Rare, antiquarian, used & out-of-print books on Mammals at Horizon Books.
ADAMSON, Joy; The Spotted Sphinx. London, Collins & Harvill Press, [1969], First Edition, 8vo [25 x 18 cm]; 217, [vi] pp, numerous illus, including color, table, map endpapers, original pictorial cloth, dj (light wear), near fine in very good dj.
The author of 'Born Free' and a series on Elsa the lion here writes of her experience with Pippa, a cheetah, and her attempt to restore it to the wilds of Kenya. Appendices include cheetah illnesses and treatment and comparison table of development of leopard, lion and cheetah. There is also a much more common US edition. The illustrations are quite remarkable including all family members. The cheetah is the world's fastest mammal.
US$1. bookID # 10204
BANCROFT, Edward; An Essay on the Natural History of Guiana, in South Americas; containing a Description of many Curious Productions in the Animal and Vegetable Systems of that Country, together with an account of the Religion, Manners and Customs of Several Tribes . . .. London, T. Beckeet and P. A. De Hondt, 1769, First edition, 8vo [21 x 13.5 cm]; [iv], iv, [ii], 402, [ii, ads] pp, engraved frontis of two headed snake, later full calf, gilt ruled on covers and spine, gilt title lettering on red morocco spine label, old and partly erased inkstamp on title margin, else a near fine copy, clean, in fine and attractive binding.
The author was friends with Benjamin Franklin and Joseph Priestly and was a fellow of the Royal Society. An American, he was accused of spying for both Britain and United States in the American Revolution. According to Casey Wood, 220: "One of the earliest and most informative accounts of the flora and fauna of the Guianas." Sabin 3106: "A very useful and entertaining work." Field 17: 'The especial subject of the author's inquiries regarding the Indians is the nature and use of the Wourali Poison, with which their weapons are charged'. Cox II, 281. Not only a description of the natural history of the area, but includes a description of the native peoples and geography, rivers and villages. Some copies have the contents pages bound at the end which was arbitrary. Sabin's copy had the contents pages at the beginning as does this copy, which is the preferred position for contents pages.
US$950. bookID # 10945
CHRISTY, Cuthbert; Big Game and Pygmies; Experiences of a Naturalist in Central African Forests in Quest of the Okapi. London, Macmillan and Co., 1924, First edition, 8vo [22 x 14.5 cm]; xxxi, 313 pp, frontis, 122 illustrations from photos on plates, folding colored map (short tear at stub), index, original blue pictorial gilt cloth, gilt title lettering on spine and front cover, edges rubbed, neat tape repair in margin of page 195, front hinge cracking but firm, small chip on rear cover, clean very good copy.
The introductory chapter is by Sir Harry H. Johnston, who provides a good historica perspective and some interesting comments on the natural history of Central Africa. 'Dr Christy has been a persistent and successful hunter but it has been mainly in the cause of science. The Belgian museums, the British and perchance the Americans have been the richer for his prowess'. The author travelled extensively in the region over a 25 year period and describes the Ituri Forest of the Congo in detail in this work with much on the Ituri Pygmies, the Okapi, elephants, rhinoceros, buffalo, the forest hog, chimpanzee, the Bongo, the aardvark and ant-eaters, birds, insects, fish, reptiles, frogs, forest hunting and armament, the poisoned arrow gun, etc.
US$160. bookID # 8478
DUGMORE, A. Radclyffe; Camera Adventures in the African Wilds, Being an Account of a Four Month's Expedition in British East Africa, for the Purpose of Securing Photographs of the Game from Life. New York, Doubleday, Page & Company, 1910, First American edition, 4to [28 x 21 cm]; xix, 233 pp, frontis, 140 illustrations from author's photos, mostly full-page on plates, map, original blue cloth with gilt picture of lion and gilt border, gilt title lettering on front cover and spine, edges rubbed, hinges cracked but firm, very good copy, solid and clean.
The author travelled extensively through Kenya and provides interesting insights on animal behavior, on his photographic approach and on the native peoples. He also describes his equipment and provisions in some detail.
US$45. bookID # 6411
ELLIOT, D. G.; The Caribou of the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska. Chicago, Field Columbian Museum, 1901, First edition, 8vo [23.5 x 16 cm]; [i], [59]-62 pp, 3 plates including folding, from photos, original printed heavy paper wraps, library withdrawal stamp on corner of cover, cover bit worn at head of spine, clean very good.
An original offprint of the Field Columbian Museum, Zoological Series. The author was curator and mammal expert.
US$1. bookID # 9637
FOUNTAIN, Paul, preface by W. H. Hudson; The Great Deserts and Forests of North America. London, Longmans, Green, and Co., 1901, First edition, 8vo [23 x 15 cm]; ix, 295 pp, with the appendix, original cloth, gilt title lettering on spine and cover, gilt spine decorations, spine lightly faded but lettering clear, cover bit rubbed, interior is clean, unmarked and near fine, overall very good.
