The Bird Paintings of C. G. Finch-Davies (Limited Edition Presentation Copy)

Johannesburg: Winchester Press, 1984

Fo, xi + 311pp. Half leather hardcover binding. Marbled boards, 6 raised bands, gilt lettering to spine, slipcase with marbled edges. With 99 excellent full-colour plates, frontispiece, and a lengthy introduction with additional full-colour and monochrome reproductions of artworks and photos by Dr. Alan Kemp.

Limited edition presentation copy, letter ‘S’ of 26 copies.

Claude Gibney Finch-Davies (24 May 1875 – 4 August 1920) was a British soldier, ornithologist and painter who produced a series of paintings of birds of South Africa in the early part of the 20th century. As a professional soldier Davies was posted to various remote places in the Eastern Cape, and this fostered an interest in natural history and in particular, birdlife. Within a year or two, he was collecting bird specimens and starting sketches and paintings. In his field sketchbooks he provided copious notes about each species he illustrated - at first his own field observations, but later augmented by information culled from books and scientific journals. His style of painting rapidly evolved to show great detail of the plumage while retaining a lifelike appearance. By 1905 he had produced some 200 paintings of consistently high quality. (wikipedia.com)

Condition: Very good. Slight stain to the front of the slipcase. Slight scuff marks to the raised bands. Light mothball odour to the pages. All else fine. A clean and solidly bound volume.