The Birds of Ohio: A Complete, Scientific and Popular Description of the 320 Species of Birds Found in the State.
Columbus, OH: The Wheaton Publishing Co., 1903. First Edition (Standard). Large octavo (10.5 x 7.5 inches), two volumes bound in publisher’s original blue buckram with gilt-ruled title panels to front boards and spines. Edges have a splatter pattern. Illustrated with 80 color plates in early photochromic process and more than 200 halftones from photographs taken by the author and others. Collated complete. Binding by the Ruggles-Gale Co.; halftone work by The Bucher Engraving Co. Moderate edge rubbing and light fray to spine ends; small scuffs and faint mottling to cloth; interiors clean and sound with only minor foxing to a few leaves and tissue guards.
William Leon Dawson’s The Birds of Ohio (1903) stands as one of the most ambitious regional ornithologies of its era—a bridge between scientific rigor and the accessible, almost pastoral nature writing that defined early twentieth-century American natural history. Produced by subscription, Dawson’s work captures not only the taxonomy and behavior of over three hundred species but also the emotional geography of Ohio’s landscapes: its wetlands, orchards, and woodlots alive with migratory song.
The inclusion of color plates, remarkable for their time, reflects the dawn of photographic illustration in ornithological publishing, preceding Dawson’s later masterpieces on the birds of Washington and California. For both scholars and collectors, this is a cornerstone in the literature of Midwestern natural history. On top of nature shelf. Very Good. Item #390
Sold