The Naturalist’s Library V - Pigeons - 1835

A significant ornithological standard work on pigeon species worldwide with scientific descriptions and splendid hand-colored bird illustrations.

First edition. Publisher: Edinburgh, W. H. Lizars, 1835. 228 pages and 20 pages of publisher's advertisements with 30 colored steel-engraved plates, an engraved portrait, and a colored steel-engraved title. New half-leather binding, 18 x 11 cm.
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The sought-after edition from the famous and still highly regarded natural history series “The Naturalist’s Library” edited by Sir William Jardine. Here is the fifth ornithological volume, authored by the eminent British ornithologist Prideaux John Selby.

The work systematically covers the origin, classification, anatomy, habits, and distribution of numerous pigeon and dove species from around the world and is impressively illustrated by a multitude of finely executed hand-colored plates. The extraordinarily decorative illustrations combine scientific precision with a high artistic standard, making the volume an excellent example of ornithological book art from the early 19th century.
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Plates partly trimmed, otherwise a very clean and well-preserved copy