The discovery of the birds of China in fine colours

David, A. and [J. F.] E. Oustalet

Les oiseaux de la Chine.

Published 1877
Item ID 76652
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Paris, G. Masson, 1877. In two volumes (text and atlas). Large 8vo (24.7 x 16.0 cm). Text: half-title, title, vii, 573 pp.; Atlas: half-title and title, vi , [i] pp.; 124 finely hand-coloured lithographed plates by Arnoul. Uniform original brown pictorial cloth. Boards elaborately embossed; spines with black ornamental bands and gilt title; front boards with intricate black borders, the atlas with additional gilt title and large ornithological vignette. Bevelled edges. Top edge gilt. Yellow endpapers. Top edges gilt.

A quite rare and important work on the (until then) very poorly known Chinese avifauna, by the "father" of Chinese zoology, Abbé Armand David (1826-1900) and the French professor of zoology and ornithologist Jean-Frédéric Émile Oustalet (1844-1905). The fine plates, drawn and lithographed by Arnoul, depict the birds' natural habitats. Nissen states: "probably the most important systematic monograph yet written on the birds of China". 807 species of birds are described in this book, of which 249 are supposed to be particular to China, including new taxa. Of the illustrator, Arnoul, little is known. Even Ronsil has no information on him, although Arnoul was responsible for many fine bird plates as an illustrator and as a lithographer. Provenance: with on the front pastedown of the atlas an ornithological bookplate of J. H. Gurney F.Z.S., and his name handwritten on the front free endpaper recto of the text volume; later in the library of Henry Rogers Broughton, 2nd Baron Fairhaven. Both John Henry Gurney Sr. (1819-1890) and John Henry Gurney Jr. (1848-1922) were keen ornithologists and published several works on birds. Both were fellows of the Zoological Society of London. A newspaper clipping, relating to a Chinese birds collection, mounted on the text volume half-title. Loosely inserted a handwritten ornithological manuscript, titled Some of the birds I have seen in Kashmer [Two leaves, 20.3 x 25.6 cm (folded) and one 20.3 x 12.8 cm., together forming six pages of equal size.]. The first four pages list and describe birds seen by the author; the last two contain birds seen by Mr. and Mrs Clutterbuck in Kashmere during the spring and summer of 1902. Perhaps Mr. Clutterbuck is the British colonial civil servant and expert in forestry conservation, who worked as the Inspector General of Forests to the Government of India, Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Peter Henry Clutterbuck (1868-1951). The manuscript is not signed, but was found inside this book. It is not known if John Henry Gurney Jr. ever visited Kashmir. He wrote on his travels to Egypt and Russia, done before 1876, but this dates from much later. Some light creasing, otherwise fine. Nissen IVB, 221; Ronsil, Iconographie Ornithologique, p. 111; Wood, 311; Zimmer, p. 159.

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