of color plates reproducing paintings in gouache and oil that had not been previously published. The book was originally envisioned in the mid 1970s by the "George Lodge Trust" of which Bannerman and Watson were trustees and shortly before his own death in 1979, Bannerman wrote the brief biography of his friend that appears here. Watson, a fine Scottish wildlife artist, has contributed a chapter of artistic appraisal which is most illuminating. Moreover, at the end of the chapter he supplies a list with dates of wildlife artists who worked in the 19^th century. Christine Jackson's chapter on changing methodologies for reproducing graphics in book illustration is certainly germane to assessing Lodge's work.

I learned from this book that Lodge was betrayed by most of his commissioned colored pictures of birds. They never exhibited the force and ambiance that one sees in the paintings reproduced here. Furthermore, Lodge's best published work resulted from when he did his own wood engravings and these were never colored, and were easily overlooked. Lodge's wood engravings of birds have never been surpassed by anyone and many examples are reproduced in this book.

Lodge, George E(dward) (1860-1954)

Memoirs of an / artist naturalist 25.4 x 17.5 cm. π⁴A-M⁴[$1 signed]; 52 ll. Pp. [i-iv]v-vii(1)[1]2-96. Original publisher's green cloth with gilt lettering to spine. TEG, others uncut. Dust jacket with mounted color plate on upper cover and original price of 31/6 on upper flap. London and Edinburgh, Gurney and Jackson, 1946.

i, Half-title; ii, blank; iii, title; iv, printer designation: Oliver and Boyd Ltd., Edinburgh; v, contents; vi, blank; vii, list of illustrations; 1, hawks and hawking; 42, woodland and marsh; 57, some Shetland memories; 62, memories of game birds; 79, some observations on painting birds; 95, glossary of hawking terms. Contains 24 unnumbered plates (16 colored) printed on one side only, facing tissue guards with letter-press, the plates and guards not included in pagination. Also contains uncolored half-tone text figures 1-2.

Lodge was a prolific provider of illustrations for ornithological works during his long life but his favorite subjects were raptors and game birds and he was both falconer and huntsman. While in his eighties and nineties, he provided more than 400 colored plates for David Bannerman's voluminous Birds of the British Isles (1953-1963) and it is interesting to read in the present book of his enthusiasm, at age 85, for that project. His thoughts about painting birds are especially interesting. This is the only book that Lodge wrote.

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

Lodge, George Edward (1860-1954) (Fleming, Charles A.[lexander] [1916-])

George Edward Lodge / the / unpublished / New Zealand bird / paintings 35.0 x 26.6 cm. Pp. [i-iv]v-xiv1-409(1). Original publisher's blue buckram-backed faux brown leather. Gilt lettering on spine. Beige endpapers. Pictorial dust jacket. Wellington, Nova Pacifica in association with the National Museum of New Zealand, 1982.

i, Half-title; ii, colored frontispiece, duplicate of plate 72; iii, title; iv, "First Published 1982"; copyright; ISBN 0-908603-09-6; credits: design and production, Publication Graphics Ltd., Wellington; printing and binding coordinated by L. P. & Associates, Hong Kong; v, contents; vi, list of plates; xi, foreword by Sir Peter Scott; xii, blank; xiii, preface by Dr. J. C. Yaldwyn, Director, National Museum; 1, introduction; 13, history of birds in New Zealand; 28, acknowledgments; 29-385(1), plates and text; 387, references (approximately 310); 395, general index including common and scientific names. Contains color half-tone plates 1-89, so enumerated in list and on verso of plate as well as its accompanying text but not on plate itself. Specific letter-press on obverse of plate with single pages of text preceding and following each plate leaf. Also contains an unnumbered uncolored plate associating fossil birds with geological eras, an uncolored text photograph of Lodge and an uncolored text illustration of the drift of Gondwanaland.

George Lodge was amongst the most prolific of the late Victorian ornithological artists and was responsible for illustrations in numerous books including more than 400 done when he was in his eighties for Bannerman's Birds of the British Isles (1953-1963). The pictures for the present book were drawn by him from museum specimens around 1915 but the anticipated publication did not materialize due to lack of funding and the artwork lay in storage in New Zealand for more than half a century. According to Fleming, these plates illustrate about 142 of New Zealand's 339 indigenous species and subspecies. Fleming's text deals exclusively with the illustrated birds and is historically oriented. Reference is made to the first published description of each species and to early illustrations portraying it. In addition, there is much informed discussion of taxonomy and insular evolution.

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

Logan, Peter B.

