Lot 230
SCHLEGEL, HERMANN AND G. F. WESTERMANN
DE TOERAKO'S AFGEBEELD EN BESCHREVEN DOOR H. SCHLEGEL,
Rare Books, Manuscripts, Maps & Photographs
Auction: 2 October 2018 at 12:00 BST
Description
onder Medewerking van G.F. Westerman. Opgedraven aan B.M. den Koning. Amsterdam: Koninklijk Zoölogisch Genootschap. Natura Artis Magistra, 1860. First edition, double elephant folio (733 x 530mm.), 24pp. text (Dutch), plus leaf of Tabula Synoptica, 17 lithographed plates by P.W.M. Trapp after Schlegel, each in two states, uncoloured and with bright contemporary hand-colouring, later half cloth, a little rubbed, gilt label, binding with internal split (2 plates loose), occasional slight spotting, very short marginal tear to lower margin of text leaves
Footnote
Note: Probably the finest Dutch large colour-plate book on birds. "An account of the Touracos (fam. Musophagidae). The general text, in Dutch, contains a description of each species with distribution, synonymy and other notes. The synopsis contains Latin diagnoses of the species. The plates are excellent and suggest the work of Wolf" (Zimmer).
"The essential part of the work consists of the beautiful plates, executed in lithography coloured by hand from drawings by Schlegel, made from nature and as far as possible from life. The birds are figured in life-size, which accounts for the large format" (Anker). These lively and colourful Sub-Saharan birds were mostly drawn from those in the Royal Amsterdam Zoo. Nissen IVB 833, Bradley Martin 191.