Antiquarian Auctions

Auction #114 begins on 11 Apr 2024

Simon Calburn & Alan Kemp

The Owls of Southern Africa- The Collector's Edition No 30 of 300 copies. Signed by both Author & Illustratot+ Letter

Published: Struk/Winchester, Cape Town, 1987

Edition: Collector's Edition-Fine

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Half- Bound in leather by master craftsman Peter Carstens, with matching lined and leather- trimmed slipcase. Collector's edition contains name and and the signatures of both author and artist.

The text has been written by Dr. Allan Kemp,one of South Africa's foremost ornithologists and head of department of birds at the Transvaal Museum in Pretoria. A former editor of Ostrich, the journal of the South African Ornithological Society, he has numerous scientific and popular publications to his credit, including the text for the books on the paintings of C.G. Finch-Davies, published by the Winchester Press, and the section on owls and hornbills in the forthcoming Birds of Africa series. A Corresponding Fellow of the American Ornithologist's Union, his main research interests are birds of prey and hornbills.

Owls, being nocturnal birds, are understandably difficult to study in the field and knowledge about them is limited. Dr. Kemp, however, presents all the known facts about these fascinating, highly efficient raptors within a framework of current thinking on evolution, predator-prey relationships, energy cycles and life history, thus allowing inferences to be drawn about their behaviour and biology.

The introductory chapters examine : the life of an owl, from the egg through juvenile and immature stages to adulthood and the breeding of the next generation ; how the owl is adapted to its nocturnal environment; and the owls of southern Africa in the context of the great diversity of prehistoric and modern owls world wide.

Each species description includes a narrative account of the animal's biology and habits as well as notes on identification and habitat, distribution and status, hunting and diet, and breeding and productivity. A two-colour distribution map is provided for each species.

The book has been superbly illustrated by Simon Calburn, one of the best -known bird artists in South Africa.He portrays each species in masterly detail against a meticulously painted background showing the typical habitat of the species. Eighteen large-format colourplates (300x230 mm)depict the adult birds of the different species, as well as some juveniles and colour variants. This artwork is supported by forty colour sketches and approxiamately fifty pencil drawings executed by the artist during his four-year study of owls.

Simon Calburn's artwork undeniably ranks with the best produced anywhere in the world in recent years. He achieved wide recognition for his book Calburn's Birds of Southern Africa, publishedin 1969, and since then has exhibited his work to great acclaim in South Africa, Canada and the United Kingdom. In 1975 he was invited to participate in the international wildlife exhibition "The Animal in Art" at the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, and the following year took part in the" Bird Artists of the World " exhibition presented by the Tryon Gallery, London, in association with the Pieter Wenning Gallery, Johannesburg. Among the many subsequent showings of his work was a retrospective exhibition at the Africana Museum, Johannesburg, in 1981.

Ornithologists and collectors of fine illustrated books will welcome the opportunity to acquire this beautiful and authoritative monograph on a little known but fascinating group of birds. In terms of both scholarship and artistic achievement it is a work that is unlikely to be surpassed for decades to come. 

Ex Libris label to front paste down, loose papers, signed letter from Simon Calburn, Certificate, Half Title, Frontispiece, Title, Dedication, Contents, Foreword, Acknowledgements, Artist's Acknowledgements, Introduction. 184 pages text and supporting images and plates. Further ex libris label to rear pastedown.

Fine

ISBN 0 947430 02 4

  • Jacket Condition: As Published-Fine
  • Binding Condition: Fine
  • Overall Condition: Fine
  • Size: 31 X 23cm
  • Sold By: Quathlamba Winds Books
  • Contact Person: Ian & Yvonne Halford
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Email: [email protected]
  • Telephone: 01743 361772
  • Preferred Payment Methods: Paypal-Cheques-Direct Transfer to UK Bank.
  • Trade Associations: SABDA


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