Lugdunum Batavorum [Leiden], the editor, [(1833) [REPRINT: Tokyo, 1934]. Folio ( cm). Lithographed title (1833), dedication leaf, letterpress half-title to Aves; 141 pp.; On the birds in Siebold's Fauna Japonica by N. Kuroda (23 pp.); 120 chromolithographed plates I-LXXXIX, Suppl. Tab.A., Suppl. Tab.B., I.B, V.B, VI.B, VII.B, IX.B, XVII.B, XVII.C, XVII.D, XVII.E, XX.B, XX.C, XXI.B, XXI.C, XXI.D, XXXI.B, XXXI.C, XXXVIII.B, XXXIX.B, LIV.B, LVI.B, LIX.B, LX.B, LX.C, LX.D, LXXVIII.B, LXXXII.B, LXXXII.C, LXXXIII.B, LXXXIV.B. Purplish-brown polished half calf over original linen boards. Spine with five raised, gilt-rolled bands, and gilt title. Marbled endpapers, marbled edges.

Arguably the most beautiful Japanese bird book. One of a limited edition of just 100 copies, being a faithful reproduction of one of the rarest works on Japanese birds. The 19th-century original is, in fact, beyond rare: There are only two auction records. This edition is very uncommon. Most copies ended up in university libraries, and quite a few must have been lost during WWII. It was originally published between 1843 and 1850. Written by the famous Dutch ornithologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck (1778-1858). The fine plates show a spectacular, colourful avifauna with several endemic elements. Provenance: on the front pastedown a pictorial bookplate of the German chemist and bibliophile Waldemar Schwalbe (1882-1943), dated 1937. The spine and corners have been expertly renewed; the boards are original. Nissen ZBI, 3848; Zimmer, p. 592.