Search Results: birds from E C Books

London : Caxton Publishing Company A good copy, complete with 115 colour-printed plates in new quarter cloth binding with marbled boards. Undated but 1907/8. The plates by Henrik Gronvold and Frederick Frohawk are beautiful. The binding is 'as new' with new endpapers.Top page edges gilt, remainder untrimmed. Contents - Vol I: 4 plates of eggs; title page; contents list; introduction; text with 56 plates; 210pp. Vol II: 4 plates of eggs; title page; contents; text with 51 plates; appendix; index 215pp. Text pages with some spotting, particularly to top margins, and light toning towards edges. Plates with tissue guards, some of which are creased or with slight damage. Plates themselves clean and mostly not affected by spotting. Contents slight dusty smell on opening.

Edinburgh: David Douglas, 1890 A good to very good copy illustrated with numerous drawings by the author. In the original green cloth binding with gilt titles to spine. Top page edges gilt. The spine is faded with pulling and some fraying to the top and bottom. Both boards have slight marking with the back board having a small cloth scuff. Corners lightly bumped and with wear. Internally there is some early splitting at the front endpaper joint. Contents: title with signature to top, decorative title with crease to tissue guard, prefaces, contents and illustration list pp xv; half title Memoir text pp 3-34; half title letters; text pp 37-186; half title extracts from diaries; text pp 189-276; index 277-279; and publisher's catalogue dated October 1890 at the rear. Memoir and diary extracts profusely illustrated with Graham's drawings. Original page marker present - detached. Contents generally in very good clean condition.

London : The Religious Tract Society , 1846 A very good copy in the original decorative cloth binding with hand coloured frontispiece and 23 further hand coloured plates. Anonymous author. The binding has a gilt bird on a branch to the front board and gilt titles to spine. All edges gilted. The binding is bright and clean with light wear to corners. There is the beginning of a split at the front spine joint but the book is sound. Original yellow endpapers present. Contents with frontispiece and guard; title; contents and plate list; text 216pp with 23 guarded plates. Internally in very good clean condition with the occasional light mark or spot.

London: Willis and Sotheran, 1857 A good set in contemporary rebacked cloth bindings with 322 colour plates of birds, 102 colour plates of eggs and 8 black and white plates. The original cloth was probably a shade of green but it has sunned. It has been rebacked in a dark green relaying the original gilt-decorated spines which are mostly complete. The bindings are therefore sound and tight but there is a lot of wear to corners with varying degrees of bumping, corner turning, fraying and loss of cloth. Newer marbled endpapers have been added and each volume has an armorial bookplate of K I Beynon to the front pastedown, with the motto 'Gwell Dysg Na Golud' (the original motto of Llandovery College). Internally the volumes are complete and the plates are well-coloured. All the title pages have a small ink signature of Spencer Nicholl to the top. There is sporadic light marking which is mostly to margins, particularly the side margin and occasional foxing to text. The top margin has dark toning… Read More

Washington: U S Department of Agriculture, 1893 A good copy of the 1st edition in the original cloth binding with 26 coloured plates. The binding is sound and bright with gilt titles to spine and textured cloth boards. There is some pulling to spine ends and light wear to corners. The back board has 4 tiny spot marks and a slightly paler area at the top close to the spine. The contents are complete with 26 coloured plates as per the plate listing (which places plate 26 before plates 24 and 25). The text paper and endpapers are lightly toned and there is some spotting to the foredge which is occasionally visible internally at the page edge - including plate pages. The plates are tissue-guarded - the guard to plate 9 has small loss from a side edge. There is small stain at the bottom gutter edge which is visible at the rear endpapers and on plates 1, 24 and 25. This does not affect the images. A sliver of text surface from p 96 has attached itself to the back of plate 14 - this affects some words but it… Read More

