ON THE TRACK OF UNKNOWN ANIMALS (Translated from the French) by Heuvelmans, Bernard - 1959

London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1959. First English Language Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine/Good. Stated "Second Impression" (usually understood as printing) of the first English edition and printing of 1958. The original edition published in 1955 was printed in French. Gilt-stamped cloth. 557pp. Illustrated with photographs & drawings. Bibliography. Index. Maps. Introduction by Gerald Durrell. An American edition was also published by a different publisher. The author has been called the "Father of Cryptozoology" for his research into rare animals/creatures or animals/creatures attested to by native peoples but not proven to exist. This book is an important, seminal book in the field of cryptozoology. Parts or sections: "The Great Days of Zoology Are Not Done," "The Man-Faced Animals of South-East Asia" (includes the Orang Pendak), "The Living Fossils of Oceania," "Riddles of the Green Continent," " The Giants of the Far North," " The Terrors of Africa," "The Lesson of the Malagasy Ghosts." This book was published before the advent of modern Bigfoot or sasquatch research which commenced about 1958, but has over 50 pages on the "Abominable Snowman." This copy is bright & near fine even if there is foxing on the fore edge & sometimes on the margins of the pages, as there is. The paper used for this book is good paper, but did tend to fox on the edges, as I have noticed in other copies. The dust jacket is complete, but is not bright as new, and does have just a few minor tears which are mostly closed. Also, as typically with this paper, there has developed a slight to moderate musty odor, but in my opinion it is not strong and should not be a "deal breaker" by any means. This is an essentially very nice collector's and reader's copy, although as with all collectable books that are used, that opinion is always in the eye of the viewer or owner.