De arte venandi cum avibus

Wood, Casey Albert / Fyfe, Florence Marjorie. The art of falconry being the De arte venandi cum avibus of Frederick II of Hohenstaufen [...].

Boston, C. T. Branford, 1955.

4to. (2), CX, 637, (1) pp. With 2 coloured plates (including a portrait frontispiece) and 184 black and white plates (1 of which not included in pagination). Original full cloth with giltstamped spine and spine-title.

 450.00

Second edition of this important English translation of the famous Latin treatise on ornithology and falconry written in the 1240s by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II. It was prepared by the Canadian ophthalmologist and comparative zoologist C. A. Wood (1856-1942), who studied animal vision, especially that of birds, and was first published in 1943 by Stanford University Press. The plentiful illustrations include a portrait frontispiece of Frederick II, photographs of various decorative manuscript pages from "De arte venandi cum avibus", falconer's equipment, and landmarks associated with the Emperor, including Castel del Monte and his tomb in Palermo, as well as drawings and photographs of various species of falcons and hawks, and a map of southern Italy and Sicily showing the Emperor's castles and hunting lodges.

Giltstamping somewhat faded; edges very slightly foxed. A very good copy of this second edition, never seen at auction.

References

Oelgart 24B. U.S. Air Force Academy Library, Special Bibliography Series 81, 192. OCLC 459570612.

Stock Code: BN#51775 Tags: , ,