London : George Bell and Sons, 1875 A good set of the 5 volume second edition in the original decorative cloth binding. With 252 hand coloured plates of birds and eggs. The bindings have slight fading to spines, bumping and wear to corners and are slightly shaken (most noticeable in vols III-V), but all are sound. The contents are generally in very good clean condition. There is occasional spotting - most pronounced in Vol IV. Vol I: 150 pp plus publisher's catalogue; 53 plates; small faded area to fep, small chip to spine, text and plates very clean. Vol II: 171pp plus publisher's catalogue; 53 plates; some text pages unopened, text and plates very clean. Vol III: 176pp plus publisher's catalogue; 50 plates; some text pages unopened, a little brown spotting. Vol IV: 180pp plus publisher's catalogue; 51 plates; some spotting - noticeable on around 8 plates. Vol V: 175pp inlcuding list of European Birds and index, with publisher's catalogue; 45 plates; a little light spotting but… Read More

LONDON: George Bell & Sons, 1870 A nice set of the second edition of Morris's History of British Birds. In 6 volumes with original decorative cloth bindings and 365 hand coloured plates as called for. The bindings are all clean with bright gilt pictures of birds to each front board and gilt titles and decoration to spine. There is some wear: volume I has some cloth splitting at the hinges and splitting at the rear endpaper with rubbing to corners; volumes II, III and IV have very slight pulling to top and bottom of spine and a little rubbing at corners; volume V has very small splits at the top and bottom of the spine; and volume VI has a 1 inch tear at the top of the spine (with no loss) and scuffing at the corners. Internally all have the original endpapers; the first section including the frontispiece is becoming loose on volumes I, II, and III; volume IV is sound but the stitching is looser than on the others. There is a little spotting to some plates and text pages but in general the… Read More

EDINBURGH: W H LIZARS, 1834 A good to very good copy of the 1st edition of Volume I of Gallinaceous Birds (covering varieties of domestic and wild fowl eg turkeys, pheasants), in the publisher's brown cloth binding. Copy previously in the ownership of Francis Hemming, the entomologist, and with his book plate at the front pastedown. Contents with half title; black and white frontispiece portrait of Aristotle; hand coloured vignette title page with a picture of a cockerel; 2 further title pages; contents listing; Memoir of Aristotle; and text with black and white illustrations and 30 hand coloured plates (29 plates are listed in the contents index but there are 2 versions of plate 18). 32pp of advertisements and a 4 page yellow geographical works advert at the rear. The cloth binding has been rebacked relaying the original spine, and is sound and tight. There is some slightly paler marking to the boards and the corners have light wear. The original green endpapers are present - the free endpaper is… Read More

Bungay: Printed and published by Brightly & Childs. Published also by T Kinnersley, 1815 A good 2 volume set in new half calf and marbled board bindings with 148 of 152 hand-coloured plates. This work is extremely rare and, as is usual with the Bungay publications, the paper quality is poor, tending to attract dirt and staining. The collation of this work is generally haphazard and the plates are not numbered. The bindings are in fine condition with leather title labels and gilt lines to spines. Contents: Vol I: title; introduction i - xxxv; text pp 1-586 with 67 of 71 plates. Vol II: title dated 1820; text pp 1-700 with 81 plates, Finis. The paper in both volumes is toned to varying degrees with some areas of offsetting, marking or staining. Some page corners have been turned over. There is the occasional side edge tear and there is professional paper repair to the title page of Vol I and initial pages where there has been some worming. There is slight worming in the margin of xiii-xvi. The plates in… Read More

EDINBURGH: W H LIZARS, 1833 1st edition in the original publisher's binding, with 64 hand coloured plates. Humming birds Vol I was the first volume issued in the Naturalist's Library, and this copy of Vol I has a 'Notice of the Naturalist's Library' by Professor Rennie extolling the virtues of the new series, making it a first issue. Both volumes are in their original state with the publisher's (now brown) cloth binding with gilt titles to spine, and green endpapers with the Naturalists' Library watermark to the front endpaper. Both volumes have some fading to the spine and edges, and light pulling to the spine. Corners lightly bumped. Vol I has a couple of small idents to the side of the boards. Vol I has an armorial bookplate of Sir Henry Jardine (1766-1851, related to Sir William Jardine) to the front pastedown. Contents: notice for the series; adverts for North American Ornithology; half title; frontispiece black and white portrait of Linnaeus; hand coloured vignette… Read More

