 by William Beebe. Four volumes. New York Zoological Society, 1918-22. First edition. Condition: Fine. Limited to 600 copies, this is #422. Format: 12” x 16”. Original burgundy cloth. 90 color plates by Thorburn, Grönvold, Lodge and others. Mengel wrote of this work: “Perhaps the greatest ornithological work of the present century, notable not only for its beauty and wealth of information it contains, but also for the unusual grace of its prose.” Outstanding work in every respect. Inscribed by the author to William Seward Webb, a surgeon and philanthropist, who was wealthy in his own right, married Eliza Vanderbilt, heiress to the Vanderbilt fortune. He then entered the railroad business and became president of several railroads and other ventures. He donated 200,000 acres to the state of New York to become part of the Adirondack State Park. The two Webb-Vanderbilt properties are now Shelburne Farms and Shelburne Museum. |
Russell Fink Gallery |