Naturalist's Library: Ornithology, Volume II, Hummingbirds

Sir William Jardine

Published by W H Lizars, Edinburgh, Scotland, 1836

About this Item

HB. Morocco, with gilt lettering to spine, all quite grubby and battered with a few ink stains.The f&b eps are blue. The text and plates are in good order. Frontis. engraving of Thomas Pennant; half-title with coloured hummingbird. Then three title pages One for Vol. II; a detailed one for Vol. I a detailed one for Vol. II. This book IS Vol. II (two) only. The detailed title page for this Vol. II states, incorrectly, that there are 31 coloured plates, whereas in the Contents at the front there are 30 plates listed. There is an error in the numbering of this list in that there are TWO xxvii plates where two different illus. are erroneously labelled plate xxvii (27) and no plate xxviii (28) is listed amounting to 30 coloured plates and indeed the actual plates in the book do run from 1 to 30. So all plates are present. The book consists of Contents (iv pages) ; then 168 pages of : an Advertisement; Memoir of Thomas Pennant; an intro to and then the descriptions and plates of each hummingbird; a synopsis and index. The frontis. has a foxing mark and the last couple of pages of index has a few light stains and a little foxing. Rest of pages and the text are Good and the plates engraved by Lizars, and covered by tissue,s are G to G+. Book sewn and reasonably tight. Scarce. (The plates are from René Primevère Lesson's (1794?1849) three volumes on the hummingbird. He was a pharmacist and botanist on Duperrey?s circumnavigation in the La Coquille, 1822 to1825.).

Seller Inventory # 005621

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Naturalist's Library: Ornithology, Volume II, Hummingbirds
• Publisher: W H Lizars, Edinburgh, Scotland
• Publication Date: 1836
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Lizars
• Condition: Fair