The Great Auk
by Errol Fuller
- Used
- very good
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Very Good/Very Good
- ISBN 10
- 0810963914
- ISBN 13
- 9780810963917
- Seller
-
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Synopsis
Garefowls, Penguins of the North, Riesenalks, Apponaths, Great Auks - all of these were names for a sea bird whose extinction was entirely the work of humankind. The birds existence ended on the morning of the third day of June 1844, when the last two recorded great auks were killed by three fishermen on the island of Eldey. a few miles south of Iceland in the North Atlantic Ocean. For thousands of years, until not so long before that fateful day, great auks swam the Atlantic in their millions and flocked to their breeding grounds from Newfoundland in the west, to Iceland and the Outer Hebrides in the east. Whole colonies at a time were hunted to death for their meat, feathers, and fat by sailors and fishermen from Europe and the Americas. Since the total vanishing of the species, the great auk has become an icon of extinction, alongside the dodo, the passenger pigeon, and the moa. More highly prized as a trophy than any other extinct bird, all its attributes - from its eggs to the oral history of its demise - were until fairly recently, voraciously collected. Its protean appearance in almost every artistic and visual form, from cigarette boxes to bronze and marble statues, has immortalised one of the most tragic man-made extinctions. The Great Auk: The Extinction of the Original Penguin tells this tale of destruction and of what we, as a species, do to the world around us. Errol Fuller is a world-renowned authority on extinct birds and the author of many books concerned with extinction and conservation.
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Details
- Bookseller
- The Edmonton Book Store (CA)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 298929
- Title
- The Great Auk
- Author
- Errol Fuller
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Very Good
- Jacket Condition
- Very Good
- Quantity Available
- 1
- ISBN 10
- 0810963914
- ISBN 13
- 9780810963917
- Publisher
- Abrams
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 1999
- Size
- Larger 4to
Terms of Sale
The Edmonton Book Store
We accept payment by Visa, Mastercard and Paypal. Books may be returned for refund if not as described, within one week of receipt.
About the Seller
The Edmonton Book Store
About The Edmonton Book Store
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Folio
- A folio usually indicates a large book size of 15" in height or larger when used in the context of a book description. Further,...
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- 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....
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...