Birds of Burma
by B E Smythies
- Used
- near fine
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Near Fine/Very Good Indeed
- Seller
-
BATH, Somerset, United Kingdom
Item Price
£9,500.00£8,550.00
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Rangoon: American Baptist Mission Press, 1940. First edition. Cloth. Near Fine/Very Good Indeed. 9.5" by 6.5". Lieut Commander A M Hughes. An exceptional copy of Bertram Smythies' noted ornithological work 'Birds of Burma'. Signed by the author to the title page, with the very scarce dust wrapper in excellent condition. Illustrated, with a frontispiece, 30 plates and a folding map. The illustrations are by Lieutenant Comander A M Hughes. A very scarce work, as most copies were impounded by the Japanese and shipped to Tokyo where they were destroyed in an air raid of the Royal Veterinary College where they were housed. This first printing was a small run of 1,000 copies, which were mostly bought by Europeans living in Burma, and left behind when they were evacuated before the Japanese invasion in 1942. With the scarce map intact, which is commonly loose. Collated, complete.Edited by H C Smith and P E Garthwaite. The first edition of this work. Prior owner's bookplate to the front pastedown, H G Seward. His inscription to the recto of front endpaper. Signed by the author to the title page. Smythies was a forester and ornithologist. He was born in India, where his father was silviculturist of Uttar Pradesh and later the Chief Conservator of Forest of Nepal. He read botany and forestry at Balliol College, Oxford. He joined the Burma forest Service in 1934, which is when he explored the botany and ornithology of many Burmese regions. An extremely bright copy of this ornithological work, that is a fantastic study of the birds in Burma. Only seen at auction once since 1988 and then without a dust wrapper and not signed. In the publisher's original cloth binding, with the scarce unclipped dustwrapper. Externally, very smart, with light shelfwear to the extremities and to the head and tail of spine. Dustwrapper is generally smart, with minor chips to the head and tail of spine. Tape repairs internally to the head and tail of spine. Tape repairs to the flyleaf joints. A few light spots to the spine. Internally, firmly bound. Pages are very bright and clean. Near Fine
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Details
- Bookseller
- Rooke Books (GB)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 704L22
- Title
- Birds of Burma
- Author
- B E Smythies
- Illustrator
- Lieut Commander A M Hughes
- Format/Binding
- Cloth
- Book Condition
- Used - Near Fine
- Jacket Condition
- Very Good Indeed
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First edition
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Publisher
- American Baptist Mission Press
- Place of Publication
- Rangoon
- Date Published
- 1940
- Size
- 9.5" by 6.5"
- Keywords
- Ornithologist Ornithology Smythies Balliol Ornithology
Terms of Sale
Rooke Books
Books are sent on approval and may be returned in like condition for any reason within 14 days of receipt. Responsibility of return to be with the purchaser.
About the Seller
Rooke Books
Biblio member since 2007
BATH, Somerset
About Rooke Books
Welcome to Rooke Books Antiquarian Bookseller
We are a small team dedicated to bringing you very scarce books at reasonable prices. We specialise in rare and hard to come by works on all subjects over the last 500 years, together with modern first editions and decorative sets and bindings. Our library has something for every interest and specialism. We deliver worldwide using a fully tracked and insured courier delivery service.
Where are We?
Based in the literary city of Bath, our offices are housed in the Eastern Dispensary. Built in 1845, the building originally existed as a charitable institution providing medical care. The building now houses our collection of over twenty thousand books and has five full time members of staff.
We are a small team dedicated to bringing you very scarce books at reasonable prices. We specialise in rare and hard to come by works on all subjects over the last 500 years, together with modern first editions and decorative sets and bindings. Our library has something for every interest and specialism. We deliver worldwide using a fully tracked and insured courier delivery service.
Where are We?
Based in the literary city of Bath, our offices are housed in the Eastern Dispensary. Built in 1845, the building originally existed as a charitable institution providing medical care. The building now houses our collection of over twenty thousand books and has five full time members of staff.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Title Page
- A page at the front of a book which may contain the title of the book, any subtitles, the authors, contributors, editors, the...
- Tail
- The heel of the spine.
- Dustwrapper
- Also known as book jacket, dust cover, or dust wrapper, a dust jacket is a protective and decorative cover for a book that is...
- G
- Good describes the average used and worn book that has all pages or leaves present. Any defects must be noted. (as defined by AB...
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Bookplate
- Highly sought after by some collectors, a book plate is an inscribed or decorative device that identifies the owner, or former...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- Recto
- The page on the right side of a book, with the term Verso used to describe the page on the left side.
- Shelfwear
- Minor wear resulting from a book being place on, and taken from a bookshelf, especially along the bottom edge.