London : T Cadell and W Davies; R C and J Rivington; et al, 1812 A very good set of this 20 volume edition with black and white frontispiece, 2 folding maps, and 681 hand coloured plates. With an account of Buffon's life by William Wood. It is rare to find this set with hand colouring. In contemporary full speckled calf bindings that have been rebacked to provide new spines with gilt-lined raised bands and title and volume labels. The original boards have scuffing and pitting, and there is light wear at edges and corners, but the bindings are in very good clean condition. Endpapers are marbled and some of the front pastedowns have a scuffed area indicating the removal of bookplates. 2 of the volumes have the armorial bookplate of the Right Hon. Sir Robert Peel, Bart, who was Prime Minister 1834-5. and 1841-6 and is viewed as the founder of the modern British police force. The contents are in very good condition with occasional light spotting, generally at the top margin, and offsetting from the… Read More

EDINBURGH: W H LIZARS, 1836 A good to very good copy of the first edition with 30 hand coloured plates engraved from drawings by Edward Lear. In the original publisher's cobbled brown (originally purple) cloth binding with gilt titles to spine. The binding has a faded spine and fading towards the edges of the boards. There is a paler faded area around the middle of the front board. The corners have wear with some fraying of the cloth. The spine ends are pulled and there is some scuffing down the front spine joint. The original green endpapers are present and are clean. Contents: volume listing; half title; black and white frontispiece portrait of Thomas Bewick and tissue guard; hand coloured vignette title page with 2 parrots; 2 further title pages; an advertisement extolling the virtues of Edward Lear's pictures; contents listing; Memoir of Thomas Bewick (by the Reverend Turner); text with 30 hand coloured plates; and publisher's catalogues bound at the rear. One of these is a prospectus for the… Read More

Edinburgh: W H Lizars A good to very good copy of the second 'Popular' edition of Pigeons with hand coloured vignette title and 30 hand coloured plates from drawings by Edward Lear. Undated but circa 1845. Improvements in printing and materials enabled Lizars to reissue the Naturalist's Library at lower cost while retaining the original text and plates. This volume has added text - a section on rearing, feeding and management of domestic pigeons. The red cloth binding is in very good condition. It is complete, sound and clean. The cloth is faded to the spine, which is pulled - particularly to the top where there is the beginnings of a split, and the corners have some bumping and wear. The original endpapers are present. Contents: half title; frontispiece with guard; vignette title; title; contents; memoir and text 252pp with 30 plates. Contents are very clean and bright. The gather at pp 114-226 has loose stitching.

EDINBURGH: W H LIZARS, 1833 A very good copy of the 1st edition, 1st issue of humming birds in contemporary full calf, with 64 hand coloured plates. Humming Birds was the first title issued in the Naturalist's Library and Vol I has a lengthy advertisement setting out the rationale for the new venture and plans for future volumes. The bindings are in dark blue calf with 4 broad gilt-decorated bands, and title and author/volume labels and gilt decoration to the compartments. The boards have gilt lines to borders and delicate gilt decoration to the edges. Page edges are marbled with matching marbling on the endpapers. Contents: Vol I: 2 initial blanks; half title; frontispiece black and white portrait of Linnaeus; hand coloured vignette title page; two further title pages dated 1833; contents listing; advert; Memoir of Linnaeus; and text 147pp with black and white illustrations and 34 hand coloured plates. Vol.II: 2 initial blanks; black and white frontispiece portrait of Pennant; hand coloured… Read More

EDINBURGH: W H LIZARS, 1837 A very good copy of the 1st edition of The Birds of Western Africa, in 2 volumes in the original publisher's cloth binding with 64 hand coloured plates. The bindings have been rebacked, preserving the original spines and endpapers, and are clean, sound and tight. Vol I had lost the top section of the spine with some of the decorative title. It is only slightly sunned at the edge of the boards which have light wear as do the corners. The spine and board edges to Vol II are more sunned with wear to corners. Vol I: volume listing; half title; black and white frontispiece portrait of Bruce; hand coloured vignette title page; 2 further title pages; advert; contents listing; Memoir of Bruce; text with black and white illustrations and 32 hand coloured plates; and a publisher's listing.286pp. Vol II: volume listing; half title; frontispiece portrait of Le Vaillant; hand coloured vignette title page; 2 further title pages; text with black and white illustrations and 32 hand… Read More

