The Natural History of the Birds of Great Britain and Ireland. Part I. Birds of PreyThe Naturalist's Library. Ornithology. Vol IX by Sir William Jardine - 1838

EDINBURGH: W H LIZARS, 1838 A good to very good copy of the 1st edition of Part 1 of Birds of Great Britain and Ireland from the Naturalist's Library. In the publisher's 'luxury' green leather binding with aeg. Issued as a volume rather than in parts, this has a different vignette title page to the norm (the title is different). With black and white frontispiece portrait of Sibbald, vignette title page, a further title page, publisher's advert; contents listing; Memoir of Sir Robert Sibbald; text with black and white illustrations; and 34 hand coloured plates. The binding has wear to edges and to spine joints (particularly at the front), and also to corners. There is scuffing particularly to the top edges of the boards. The original yellow endpapers are present with a small ink signature to the front pastedown. Both front and rear endpapers have slight grubbiness. There is a small split to the top 2cm of the joint of the fep with the book block. The contents are very bright and clean and the plates beautifully coloured. The original page marker is present, although detached. Some page corners have been turned over. There is loss to the bottom left margin of plate 26 which does not affect the image (an owl).