Birds of Britain and Their Eggs — J. Lewis Bonhote | A. & C. Black | 82 Colour Plates | Art Nouveau Binding | 1930 Reprint | Good Condition

One of the most beautifully bound natural history books of the Edwardian era — and a book whose cover stops you in your tracks before you even open it.

Birds of Britain and Their Eggs by J. Lewis Bonhote MA, FLS, FZS, Member of the British Ornithologists' Union was first published by A. & C. Black in November 1907 and remained in print through multiple editions and reprintings, a testament to its quality and appeal. This copy is the 1930 reprint of the expanded third edition of 1927, which added the egg plate illustrations to bring the total colour illustrations to eighty-two full-page plates throughout the volume. Bonhote was a zoologist, ornithologist and member of the British Ornithologists' Union whose text combines scientific precision with genuine enthusiasm for his subject — covering the characteristics, habits, song and eggs of every bird resident in and visiting the British Isles.

The illustrations were selected by H.E. Dresser, himself a distinguished ornithologist, from his own monumental Birds of Europe. They are among the finest colour bird illustrations of the period — precise, vivid and beautifully printed. The Missel Thrush plate alone, with its adult and juvenile birds perched in characteristic alertness, is worth the price of admission.

The binding is one of A. & C. Black's most extraordinary cover designs of the period — a full pictorial Art Nouveau composition covering every inch of the cream cloth, with interlocking birds, spreading wings, flowing feathers and organic forms in black, framing the title in a central cartouche. It is the kind of cover that collectors and browsers reach for immediately, and it photographs magnificently.

Condition: Good, consistent with its age. The pictorial cloth binding is present and well preserved with the Art Nouveau design clearly legible throughout. General soiling and light shelf wear to the boards consistent with age and use. The spine retains its gilt lettering bright and clear. All 82 colour plates are present and clean throughout — no losses or damage to the illustrations. No inscriptions or ownership marks. The binding is firm.

About this edition: The 1927 third edition with the expanded egg plates is the most complete version of Bonhote's text, and the 1930 reprint is the final impression of that edition. A copy in good condition with all plates present and that extraordinary Art Nouveau binding intact is a genuinely pleasing object for any collector of illustrated natural history, British ornithology or Edwardian decorative arts publishing.

Extra photographs available on request. Just get in touch and we will be happy to help.

We pack every item ourselves, by hand, with stiff card, packing paper and a robust outer box sized to the piece. Nothing rattles, nothing shifts and nothing arrives disappointed. We've shipped to collectors across the world and we take the packing as seriously as the sourcing.