The Naturalist's Library: Ornithology: Sunbirds: Nectariniadea

Very good copy of the Sunbirds volume from Sir William Jardine's ambitious Victorian series The Naturalist's Library in a handsome Root and Son binding

Sun Birds, written by Sir William Jardine with 32 steel plates by William Lizars after illustrations by James Stewart including a portrait of ornithologist Francis Willughby

30 finely handcoloured plates bound at rear, frontispiece vignette of two "little nectarine sunbirds" from India

Sir William Jardine (1800-1874) was a Scottish naturalist. He is best known for writing and editing the 40-volume series of natural history books, The Naturalist's Library from 1833 to 1866. "In addition to the description and depiction (mostly finely coloured plates) by various well-known contributors to almost the whole range of the subject, the series is supplemented by biographies of famous naturalists of all times and all countries. It is well described as a remarkable little library of early nineteenth zoology, as well as a brief account of the lives of the chief zoologists of all time." (Casey Wood)

Half-leather binding in dark green leather, spine with five raised bands, title and volume labels in red leather with gilt decoration, leather and marble boards rubbed, marble endpapers, book block solid. Slight age-toning to text pages, but all steel engravings clean and bright with delicate handcolour.

According to David Brass, "The London bindery of W. Root & Son consistently turned out excellent work. Packer lists the firm in business in Red Lion Square in 1899-1901, and the December 1942 issue of The Rotarian notes with regret that W. Root had been bombed out (uprooted?) of their premises on Paternaster Row during the 1941 Blitz."

A very handsome copy.