Ludwig Krebs. Cape Naturalist to the King of Prussia 1792-1844 (SIGNED)

Presentation inscription from one of the authors on the title page. Small 4to; brown rexine-backed papered boards, with publisher's device in gilt to upper cover; dustwrapper; tinted top edge; pp. xiii + (iii) + 304, incl. index; plates in monochrome and full colour, incl. one folding; map. Dustwrapper very slightly rubbed, and a little sunned on spine panel; occasional fox spot. Near fine condition. "Ludwig Krebs, who travelled through the Eastern Cape in the first half of the nineteenth century, was one of the greatest collectors of botanical and zoological specimens who ever worked in South Africa. He made many new discoveries and several plants and animals bear his name. His work is well presented at the Zoological Museum of the Humboldt University in Berlin, and his name honoured among German naturalists. Yet, just because all his material went to Europe and so little remained here, his name and his work are virtually unknown in South Africa. He travelled through the Eastern Province when it was still almost virgin land and later met the first 1820-Settlers. Mainly from the letters he sent home and the notes in his scientific reports the authors have been able to build up the story of his life. It makes an important contribution to the history of naturalists and collectors in the Cape Colony. References made by Krebs to the many interesting people he met are followed by brief biographical sketches. The official lists of his collections, which contain a mass of scientific data, are included in the appendixes. ... The two authors, one an historian with two other books to her name, and the other a well-known ornithologist and museum director, have written a book that is interesting in its own right and also does full justice to Ludwig Krebs' scientific achievements."