Audubon / America’s greatest naturalist and / his voyage of discovery to Labrador 25.3 x 17.8 cm. Pp. [i-x]xi-xviii[1-2]3-732X. Brown cloth backed blue cloth. Color pictorial dust jacket with design of Atlantic Puffin on upper cover. Half-tone uncolored maps on pastedowns and endpapers. San Francisco, Ashbryn Press, 2016.

i, Half title; 2, blank; ii, title with uncolored design of Pomarine Jaeger; 4, copyright 2016; ISBN 978-0-9972282-1-2; first edition, first printing; printed in the United States of America; v, dedication; vi, blank; vii, contents; 1, text; 357 epilogue; 437, notes; 665, bibliography (more than 700 items); 695, acknowledgments; 699, illustration credits; 703, index; Xr, various credits including Book and jacket design by Richard Hendel Chapel hill, North Carolina; Xl, blank. Contains eight uncolored glossy leaves each printed on both sides with two or three portraits of relevant historical figures numbered 1-34; 24 colored glossy leaves printed on both sides mostly reproductions from the elephant folio, numbered I-LI. The glossy leaves are not included in pagination. Also contains about 13 unnumbered, uncolored maps in text drawn by Jeffrey Ward.

Loke, Wan Tho (1915) (foreword by Malcom MacDonald [1901-])

A company of / birds 24.7 x 18.5 cm. [A]⁸B-L⁸[$1 signed]; 88 ll including terminal blank; Pp. [1-13]14-174(2, blank). Original blue cloth with white lettering area and gilt lettering to spine. Olive endpapers. London, Michael Joseph, 1959(1958). Second impression.

1, Half-title; 2, blank; 3, title; 4, copyright 1958; first published January 1958; second impression January 1959; printed in Great Britain by Unwin Brothers Ltd., at the Gresham Press, Woking; bound by James Burn at Esher. 5, acknowledgements; 6, blank; 7, contents; 8, blank; 9, half-title; 10, blank; 11, foreword; 13, introduction; 26, blank; 27, a note on photographic methods; 31-32, blank; 33, birds of India; 85, birds of New Guinea; 117, birds of Malaya; 173, general index including Latin and English names. Contains photographic colored frontispiece printed on one side only and not included in pagination and about 103 unnumbered, uncolored text photographs, many full-page, all containing running text on obverse and included in pagination.

This unimpressive looking volume is impressive. Loke Wan Tho was a Cambridge-educated wealthy Singapore business man who was badly wounded in a last-minute escape from the Japanese during the second world war. He fled to India where he became a close friend and exploring companion to Salim Ali. He had lifelong interests in photography and ornithology. The introduction is a beautifully written brief and moving autobiography describing, amongst other things, his fortunate escape and close encounter with death. The pictures and their accompanying richly anecdotal text describe more benign adventures in detail. Many of these pictures are the first photographs of the species they record. That of the sickle-crested bird of paradise at the nest is particularly noteworthy. The bird was originally thought by Loke and others to be a female Loria's bird of paradise. Eventually, Thomas Gilliard and Ernst Mayr recognized that it was a female Cnemophilus macgregorii, the unusual nest of which had been, heretofore, completely unknown.

Listed by AMNH, Cornell, Harvard, Trinity and Yale. Harvard and Trinity describe a 1957 Michael Joseph printing (??).

Longolius, Gybertus (Gilbert)(1507-1543)

Dialogus / de Avi- / bus, et earum / nominibus Graecis, Latinis, & Ger- / manicis. / Non minus festiuus, quàm eruditus, / & omnibus studiosus ad intelligêdos / Poëtas maxime utilis. 8^o 14.5 x 9.9 cm. A-G⁸[$1-5 signed]; 56 ll. No pagination. Later (approximately early 20^th century) three-quarter red morocco, gilt spine with five compartments, one with author and abbreviated title, one with year. Marbled boards and differently marbled endpapers. Cologne, I. Gymnicus, 1544. A1^r, title; A2^r-A7^r, epistola by William Turner; A7^v-G1^r, dialogus; G1^v-G8^r, various elegia and epitaphia for/by both Longolius and Turner; G8^v, blank.

