Our Birds by H. von Michaëlis & Allan Bird

Our Birds (Second Series Portfolio of Eight Colour Plates)

A Folder of Eight Mounted Colour Plates of South African Birds Painted by H. von Michaëlis, with Text by Allan Bird

Bibliographic Specifications

• Title: Our Birds
• Authors: H. von Michaëlis & Allan Bird
• Edition Details: Second Series, First Printing.
• Binding: Publisher's illustrated card portfolio with inner corner flaps, a colour plate laid down on the front cover, enclosing loose mounted plates and text sheets.
• Physical Format: Quarto-sized portfolio. Eight colour plates, each in a grey mount, with loose letterpress text and plate descriptions.
• Language: English

Official Condition Report

• The Book: Very Good (VG)
• Exterior / Covers: Cream illustrated folder with a colour plate of sunbirds laid down on the front, protected by a clear wrapper. The back is plain cream with some light mottled marks and a few small specks, and the wrapper shows slight rippling near the fore-edge. Edges and corners appear intact.
• Interior: Loose colour plates in grey mounts, including Plate V and Plate VIII (swallows), together with loose letterpress sheets of text and plate descriptions, held in the folder by corner flaps. The text pages are clean. The inner flaps of the folder show some creasing, with a crease to one flap.
• The Dust Jacket: Not Applicable (As Issued). The folder is protected by a clear wrapper.

Synopsis & Historical Value

Our Birds, Second Series, is a portfolio of eight colour plates of South African birds painted by H. von Michaëlis, with text by Allan Bird. Each plate is mounted on stiff grey paper and accompanied by a letterpress description of its species, among them sunbirds, swallows, shrikes and bee-eaters.

The portfolio opens with an introduction on mankind's long interest in birds. Issued as loose plates in a presentation folder, it was designed to be handled, displayed or framed, and it carries the work of an artist who was also a practising ornithologist.

For collectors of Africana natural history and South African bird art, it offers von Michaëlis's painting in an attractive, compact form.

Author Profile: H. von Michaëlis

Heinrich von Michaëlis (1912–1990) was a South African artist, ornithologist and pilot, and an expert in gliding. Born in Germany to a German father and a South African mother, he moved to his mother's native country in 1937.

His other work includes Birds of the Gauntlet (Hutchinson, 1952), illustrated with colour plates and monochrome sketches, and Birds of Prey: A Kinship.

Our Birds Second Series · H. von Michaëlis bird plates · South African bird colour plates · Africana bird art portfolio · Michaëlis Allan Bird · vintage South African ornithology