WRIGHT, Lewis

WRIGHT, Lewis. The Illustrated Book of Poultry. With practical schedules for judging, constructed from actual analysis of the best modern decisions.

London, Cassell, Petter, & Galpin, Belle Sauvage Works, [1873]

£2600

FIRST EDITION. 4t0; viii, 591 pp., with 50 chromolithograph plates: “Illustrated with Fifty Coloured Portraits of Prize Birds, Painted from Life by J.W. Ludlow”. Light age-yellowing and very occasional light spotting to margins. Bound in early half gilt-ruled dark brown morocco and buckram over thick boards, marbled pastedown, and richly gilt spine with title and author’s name below the head, divided in 6 compartments. Ex-libris on the inside of left cover, lettering scraped off. Corners and spine sympathetically repaired by a skilful hand. All edges marbled. Overall and excellent copy, clean, of this remarkable work.

This is most renowned and outstanding nineteenth-century work on poultry. “Originally issued in parts from 1872. The oil lithograph plates by J. W. Ludlow were portraits of actual birds and dated [frontispiece with Mr John Douglas black-breasted red game cock, nick-named “The Earl”, shown at Crystal Palace in 1870]. Lewis Wright was the editor of the Fanciers’ Gazette (later the Livestock Journal). … There are two variants of the original edition; in the first the frontispiece is dated 1868. In what may be called the second impression the frontispiece is dated 1870.” (Palmer, John. Poultry books: an annotated bibliography, 1990). This is the second impression of the first edition.