Birds of Prey by H. von Michaëlis

Birds of Prey (Numbered Subscribers' Edition in Dust Jacket)

The Artist-Ornithologist's Illustrated Study of African Raptors and Their Kinship with Mankind

Bibliographic Specifications

• Title: Birds of Prey: A Kinship
• Author: H. von Michaëlis
• Publisher: The S.A. Natural History Publication C.C., Knysna
• Publication Date: 1987
• ISBN-13: 9780620110013
• ISBN-10: 0620110015
• Edition Details: First Edition, Subscribers' Edition. Volume 389 of a limited first edition of 3 000 copies.
• Binding: Publisher's red cloth boards with blind-stamped owl motif to the front board, in an illustrated dust jacket.
• Physical Format: Quarto (4to), 165 pages. Illustrated throughout with the author's line drawings and sketches, and with colour plates.
• Language: English

Official Condition Report

• The Book: Very Good Plus (VG+)
• Exterior / Boards: The red cloth boards are clean and bright, with a crisp blind-stamped owl to the front board and square corners. A tiny dark speck is visible on the upper front board. The spine, seen through the jacket, looks clean with a gilt-coloured background.
• Interior: The pages are clean and bright, with no foxing or marks seen. The binding is tight. The pale green endpapers show a faint pencil mark at the top of the front free endpaper and light creasing near the hinge.
• Provenance: Subscribers' Edition copy numbered Volume 389 (printed number, not signed). A faint pencil mark appears on the front free endpaper. No bookplates or stamps.
• The Dust Jacket: Present and protected in a durable archival-type plastic cover. The illustrated jacket is in good condition, with light surface scuffing to the front panel. The flaps are intact with only slight creasing, and the jacket is not price-clipped.

Synopsis & Historical Value

Published in Knysna in 1987, Birds of Prey: A Kinship is the artist-author's illustrated study of raptors and their long relationship with people. The first half explores that bond between humans and birds of prey, while the second half offers short stories about African eagles, falcons and hawks.

The book is illustrated throughout by the author, with line drawings and sketches in brown ink on the text pages and full-page colour studies of African raptors. The essays are reflective in tone and include a chapter on cruelty in nature. The text draws on the author's earlier Wings of the Wild.

This copy is from the numbered Subscribers' Edition, a limited printing, and is offered with its illustrated dust jacket. It will appeal to collectors of Africana natural history and bird art.

Author Profile: H. von Michaëlis

Heinrich von Michaëlis (1912–1990) was a South African painter, sculptor, ornithologist, pilot and gliding expert. Born in Germany to a German father and a South African mother, he moved to South Africa in 1937.

He wrote and illustrated several books on birds, among them the falconry book Birds of the Gauntlet (1952, Hutchinson), with an introduction by H. V. Morton, as well as Wings of the Wild (1953) and Our Birds.