An Odd Bestiary; Or a Compendium of Instructive and Entertaining Description of Animals, Culled from Five Centuries of Travelers’ Accounts... Arranged as an Abecedary.
n.p. [Williamsburg, MA]: Cheloniidae Press, 1982. First edition, one of 200 regular copies (of a total edition of 300, 100 deluxe). Original publisher's quarter red morocco over buff linen cloth boards, spine lettered in gilt, bound by Gray Parrot. Slight foxing to cloth boards, else fine. Original prospectus laid in.
26 wood engravings and 26 illustrated initials by Alan James Robinson, with text compiled and annotated by Laurie Block. An exquisite collection of wood engravings illustrating textual extracts regarding real and mythical animals which are, "for the most part, the earliest first-hand accounts, in English, of the animals pictured... although there have been many bestiaries throughout the centuries, some of them strikingly beautiful, this edition breaks from tradition in its text, calligraphy and its style of illustration" [from the prospectus]. Item #1903
Price: $750.00