Washington, DC, Smithsonian Institution, 1878. Large 4to (31.5 x 23.8 cm). xii, 275 pp., 127 text illustrations. Contemporary half morocco over marbled boards. Spine with five raised, gilt-lined bands and gilt title. Marbled endpapers. Speckled edges.

A rarely seen attractively, contemporary bound copy of a classic study by the American ornithologist Daniel Giraud Elliot (1835-1915) on the hummingbirds, or the New World bird family Trochilidae. Published in the series, Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge. Light wear to board ends; annotation " accepted for publication Jan. 1878" on title verso, otherwise a very good, clean copy. Rare outside the U.S., especially when nicely bound, such as this copy Cat. BM(NH), p. 522.