Cameos from the Silver-Land; or the Experiences of a Young Naturalist in the Argentine Republic, in 2 volumes, complete.
by White, Ernest William
- Used
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Front and rear free endpapers on both volumes show some browning, light scattered foxing to the frontis matter of each volume, t
- Seller
-
Iowa City, Iowa, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
London: John Van Voorst, 1881-82. First edition.. Front and rear free endpapers on both volumes show some browning, light scattered foxing to the frontis matter of each volume, the text and attractive cloth bindings are bright and clean; a tight copy in near fine condition.. Pp. xv, (1, errata), 436; xv, 527; large color folding map of Argentina at the end of volume 1. Publisher's original blue-green cloth stamped in blind on the front and rear covers, spine lettered in gilt and with gilt panel lines and other gilt decorations, 8vo (220 x 150 mm). The first third of White's work is a fairly dry rendition of facts and figures about Argentina, but the narrative gets livelier when he begins to travel. At one stop, the city of San Juan, he visited a Señor Alvarez, where he was "confronted in the patio of his residence by four Condors, one puma, three eagles and a Patagonian hare." It was in San Juan that he also viewed the world's most expensive volume of children's clip-art: "In the house of a medical gentleman . . . I was grieved to be the witness of a literary sacrilege, such as I never before beheld. The floor of the drawing room was strewn with the wreck of Gould's magnificent work on the Toucans; and I trembled lest that the Trochilidae, which was at hand in a bookcase, should share the same fate: these splendid tomes, the gift of well-known English ornithologists from the West Indies on their visit to San Juan, leaving their natural use, had degenerated into nursery playthings." In the midst of his wanderings White did pay special attention to the birds, and published a detailed account of his collections in Proceedings of the Zoological Society in 1882. White remained in Argentina, and one interesting aspect of this book is that although bound and published in London, the text was printed in Buenos Aires. With the bookplate of Perry Alport Molteno, lawyer, shipping magnate and liberal MP (1906-18) born in Cape Colony, South Africa. See also Ripley, 309; Wood, 625; and Zimmer, 672.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Natural History Books (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 5301
- Title
- Cameos from the Silver-Land; or the Experiences of a Young Naturalist in the Argentine Republic, in 2 volumes, complete.
- Author
- White, Ernest William
- Book Condition
- Used - Front and rear free endpapers on both volumes show some browning, light scattered foxing to the frontis matter of each volume, t
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Publisher
- London: John Van Voorst, 1881-82. First edition.
- Bookseller catalogs
- South American Exploration;
- Note
- May be a multi-volume set and require additional postage.
Terms of Sale
Natural History Books
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About the Seller
Natural History Books
Biblio member since 2007
Iowa City, Iowa
About Natural History Books
Natural History Books is an independent, rare book retailer operating out of Iowa City, IA. The business is owned and operated by Noriko and Russell Ciochon. We only sell books through our NHB website and other book service websites. We do not offer books for sale within the state of Iowa.We specialize in rare and hard to find books in all areas of natural history especially ornithology, herpetology, ichthyology, mammalogy, paleontology, botany, evolutionary biology and travel and exploration. Our rare and hard-to-find book section has many fine hand-colored plate books. Our latest acquisition is the ichthyology and aquarium fish collection of Ross Socolof Books of Florida. We are always buying natural history books – if you have a collection to offer, please contact us at noriko@naturalhistorybooks.com or by calling (319) 354-9088.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Tight
- Used to mean that the binding of a book has not been overly loosened by frequent use.
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- Bookplate
- Highly sought after by some collectors, a book plate is an inscribed or decorative device that identifies the owner, or former...