Camp Life in the Woods and the Tricks of Trapping and Trap Making

New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1881. First Edition. Hardcover. Good. First Edition. Hardcover. "Of all the various subjects in the catalogue of sports and pastimes, there is none more sure of aoursing the enthusiasm of our American boys generally, than that which forms the title of this book..." The work of William Hamilton Gibson (1850-1896), a prominent artist and naturalist whose nicely detailed illustrations are on full display here in this book's 144 illustrations, this 1881 first edition is food and shelter for any hunter of traditional knowledge on such subjects as "camp shelter, log huts, bark shanties, woodland beds and bedding, boat and canoe building, and valuable suggestions on trappers' food, etc. with extended chapters on the trapper's art, containing all the 'tricks' and valuable bait recipes of the profession; full directions for the use of the steel trap; and for the construction of traps of all kinds; detailed instructions for the capture of all fur-bearing animals; valuable recipes for the curing and tanning of fur skins, etc., etc."

7" X 5 1/8". 6pp, [i], iv-xvi, [iii], 18-300pp. Presents nicely in protective archival jacket. Bound in grass green cloth over boards, with decorative border with rabbits, ducks, foxes, and other woodland creatures in black to upper board and spine, lettered in kind to upper board and in gilt to spine. Moderate wear to binding, with two 1/2" neat tear to head of spine, rubbing to extremities, soiling to cloth, and lean to spine. Hinges a touch tender, and spine visible at page gutters throughout; binding remains firm and sound. Foxing to rear endpapers, else pages are clean and unmarked. Fully illustrated in 144 illustrations throughout, including frontispiece, plates, and figures.