Nature's Craftsmen

New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1922. First Edition. Hardcover. Good. First Edition. Hardcover. "Here we meet spiders that indulge in airship rides; ants that keep cattle; caterpillars that weave marvelous garments; silkworms that have made fortunes for their owners; and many another worker whose life story reads like the romance which it really is." The lively shore on the front cover of this 1922 nature book only hints at the industrious and creative folk you'll meet inside: spiders, ants, caterpillars, beavers, silkworms, grasshoppers, snails, frogs, wasps, hornets, praying mantises, and bumblebees, or, in short, "Nature's humbler toilers--the builders, engineers, mechanics and professionals who do things quite as wonderful in their own way as the best that man can produce." This commendation of "Nature's Craftsmen" is the work of the prolific Iowan writer Inez Nellie Canfield McFee (1879-1961), who authored books on a diverse range of subjects including science, nature, technology, American history, Western literature, fairy tales, and more, and comes illustrated throughout in a frontispiece and 19 photographic plates.

8" X 5 5/8". vi, 325pp. Bound in spring green cloth over boards, with wetland scene stamped in green, black and yellow to upper board, featuring a frog, snail, dragonfly, crawfish, beetles, and birds,with bee in black and yellow to spine, lettered in black to upper board and spine. Mild wear to binding, with gentle bumping to extremities, small bubble to cloth at rear, and slight warping to boards. Binding is firm and sound. Pencilled ownership inscription to front free endpaper, dated 1929. Crease to bottom corner of first few pages, else unmarked. Illustrated in 20 photographic plates.