This exceedingly rare work is arguably the first printed book devoted entirely to birds. Longolius died in 1543 and this unfinished work of his was edited and seen through publication in 1544 by his friend William Turner (ca. 1500-1568). Turner’s own “Avium precipuarum” was published by Gymnicus in the same year and is often cited as the first printed ornithological book. However, both Stresemann and Harrison (vide infra) seem to imply that Turner attended to Longolius' posthumous work before publishing his own. Stresemann, a great admirer of Turner, describes (Ornithology from Aristotle to the Present [1975], p. 14) Longolius as a Frisian “humanist” who “occupied himself with bird names of the ancients” and considered his “compilation unimportant for the natural sciences..”. as contrasted with Turner’s work. On the other hand, T. P. Harrison (Longolius on Birds, Annals of Science[1958]), as quoted in catalogue 17 of Antiquariaat Julius Steiner-Asher (June, 1992) writes “The fragmentary ‘Dialogus’ is the first treatise on birds which, with all its scholarly reliance on classical authority, exhibits true originality in framework as well as in identifying birds and speculating about their natures.”

The book is written in Latin with occasional Latin or German captions printed in the margins. The type in the marginal printing for the Latin words is different from that used in the text and is Gothic for the German words. There are a few very old ink annotations in the margins that seem to have both Latin and Greek words.

This work is listed by Wood(p. 440) and by the Harvard library but is not in any other catalogs or bibliographies that I have consulted. These include the Yale, Trinity, LSU, Copenhagen, Ayer, Braislin, Thayer, Gallatin and Evans collections as well as those of the British Museum, the Zoological Society and the Linnean Society. It is not present in the libraries of Cornell University nor in that of the American Museum of Natural History and is not cited by Herrisant, Cobres, Engelmann and Junk. In the past 15 years, the only other copies of which I have heard in commerce were those in the Salomonsen and Bradley Martin collections auctioned by Sotheby’s respectively in London (1984) and New York (1989). OCLC locates five copies.

Lönneberg, Einar (1865-1942)(Wright, M.[agnus]von[1805-1865], Wright, W.[ilhelm]von[1810-1887], Wright, F.[erdinand]von[1822-1906])

Svenska Fåglar / Efter Naturen och på sten ritade Three volumes. 37.4 x 27.4 cm. Later fine quarter red blind ruled morocco, blue marbled boards. Spine with six raised bands between double blind rules, gilt lettering in second and fourth compartments, blind design in other five. Marbled edges. Stockholm (1917-)1924-1929. The complete work contains 364 colored plates illustrating about 271 of the approximately 355 species mentioned in the text. The three title pages contain a vignette of an Arctic Loon. Numerous decorative initial letters are found throughout the volumes.

Förste Delen. Ivar Baarsen (1917-1924). No signatures. Pp. [1-4]5-9[10-11](1)[1]2-295(1); 154 ll. 1, Half-title; 2, blank; 3, title; 4, production credits; date: 1924; 5, contents in systematic order; 7, list of text illustrations; 8-9, alphabetical index of species by common name; text and plates; 10, blank; 11, foreword; 1, introduction; 3-295, accounts of species in systematic order: corvids-owls. Contains 146 unnumbered chromolithographic plates by A. Börtzells Tr. A. B., Stockholm, after the three Wright brothers and Bror Hallberg; 32 unnumbered uncolored text illustrations (photographs).

Andra Delen. Förlaget Svenska Fåglar 1929. Pp. [1-4]5-9(1)[295{sic, should be 297}]296-546; 131 ll. 1, Half-title; 2, blank; 3, title; 4, production credits; date: 1929; 5, contents; 7, text illustrations; 8, alphabetical index; 295(sic)-546, accounts of species, diurnal raptors-loon. Contains 109 colored plates and 25 text illustrations.

Tredja Delen. Förlaget Svenska Fåglar 1929. Pp. [1-4]7-15(1, complete, 6-7 absent by printer's error); 547-902; 185 ll. 1, Half-title; 2, blank; 3, title; 4, production credits; date: 1929; 7, contents; 9, text illustratons; 10, blank; 11, index of species this volume; 13, alphabetical index of species for all three volumes; 547-897, accounts of species, pigeons-pheasants; afterword by Lönneberg; 899, biography of Wright brothers with text portrait of each. Contains 109 colored plates and 49 text figures including the topography of a bird and portraits of the three Wright brothers.

According to Anker (#544), this work was issued in 100 parts between 1917 and 1929. The first volume appeared first with the Ivar Baarsen imprint and later (1927) with that of the Förlaget Svenska Fåglar. Lönneberg wrote the text and the biography of the Wright brothers. The text touches upon about 355 species, most of which are illustrated, and covers the different plumages, status in Sweden, distribution, habits, and nests and eggs.

This work is often considered a second edition of the collection of plates published by Magnus and Wilhelm von Wright between 1828 and 1838. In addition, a cache of unpublished paintings by all three brothers was found and many reproduced here. Hallberg, an early 20^th century Swedish artist, painted species that the Wright brothers had never depicted.

