Leiden, D. Noothoven van Goor, [1859-1861]. In three volumes (text and two atlases). 8vo (17.2 x 13.1 cm). Half-title, title page, viii, 699 pp.; 362 [178; 184] lithographed and finely hand-coloured plates, some heightened with gum arabic. Original uniform ruled cloth over marbled boards. Spines with gilt bands and title. Brown endpapers.

The most important work by the German-Dutch zoologist and ornithologist Hermann Schlegel (1804-1884), on the avifauna of the Low Countries. Profusely illustrated, with often more than one plate for each species. The fine illustrations are by Schlegel himself. He was a excellent lithographer and proved to have a keen eye for talent, as he was the first to discover the qualities of the famous animal painters J. G. Keulemans, Joseph Smit and Joseph Wolf. The plates are not numbered, and their order is quasi-systematical (in contrast with the text). A former owner added, in light pencil, very useful page references on the blank versos. Provenance: with the small, pictorial bookplate of Vloemans (dated 1925) on the front pastedown. Lacks titles to the atlases. Boards a bit rubbed at extremities; last few leaves of the text, and first and last few plates a bit spotted, otherwise a very good, clean set. Landwehr, 166; Nissen IVB, 830; Zimmer, p. 555.