Butler Foreign Finches in Captivity.
1st. Ed. Pub. L. Reeve & Co. [1894] pp.[6], viii, 332 with 60 fine hand-coloured lithographs by F.W. Frohawk. Large 4to. Hardback. TEG. Very small number of spots to contents, o/w. exceptionally clean and fine. Contemporary three-quarter burgundy morocco over red cloth boards, gilt lettered to spine, in as close to fine condition as one is likely to find. A super copy.
This was Butler’s most important work and involved his favourite subject Cage Birds. Although some of the illustrations are not true finches the book does contain considerable information on their appearance, distribution, song and behaviour in captivity. The illustrations by Frohawk are some of his best and are outstanding.
£4,250.00 [ref: 62927]
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Butler, Arthur G. Birds of Great Britain and Ireland. Order Passeres.
1st. Ed. Pub. Brumby & Clarke. [1908] Two volumes with 107 chromolithograph plates of Birds and 8 of Eggs. Large 4to. Hardbacks. TEG. Some spotting to fore-edges of text blocks and to ends, only a very minor amount indeed elsewhere. Only very occ. offsetting to tissue guards o/w. contents very pleasing indeed and in fine condition. Recently rebound in quarter black leather over blue cloth boards (closely matching the original binding) with gilt lettering to spine all in fine condition. A super set.
These volumes were superbly illustrated by H. Gronvold and F.W. Frohawk.
£300.00 [ref: 71975]
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Butler, Arthur G. British Birds with their Nest and Eggs.
1st. Ed. Pub. Brumby and Clarke. [1896-1899] Six volume set. With 24 colour chromolithograph plates of eggs (containing 475 figures) and 318 fine b/w. plates of birds by F.W. Frohawk. 4to. Hardbacks. AEG. Minor amount of spotting, largely confined to tissue-guards of egg plates, o/w. contents fine. Original deluxe publisher’s yellow cloth binding with richly gilt decorated spines and gilt decoration to front boards in nr. fine condition, just lightly shelf-rubbed. With matching gilt decorated end-papers. A very pleasing set indeed. Comes with a loosely inserted copper plate engraving of a small bird (probably a warbler) by Lilian Marguerite Medland (1880-1955).
Medland illustrated Gregory Mathews' books on Australian birds. She also illustrated for Tom Iredale (her husband) the author of ‘Birds of Paradise and Bower Birds’ and ‘Birds of New Guinea’.
£425.00 [ref: 69604]
Butler, Arthur G. British Birds with their Nest and Eggs.
1st. Ed. Pub. Brumby and Clarke. [1896-1899] Six volume set. With 24 colour chromolithograph plates of eggs (containing 475 figures) and 318 fine b/w. plates of birds by F.W. Frohawk. (4to.). Hardbacks. AEG. Two bookplates. Ownership insc. dated 1908 and small blind stamp with motto ‘Audaces Fortuna Juvat’ to title page Vol. I. Gold marbled end-papers. Any spotting very largely confined to tissue guards and blank verso of plates, o/w. contents fine. Original gilt decorated and lettered green cloth, a little dulled to rear board Vol. II, o/w. nr. fine. A very pleasing set.
£250.00 [ref: 63634]
Cavanilles, Antoni-Josep. Icones et Descriptiones Plantarum Quae Aut Sponte in Hispania Crescunt aut in Hortis Hospitantur.
Facs. Pub. Generalitat Valenciana. 1995 Six volume set with 600 fine b/w. botanical engravings. Folio. Softbacks with dws. Repaired tear to Vol. V. dw. and card cover o/w. all vols. in nr. fine to fine condition.
A very well produced facsimile of Cavanilles sumptuous work illustrating plants growing in Spain, either naturally or in gardens, originally published in 1793.
£300.00 [ref: 65514]
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Ching, R., Snow, D., Chisholm, A.H. & Soper, M.F. Raymond Ching : The Bird Paintings. Water colours and pencil drawings / 1969 - 1975.
1st. Ed. Pub. Tryon Gallery. 1978 pp.142 with 24 full-page colour illus. and 31 b/w. illus. Folio. Hardback. AEG. Contents exceptional and in fine condition. From the limited edition of just 360 copies, this being No. 337 and signed by Raymond Ching. Each copy in this limited edition contains a special frontispiece entitled ‘Kingfisher’ and also a signed print of a ‘Fledgling Owl’ from Ching’s collection (also copy No. 337). Bound in full brown morocco by Zaehnsdorf of London, in fine condition with just a hint of sunning to spine. Housed in publisher’s slipcase in nr. fine condition. A very pleasing copy.