This work is surprisingly common and I suspect that 1,000 or more copies may have been printed.

Wood, p. 637. Also listed by Cornell, Harvard, Trinity and Yale but not by AMNH.

Low, Susanne M.

An index and guide to Audubon's / Birds of America // A study of the / double-elephant folio of / John James Audubon's / Birds of America, / as engraved by / William H. Lizars and / Robert Havell 26.7 x 17.7 cm. Pp. [1-8]9-255(1). Original publisher's brown cloth with gilt lettering on spine. Brown endpapers. Pictorial dust jacket. New York, American Museum of Natural History and Abbeville Press, (1988);

1, Half-title; 2, uncolored half-tone photograph of John Syme's portrait of Audubon; 3, title; 4, dedication; copyright 1988; ISBN 0-89659-817-9; designed by Stephanie Bart-Horvath; 5, contents; 6, blank; 7, part one: introductory notes; 33, part two: information by plate; 185, part three; charts of confusing original paintings; 193, part four: index of current names; 217, part five: index of plate names; 241, index of painting names; 252, bibliography; 254, acknowledgments. Contains: frontispiece and text uncolored half-tone reproductions of plates I-CCCCXXXV and 21 unnumbered text line reproductions of confusing paintings and the derivative plates.

This work describes in some detail the variants for each plate in the original elephant folio. In addition, plants are identified, modern names for the birds are supplied, and Havell's modifications of the original paintings are elaborated. A concordance of modern names, plate names, and names on the original paintings is also supplied.

The author was a trustee of the American Museum of Natural History for many years and a long-term devotee of Audubon. The present work was expanded in 2002.

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

Low, Susanne M.

A Guide to Audubon's / Birds of America / a Concordance Containing Current Names of the Birds, / Plate Names and Descriptions of Plate Variants, / a Description of the Bien Edition, / and Corresponding Indexes 28.2 x 21.5 cm. Pp. (8, half-title, uncolored frontispiece, title, copyright, dedication, blank, contents, blank)1-384(6 comprising three blank leaves); 199 ll. Original publisher's blue cloth with gilt lettering on upper cover and spine. Yellow end papers. Pictorial dust jacket. New Haven and New York, William Reese Company & Donald A. Heald, 2002.

1, history of the elephant folio; 28, plate descriptions; 233, index of current names; 259, index of plate names; 287, index of names of original paintings; 299, persons whose names appear in nomenclature; 309, composite plates; 313, charts of complicated plates and corresponding plates; 323, history of Bien edition; 328, Bien plate information; 369, index of current names of species in Bien edition; 373, index of Bien names; 377, annotated bibliography; 383, acknowledgements. Contains eight unnumbered colored plates on both sides of four leaves not included in pagination, uncolored frontispiece, and small, uncolored text reproduction of all 435 plates in the elephant folio.

A revised and expanded version of the 1988 work.

Lowe, P(ercy) R(oycroft) (1870-1948) and Kinnear, N(orman) B(oyd) (1882-1957)

British Antarctic (“Terra Nova”) Expedition, 1910 / Natural History Report. / Zoology. Vol. IV, No. 5. Pp. 103-193 / Birds 30.6 x 23.4 cm. 1-10⁴11²11*⁴12-15⁴[$1 signed]; 62 ll. Pp. [103]104-193(1)(32, comprising 16tissue leaves of letter-press for the plates). Original printed gray boards. London, British Museum, 1930.

103, Introduction; 104, species accounts; 191, index. Contains plates I-XVI (including 9 chromolithographs) by Bale & Danielsson, Ltd after Edward Wilson and text Figs. 1-24, also by Wilson.

The Terra Nova expedition took place 1910-1912 and included the famous sledge journey to the South Pole during the return from which Edward Wilson and R. F. Scott (the father of Sir Peter), among others died. When the ship returned to England, Wilson’s notes and drawings were given to Ogilvie-Grant at the British Museum. He had the drawings reproduced but died before getting the text into shape. The first World War intervened and, in the event, the results were assembled by Lowe and Kinnear and finally published by the Museum in 1930. Forty species were considered and Lowe and Kinnear compared the measurements obtained from Terra Nova specimens with those of examples in other museums and were able to draw some conclusions regarding subspecific distribution.

The pictures by Wilson are extremely dynamic and attractive with emphasis on the posture and activities of the various species. In 1967, Brian Roberts edited Wilson’s notes in a work entitled Birds of the Antarctic. The illustrations and sketches in that work included most of those in the present work and were taken from the same originals. Roberts often chose to arrange them differently on the page and the colors were reproduced photomechanically rather than by chromolithography.

