MEINERTZHAGEN, Dan, and R. P. Hornby. Bird Life in an Arctic Spring.

MEINERTZHAGEN, Dan, and R. P. Hornby. Bird Life in an Arctic Spring.MEINERTZHAGEN, Dan, and R. P. Hornby. Bird Life in an Arctic Spring. London: R. H. Porter. 1899. 8vo. Publishers green cloth lettered in gilt to front and spine, gilt vignette of an eagles head to front, top edge gilt; pp. [8], 150, [2 (blank)], 33 (illustrations), iii (index), [1 (blank)], [6 (glossary of bird names)], with frontispiece portrait of the author and plates throughout; binding a little rubbed with some pushing to crown and base of spine,

MEINERTZHAGEN, Dan, and R. P. Hornby. Bird Life in an Arctic Spring. London: R. H. Porter. 1899.

8vo. Publisher’s green cloth lettered in gilt to front and spine, gilt vignette of an eagle’s head to front, top edge gilt; pp. [8], 150, [2 (blank)], 33 (illustrations), iii (index), [1 (blank)], [6 (glossary of bird names)], with frontispiece portrait of the author and plates throughout; binding a little rubbed with some pushing to crown and base of spine, previous owner’s name to front free endpaper with evidence of bookplate removed, a little spotting to preliminaries; very good.

First edition, posthumously published, of Dan Meinertzhagen’s (1875–1898) Arctic diary, with numerous ornithological illustrations after drawings, watercolours and photographs by the author.

Dan Meinertzhagen was the elder brother of Richard (1878–1967), the English intelligence officer and ornithologist, who compiled this book after his brother's premature death. This little volume was produced as a memorial to the young naturalist, who had died of in 1898, at age twenty-three. Dan’s friend and voyage companion R. P. Hornby’s diary completes the narrative of the journey, which had been left incomplete upon their return to the United Kingdom. The volume contains a glossary of bird names in English, Finnish, Norwegian, and Sámi, a preface by Meinertzhagen’s mother Georgina (née Potter), and the second portion of the work details Dan’s extensive aviary of life birds of prey, ‘one of the largest collections of eagles and raptorial birds in this country’ (p. 115).

The Meinertzhagen brothers were keen birders from an early age, having been encouraged by the philosopher Herbert Spencer (1820–1903), a family friend and the originator of the expression ‘survival of the fittest’.

SKU: 2118034