Eggs of North American Birds

De Wolfe, Fiske & Co, Boston, 1890. First Edition. Hardcover (Original Cloth). Very Good Condition. Book Illustrated with Ten Hand-Colored Plates.Charles Johnson Maynard (1845-1929) was an American naturalist and ornithologist who was a native of Newton, Massachusetts. He identified a number of bird sub-species through his field work. A prolific writer in the natural sciences, Maynard published many books, including this one, himself under his publishing company C. J. Maynard & Co., located a Newton. He was an early member of the Nuttall Ornithological Club of Cambridge, the oldest ornithology organization in the United States, although his field work interfered with his duties as Vice President of the club and co-editor of its journal, leading to his removal from those positions and resignation from the club in 1876.The book bears the bookplate of and is signed by Howard Gardner Nichols (1871-1896), who grew up in Newton and was a student at Harvard when he inscribed the book on Jan. 2, 1890. It is possible that Nichols knew Maynard. Both lived in Newton at the time this book was published and both were members of the NOC (although at different times). Nichols was a serious, though amateur, ornithologist and naturalist. Upon graduation from Harvard he joined his father’s business, cotton manufacturing. After working at plants in New England, he moved to Alabama City (now part of Gadsden, Alabama) to supervise the construction of a new factory and plan the mill town for its workers. On May 20, 1896, he was severely injured when a bridge gave way under an electric generator that was being moved. He was taken to a hospital in Atlanta, where he died on June 23rd at age 25.His parents built the Howard Gardner Nichols Memorial Library to serve the plant’s workers in Alabama City. It was the first lending library in the state and is now the home of the NorthEast Alabama Genealogical Society. Size: 8"-9" - Octavo (8vo). 155 pages. Item Type: Book. The text block is tight. The pages have tanned a bit from age, but are clean with no foxing. Bound in green cloth over boards with bright title title and black decoration on front cover and spine. Corners are sharp, though showing some wear at the tips. There is a 1/4" tear at the middle of the spine where the book got caught on something and a resultng scratch across the width of the rear cover. There are some places in the front end paper where the paper has cracked at the hinge, revealing the webbing, but the hinge is holding. The rear hinge is intact. The top page edges are slightly gray from exposure, but the side and bottom page edges are clean. Quantity Available: 1. Category: Animals & Birds; United States; 19th century; Main Picture: Maynard, C[harles] J[ohnson]. Eggs of North American Birds (Boston: 1890) - Front cover and spine. Picture 2: Maynard, C[harles] J[ohnson]. Eggs of North American Birds (Boston: 1890) - Rear cover and page edges. Picture 3: Maynard, C[harles] J[ohnson]. Eggs of North American Birds (Boston: 1890) - Hand-colored frontispiece and title page. Picture 4: Maynard, C[harles] J[ohnson]. Eggs of North American Birds (Boston: 1890) - Bookplate of and is signed by Howard Gardner Nichols (1871-1896). Picture 5: Maynard, C[harles] J[ohnson]. Eggs of North American Birds (Boston: 1890) - One of the ten hand-illustrated plates. Picture 6: Maynard, C[harles] J[ohnson]. Eggs of North American Birds (Boston: 1890) - One of the ten hand-illustrated plates. Picture 7: Maynard, C[harles] J[ohnson]. Eggs of North American Birds (Boston: 1890) - One of the ten hand-illustrated plates. Picture 8: Maynard, C[harles] J[ohnson]. Eggs of North American Birds (Boston: 1890) - One of the ten hand-illustrated plates. Picture 9: Maynard, C[harles] J[ohnson]. Eggs of North American Birds (Boston: 1890) - One of the ten hand-illustrated plates. Pictures of this item not already displayed here available upon request. Inventory No: 1256. .