The author's first book describes the prairies of the Mississippi Valley, swamps, Yosemite Valley, deserts, Indian life, California and Colorado, wild life, insects, spiders, etc, each in detail. 'It is the freshness of Mr Fountain's observations which makes them so attractive. . . the vanished bison, the puma, grizzly bear and prairie marmot, the moose, the golden eagle, the road runner. . . a procession of noble and beautiful forms and they hold our attention. . . we see them alive and active in their wild haunts through the author's sympathetic eyes'. [W. H. Hudson, famous naturalist and writer].
US$40. bookID # 13040
MAXWELL, Marius; Stalking Big Game with a Camera in Equatorial Africa. London, The Medici Society, 1924, First edition, limited to 550 numbered copies of which this is number 405, signed by the author, folio [38.5 x 29 cm]; xxii, 202 pp, double page photogravure frontis, 113 fine photogravure plates, folding panorama of elephants charging in rear pocket, colored map, title in red & black, index, orig dark blue cloth with gilt title lettering on front cover & spine, t. e. g., spine lightly faded but lettering clear, light stain on corner of cover, rear corner bit bumped, bookplate of Frances Myers and signature on endpaper, a near fine clean copy.
A very large work, printed on heavy paper, with superb photos of African animals, especially elephants, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, buffalo, giraffes. The preface is by Sir Sydney F. Harmer. The author, describes his travels to British East Africa, Kenya, and his photographic experiences. He provides a chapter and some plates on the equipment he used. The appendices are on elephants, mammoths.
US$400. bookID # 9675
PACKER, Craig; Into Africa. Chicago, The University of Chicago Press, [1994], First edition, 8vo [21 x 16 cm]; [x], 277, [vi] pp, colored photos on plates, maps, original cloth backed boards, gilt spine title lettering, dj (not price clipped), fine and clean, with a loose article on the author from Geo, 2010, with colored illustrations.
Packer is to lions what Jane Goodall is to chimps, and here describes his experiences with lions and other animals in the Serengeti, Tanzania and in Kenya. Beautifully written and fascinating.
US$5. bookID # 13616
PLAYER, Ian; The White Rhino Saga. New York, Stein and Day, [1973], First American edition, 8vo [22 x 15 cm]; 254 pp, illustrations from photos on plates, maps, index, original cloth-backed boards, gilt spine title lettering, dj (light wear at spine edges, not price clipped), near fine and clean in very good dj.
The story and adventure of the saving of the near extinct white rhino in South Africa. 'The danger of the captures, the disappointments, the ultimate successes, make a splendid tale' [Alan Paton, introduction]. Includes a loose presentation note that refers to the author.
US$12. bookID # 11352
SANDERSON, Ivan T.; Animal Treasure. New York, The Viking Press, 1937, First Edition, 8vo; 325pp, illustrations by author, original pictorial cloth, dj with some short tears, rear ep removed, very good.
US$1. bookID # 408
TAYLOR, Major Neville; Ibex Shooting on the Himalayas. London, Sampson Low, Marston & Company, 1903, First edition, 12mo [18.5 x 12.5 cm]; xv, 146 pp, 8 plates from photos including frontis, original cloth with gilt title lettering on front cover and spine, spine a little faded, scattered light foxing, endpapers and rear cover dampstained, 2 leaves with stain in margin, else very good.
The author spent some ten years in India, in a native regiment, and spent much of his time hunting Ibex in Cashmere (Kashmir). He tries to derive general principles from this experience but reflects a condescending attitude to his guides, typical of the time, but comes up with an interesting narrative and description.
US$100. bookID # 8571
WATT, Melanie; Jaguar Woman. [Toronto], Key Porter, [1989], First Edition, 8vo [24 x 16 cm]; [vi], 154 pp, color illustrations from photos, original cloth, dj, fine, signed by the author on the title page.
A young woman's struggle to save the jaguars of Belize, is an easy read, with the author's descriptions of her adventures from a 144 mile bicycle marathon to hiking through the jungles and observing wildlife. Enclosed with this copy is an original loose autograph letter from an official with Jaguar Canada, the main sponsor of the Jaguar sanctuary described in the book, describing their sponsorship.
US$5. bookID # 5650
WOOD, Christina; illustrations by Nancy Lou Gahan; Safari South America. New York, Taplinger Publishing co, [1973], First American Edition, 8vo; 224 pp, illustrations from drawings, original cloth, spine lightly faded, dj, fine.
The author, when hearing of the animal rescue mission in Surinam, South America, not only joined and wrote about animal life there but started her own effort to save threatened wildlife. Much of the book is on the rare Saki monkeys of Guyana.
US$10. bookID # 1638
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