The great auk, or garefowl. Its history, archaeology, and remains.
London: Thomas C. Jack, 1885. 4to. x, [ii], 141, [3], 58 pp. FIRST EDITION. With 2 full-page colored plates of eggs, 1 additional full-page plate of bones, text illustrations, and folding colored map of the North Atlantic showing “the supposed distribution of the Great Auk, or Garefowl. Original cloth, a bit worn, spine label; interior excellent. From the libraries of Col. Henry Wemyss Feilden (1838-1921), British army officer, arctic explorer and naturalist, and the noted British ornithologist Harry Forbes Witherby (1873-1943), with each of their bookplates, book label from the library of the Nature Conservancy Council in Oxford. Item #16292
First edition. The author’s treatise on the Great Auk reveals so much interesting information on this extinct bird, including its distribution, remains in various locations, habits, and of particular interest the uses to which the Great Auk was put by man. The appendices report other work done by scientists on the bird, including discoveries on habits and distribution, how to deal with skins, and the structure of the Great Auk’s egg. An important work on anyone interested in the species. The flightless Great Auk was hunted to extinction with the last documented pair killed in 1844.
Grieve (1849-1932) was a Scottish naturalist and archaeologist.
Price: $350.00