£350.00 [ref: 68357]
Collingwood, Cuthbert. Rambles of a Naturalist on the shores and waters of the China Sea. Being observations in natural history during a voyage to China, Formosa, Borneo, Singapore, etc.
1st. Ed. Pub. John Murray. 1868 pp.[iv], xiii, [i], 443, [i], 2 (ads) with illus. frontis., two further plates plus 5 illus. in text.8vo. Hardback. Light spotting to blank end-papers, o/w. contents fine. Small blind-stamp of W.H. Smith (186 Strand) Lib. Some restoration to internal hinges. Original blue cloth in very good plus condition, with gilt decoration to spine and lozenge to boards, gently pulled and gently darkened spine. Scarce.
Collingwood (1826-1908) was an English naturalist, surgeon and physician. He was elected Fellow of the Linnean Society in 1853. Between 1866 and 1867, he served as surgeon and naturalist on HMS Rifleman and HMS Serpent during their voyages to the China Seas - his experiences led to the production of this fascinating, observational volume.
£800.00 [ref: 56752]
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Dalechamp, Jacques. Histoire générale des plantes, contenant XVIII livres également départis en deux tomes: Tirée de l'exemplaire latin de la bibliothèque de M. Jacques Dalechamps, puis faite françoise par M. Jean Des Moulins. Dernière édition corrigée.
2nd French Edition Pub. Lyon. 1653 Two volumes comprising 2,752 woodcuts, a number of which were made especially for this work. Hardback. Folio. All edges marbled. Contents complete with some pagination errors to Tome 1. Several leaves at the beginning of each volume repaired at blank gutter. Old water-marking (common in herbals) to both volumes, more extensive in Tome 2, nevertheless the contents overall are in thoroughly very good condition. Bound in contemporary full-leather, professionally restored in places, all in thoroughly very good condition.
The second, and last, French edition of Dalechamp's famous herbal - this edition being the most complete one in the French language. Prov: We know that this copy was at one point owned by Sir Frank Crisp (b. 1843 - d. 1949) the English lawyer and microscopist. After 1919, the books went into the library of Sir Edwin Hartland (b. 1848 - d. 1927) and after his passing away in 1936, they were donated to Gloucester Council. The most recent owner being Prof. Grenville (Gren) Lucas OBE, much loved botanist and conservationist (b. 1935 - d. 2022).
£1,795.00 [ref: 66524]
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Darwin, Charles. A Naturalist’s Voyage. Journal of Researches into the Natural History and Geology of the Countries Visited During the Voyage of H.M.S. ‘Beagle’ Round the World.
17th. Thou. Pub. John Murray. 1888 pp.x, 519, with b/w. illus. 8vo. Hardback. A little marking to last few leaves, o/w. contents fine. More recently professionally rebound in green cloth over marbled boards with gilt lettering to spine, all in fine condition.
£125.00 [ref: 62855]
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Darwin, Charles. Journal of Researches into the Geology and Natural History of the various countries visited by H.M.S. Beagle, Under the command of Captain Fitzroy, R.N. from 1832 to 1836.
1st. Ed. 3rd. Iss. Pub. London, Henry Colburn. 1840 pp.[i-iv], [vii], viii-xiv, 615, [pp.609-629 addenda] plus 2 fold out charts (at pp.xiv and pp.538), 4 text woodcuts and 16-pages of Colburn adverts dated August 1839. 8vo. Hardback. Internally nr. fine with minor scattered spotting to contents and a neat repair to one fold-out plate. Original decorated blue cloth with spine professionally relaid and neat restoration to the imprint. Loosely inserted, on ‘The Athenaeum, Pall Mall, London’ headed paper, is a handwritten note (dated 22/04/1947) by the then purchaser of this copy in which he explains who he bought the book from. A most pleasing copy. Freeman 12.
Darwin’s ‘first published book is undoubtedly the most often read and stands second only to On the origin of species as the most often printed. It is an important travel book in its own right and its relation to the background of his evolutionary ideas has often been stressed’ (Freeman). It first appeared in its own right in 1839. We offer for sale here a copy of the ‘final, third, issue of the first edition [and] it is identical to the second except that the conjugate half-title and title leaves have been reprinted. This is the scarcest of the three, but in my experience the maps are always inserted in the text. Some copies also have the 16 pp inserted advertisements of August 1839...’ (Freeman).
£8,500.00 [ref: 67910]
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