EDINBURGH: W H LIZARS, 1835 A very good copy of the first edition in the original publisher's cloth binding with 30 hand coloured plates of pigeons from drawings by Edward Lear. Lear provided the illustrations for Pigeons and Parrots in the Naturalist's Library, and his work is distinctive for its accuracy combined with an ability to make the subject seem alive. The Pigeons volume is also unusual in the Naturalist's Library series because the backgrounds to the birds are partly coloured. Contents: volume listing; half title; black and white frontispiece portrait of Pliny; hand coloured vignette title page with ring pigeons; 2 further title pages; publisher's advert; contents listing; Memoir of Pliny by Andrew Crichton; and text with black and white illustrations and 30 hand coloured plates. Publisher's adverts at the rear. The binding is faded to spine and board edges, with the spine being slightly blotchy. The spine has some pulling to the ends and a small crease. There is light wear to the corners.… Read More

EDINBURGH: W H LIZARS, 1839 A very good copy of the 1st edition of Part II of Birds of Great Britain and Ireland in the original publisher's cloth binding. This volume covers a range of familiar birds from bullfinches to wrens. Contents: volume listing; half title; black and white frontispiece portrait of William Smellie with tissue guard; hand coloured vignette title page showing a robin; 2 further title pages; publisher's advert; contents listing; Memoir of William Smellie; text with black and white illustrations and 30 hand coloured plates bound at the rear. The original binding has been rebacked, relaying the original spine, and is sound and tight. There is slight scuffing to the boards, which have light wear to corners and edges. There is fading to the spine and to the board edges. The original green endpapers are present with professional repair at the inner joints. Text and plate pages have light toning at the margins. The plates are clean and well coloured. The paint has splashed however in a… Read More

Edinburgh: W H Lizars, 1834 A very good copy of the 1st edition in the original publisher's cloth binding with 30 hand coloured plates. Contents with: black and white frontispiece portrait of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles; hand coloured vignette title page with red grouse; 2 further title pages; advert; contents listing; Memoir of Raffles; text with 30 hand coloured plates; and publisher's catalogues bound at the rear. The binding has been rebacked relaying the original spine, and is sound and tight. The spine and the board edges are slightly sunned. The bottom corners of both boards have small bumps; top corners lightly turned. The original green endpapers are present with professional repair at the joints. The text is largely unopened and the text paper is toned towards the margins. The plates are very well coloured and have some toning to top page edges. The tissue guards to plates 6 and 26 are present but detached. Plate 17 has very toned paper particularly at the edges and there is professional… Read More

EDINBURGH: W H LIZARS, 1834 1st edition, second printing, of humming birds in the original publisher's cloth bindings, with 64 hand coloured plates. The bindings are sound and clean. Both have been rebacked preserving the original spine. Vol I has slight bubbling to the cloth; a bump to the rear bottom corner; a small lighter spot on the front board and fading to edges and spine. Vol II has some wear and bumping to corners; the front board has mottling and some fading to edges. The original green endpapers are present in both volumes with repair. Vol I: frontispiece black and white portrait of 'Linnaeus in his Lapland Dress'; hand coloured vignette title page; 2 further title pages dated 1834 (a year after the first printing); publisher's advert; contents listing; Memoir of Linnaeus; and text with black and white illustrations and 34 hand coloured plates bound at the rear; 23pp publisher's catalogue. Vol.II: half title; black and white frontispiece portrait of Pennant; hand… Read More

EDINBURGH: W H LIZARS, 1842 A good to very good copy of the 1st edition in the original publisher's cloth binding, with 34 hand coloured plates. With volume listing; frontispiece portrait of Rev Dr Walker; hand coloured vignette title page showing a spaniel and a heron; 2 further title pages; publisher's advert; contents listing; Memoir of Dr Walker; and text with black and white illustrations and 34 hand coloured plates bound at the rear. The binding has been rebacked, relaying the original spine, and the end papers repaired and retained. The binding has fading to spine and board edges and light wear to corners. The end papers have some marking at the joints where repaired. The text pages are generally clean with light toning and occasional marking and spotting, mainly at the edges. All the plates are tissue-guarded and are very well coloured. There is some offsetting to the guards and the occasional nibble to the guard edge. There is an old crease to plate 29 and its tissue guard, not affecting the image.