Songbirds in Your Garden by John K. Terres

Songbirds in Your Garden (Sixth Printing in Illustrated Dust Jacket)

A Practical Mid-Century Guide to Attracting, Feeding and Sheltering Wild Birds in the Home Garden

Bibliographic Specifications

• Title: Songbirds in Your Garden
• Author: John K. Terres
• Publisher: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, New York
• Publication Date: 1953
• ISBN: None Issued (Pre-ISBN Era)
• Edition Details: First published 1953. Sixth Printing, December 1959. Introduction by Edwin Way Teale.
• Binding: Publisher's teal cloth boards with yellow cloth spine, in illustrated dust jacket.
• Physical Format: Octavo-sized hardcover, illustrated with line drawings and diagrams, with plans, charts and an appendix.
• Language: English

Official Condition Report

• The Book: Very Good (VG)
• Exterior / Boards: The teal cloth boards and yellow cloth spine are clean, with sharp corners and a couple of tiny specks to the front board. The fore-edge and lower edge are slightly toned.
• Interior: The title page and text pages are clean and legible, the cream paper lightly toned, and the binding appears tight. No markings, inscriptions or stamps.
• The Dust Jacket: Present. The illustrated jacket in yellow, blue and cream carries a colour plate of a tanager by Roger Tory Peterson. It shows some toning and light edge wear, with small chips at the spine ends and the foot of the back panel. Both flaps are present. The jacket is protected in a durable archival-type plastic cover.

Synopsis & Historical Value

Songbirds in Your Garden by John K. Terres is a practical guide to attracting and caring for wild songbirds at home. It covers feeding, birdhouses and baths, help with nesting, hummingbirds, and the shrubs to plant for food and shelter. Plans, charts and lists in an appendix support the text, which is illustrated with line drawings and diagrams.

This copy is the Sixth Printing of December 1959, published by Thomas Y. Crowell Company of New York, with an introduction by Edwin Way Teale. The jacket carries a colour plate of a tanager by Roger Tory Peterson.

The book remained in demand through many printings and later revised editions, and it is a charming period piece of American garden natural history. Some of its advice on habitat and nest boxes reflects mid-century practice, which adds to its interest as a snapshot of its time. A pleasing copy for collectors of ornithology and nature writing.

Author Profile: John K. Terres

John Kenneth Terres (1905-2006) was an American naturalist and author, best known for his popular works on North American birds. He wrote more than fifty works and served as Editor of Audubon Magazine for twelve years, from 1948 to 1960.

He received the John Burroughs Medal in 1971 for From Laurel Hill to Siler's Bog. Among his other notable works are The Audubon Book of True Nature Stories (1958) and The Audubon Society Encyclopedia of North American Birds (1980).