Marshall Rare Books
The Game Birds of India, Burmah and Ceylon
a detailed ornithological treatise known for its scientific depth and wonderful illustrations
Calcutta: Hume and Marshall, 1879-81.
3 vol., FIRST EDITION, wood engraved titles (vol.1 slightly toned), 144 chromolithograph plates, errata slips, occasional light spotting, original cloth gilt, slight fading to spines, 8vo. £1,200
“An admirable scientific treatise” (Wood)
Hume was a pioneer ornithologist and earned the sobriquet “The Pope of Ornithology.” While in India as an ICS officer, he collected thousands of bird specimens across India, including the Andamans. He reported many new species from the northeast, including the famous Hume’s Bar-tailed Pheasant.
His monumental work, The Game Birds of India, is a detailed ornithological treatise known for its scientific depth and wonderful illustrations, documenting a range of species including pheasants, partridges, quail. ducks and grouse from the Indian subcontinent.
Quite a few birds have been named after him, such as Hume’s Groundpecker, Hume’s Wheatear and Hume’s Warbler. He collected 63,000 bird pelts. But much of the collection was lost when his home Rothney Castle in Shimla was burgled. A biographer thinks this was an act of jealousy. The heart-broken Hume gave away what was left to the British Museum of Natural History.
A very good set.
[Nissen IVB 463; Wood p. 394; Zimmer p. 314.]