Yale, p. 176. Absent from McGill and Trinity collections.

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Lucas, Frederic A.(ugustus)(1852-1929)

The expedition to Funk Island, with observations upon the / history and anatomy of the great auk 22.5 x 14.5 cm. H. Mis. 142, pt. 2 31⁸(-31_1-6)32-33⁸34⁸(-34_2-8)[$1 signed); 19 ll. Pp. 493-529(1). Extract with later blue stapled card wrappers. (Report on the progress and condition of the United States National Museum for the year 1888, Washington, Government Printing office, 1890)

493, note; A.-the bird rocks and Funk Island in 1887; 515, B.-skeletal variation of the great auk; 524, C.-list of books and papers relating to the great auk (an annotated bibliography). Contains uncolored half-tone plates LXXI-LXXIII (map, mounted specimen, egg) with facing explanatory letter-press, the six comprised shiny leaves not included in pagination).

The present paper is one of the most important works relating to the Great Auk. The writer was part of an expedition to Labrador and Newfoundland on the schooner Gramphus. He was able to spend several days on Funk Island, about 32 miles off the coast of Newfoundland. This was the site of the highest known concentration of Great Auks and the expedition amassed a huge collection of their bones. In addition to data on the collection, the paper provides a scholarly history of the demise of the Great Auk as well as an extensive bibliography with useful and interesting annotations.

The work is uncommon. OCLC locates about 40 copies.

Lynes, H.

Review of the Genus Cisticola Two volumes, Pictures and Text, bound as one. 22 x 14 cm. Pictures Pp. (6, comprising title, index to plates) (1, blank)i-vii (check-list) and 20 double-page or fold-out colored plates, comprising 19 of birds and one of maps of Africa. Text: [A]⁴ B-2N⁸ 20² ( +1)2P-2U⁸ 2X⁴2Y² [$1,2 signed]. 341 ll; pp. (6, title, contents, subtitle{“text”})i-ii (corrigenda)1-673(1). Red contemporary half-morocco and pebbled cloth. The Ibis, Twelfth Series, Volume VI Supplementary Number. London, British Ornithologist’s Union, 1930.

This monograph is probably the most comprehensive ever written on a Genus. Ironically, the Genus concerned comprises the ultimate “LBJs” (“little brown jobs”) of the bird world, the Cisticolas. When Lynes began this work, no less than 174 of these nondescript old world grassland warblers had been described as separate species. He reduced this number to 40 (divided into 154 subspecies), only one of which does not inhabit Africa at all. Almost all the others are restricted to Africa. Everything about this work is meticulous and exhaustive. Every skin is documented, every reference is cited, every characteristic, morphological or otherwise, is elaborated. Each of the 19 colored plates by Gronvold depicts several skins in virtually microscopic detail.

This work, published as a supplement in The Ibis, is truly a mad masterpiece.

Lysaght, A.(veril) M.

The book of / birds / five centuries / of bird illustration 36.5 x 27.0 cm. Pp. 1-7]8-208. Text printed on gray paper. Original publisher's electric blue cloth with gilt lettering to spine. Gray endpapers. Pictorial dust jacket with original price of $55 on upper flap. London, Phaidon Press, 1975. Distributed in the U. S. A. by Praeger Publications, Inc.

1, Half-title; 2, blank; 3, title; 4, "first published 1975"; copyright; ISBN 0 7148 1667 1; credits: printed by Lange/van Leer NV, Deventer; bound by Van Rijmenam NV, the Hague; 5, contents; 5, dedication; 7, acknowledgements; 9, introduction; 23, plates and text; 201, bibliography (about 140 listings); 205, index of common and scientific bird names; 206, index of names. Contains plates 1-142, so numbered in text only, printed in half-tone on both sides of 48 leaves and included in pagination. Of these, 41 are colored and full-page; 26 are uncolored and full-page; and the remainder are uncolored multiples per page.

The introduction to this volume contains an interesting survey of ornithological iconography with particular emphasis on old material, some antedating the printing press. This introduction and the commentary to the plates is very well informed. The plate selection contains many interesting items that are rarely reproduced including old manuscript illustrations and Japanese prints. The color printing in this book is disappointing despite the fact that it was done by van Leer, usually one of the best printers of color. The quetzal figured from Gould's monograph as plate 98 is not green! The author had previously written Joseph Banks in Newfoundland and Laborador….(1971).

There was a later cheap reprint edition of this book.

The work is 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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