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Pagesmith, Gordon (1 results)
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Historia Cuculi Canori
Published by 1943-1949, 1943
Seller: White Fox Rare Books, ABAA/ILAB, New York, NY, U.S.A.
Association Member: ABAA ESA ILAB PBFA
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Custom half morocco box. Condition: Very Good. Highly unusual, handsome manuscript of the scientific data, findings and proceedings of a small ornithology club dedicated to the collection and study of cuckoo eggs, enlivened with sixteen original watercolors of cuckoos, club members, etc. Folio, 39.5 by 29 cm. 171 leaves. (First part unpaginated, followed by 117 pp.) The club was called the Cuculus Canorus Club and was formed in 1943, with four members -- Gordon and Saxon Pagesmith and Douglas and Walter Kemp. A stated objective of the club was to present the collection it would be assembling to the Natural History Museum, and in fact, Gordon Pagesmith did make a significant contribution of bird eggs to that museum, separate from the club's collection. The club ended up collecting about 83 clutches of eggs of cuckoos and the host birds. Besides the diligent compilation of scientific data presented in the text, a source of interest is this club's eccentric rules and proceedings. One of the most entertaining watercolors is of a dinner of the club members, in which they are caricatured. This is in addition to the charming colorful portraits of the birds, their eggs, and various locations. The front cover states it is Vol. 1. Vol. 2 is included, and this manuscript is complete. Housed in a custom half red morocco box. Heavy soiling of the front cover, and some lighter soiling on just a few other leaves. Mostly clean. The manuscript's leaves are loose, with some leaves collected into loose gatherings. A few creases along the edges.
