A classic of falconry

Chenu, Jean Charles / Des Murs, Marc Athanase Parfait Oeillet. La fauconnerie ancienne et moderne.

Paris, L. Hachette, 1862.

8vo. (4), 176 pp. With woodcut title-vignette, 45 numbered and several unnumbered woodcut illustrations in the text. With the original printed wrappers bound in at the end. Later half calf over marbled boards with giltstamped spine-title.

 1,100.00

First edition.

A classic of falconry, this pocket-sized manual is a supplement to the second volume of the ornithological textbook "Leçons élémentaires sur l'histoire naturelle des oiseaux" (1862-63) by the French zoologist Chenu (1808-79) and the ornithologist Des Murs (1804-94). The illustrations show various kinds of falcons, as well as their training and typical flight paths, sometimes displaying specific parts of the birds' bodies like wings and claws in detail. Figure no. 5 ("Faucon sur une Gazelle") is copied from the plate of "Goshawk and Gazelle" by Joseph Wolf, which forms the frontispiece to Richard F. Burton's 1852 work "Falconry in the Valley of the Indus".

Ownership of Charles Henry Stanley Garton (b. 1920), dated Kingswood, 13 October 1943, to front pastedown. Occasional light spotting; traces of the title-page being glued to the first page near the gutter.

References

Harting 200. Schwerdt I, 109. Thiébaud 192. Souhart 100. OCLC 944664144.

Stock Code: BN#51190 Tags: ,