THE DODO AND ITS KINDRED, or the History, Affinities, and Osteology of the Dodo, Solitaire, and Other Extinct Birds of the Islands Mauritius, Rodriguez, and Bourbon. by STRICKLAND, Hugh Edwin and A. G. Melville.:

London, Reeve, Benham, and Reeve, 1848.. FIRST EDITION IN 2 PARTS 1848. LACKS ERRATA SLIP. 4to, approximately 320 x 260 mm, 12½ x 10 inches, 17 lithographed plates, (2 numbered iii and 2 ix), 2 hand coloured, including frontispiece, and 1 folding, 10 small text illustrations including 1 on title page, plus a small map of South Africa in text, pages: [8], 1-141, 16 pages of adverts, 5 pages of manuscript in neat old ink headed "The Dodo and Solitaire", signed with initials P.E.C. (Percy E. Coombe), at bottom of second page and dated 11/12/1898, we do not know if these notes are his original work or taken from other works, followed by 2 pages of paper cuttings and 36 blank pages, bound in half calf, gilt lettered label and gilt decoration to spine, pebbled cloth covers, marbled endpapers, top edge gilt. 2 neat ownership inscriptions 'Percy E. Coombe, 1896' to half-title and another 19th century ownership inscription ('Revd Thomas Bell') to top of title page. Spine and hinges a little rubbed, slight wear to bottom of spine,1 lower leather corner slightly creased, small vertical paper fault to frontispiece (see attached image), inner margins of plates including frontispiece neatly strengthened by narrow strip of binder's dull white cloth (probably done when the book was rebound and the extra pages inserted), inner paper hinges cracked, pale age-browning to margins, 3 margins have small pale stain, nowhere near text, 7 words crossed through but still readable, with ink corrections in the margins. A very good copy. The list of subscribers includes some well known ornithologists such as William Jardine, F.O. Morris, William Yarrell, P.J. Selby and John Gould etc., See: Sitwell, Fine Bird Books 1700-1900; Printed Books in the Wellcome Library, Volume 5, page 201. MORE IMAGES ATTACHED TO THIS LISTING, ALL ZOOMABLE, FURTHER IMAGES ON REQUEST. POSTAGE AT COST.