Beschreibung:

BORCKHAUSEN, Moritz Balthasar, and others. Teutsche Ornithologie oder Naturgeschichte aller Vögel Teutschlands in naturgetreuen Abbildungen und Beschreibungen. Darmstadt: 1800-1811]. 21 (of 22) original parts in one volume, 2° (491 x 335mm and smaller). Without title. 126 etched plates, hand-coloured over a colour-printed base after J.C., J.T. and E.E. Susemihl, E.F. Lichthammer and H. Curtmann, the final six plates and accompanying text printed on smaller paper. (Some marginal soiling, the margins of the 1st and 23rd plate neatly repaired.) Later half-calf incorporating the early marbled-paper covered boards (and with the early gilt-decorated spine laid down). FIRST EDITION OF THIS RARE WORK ON GERMAN ORNITHOLOGY. The work, often misattributed to Susemihl, was an attempt 'to create a German parallel to the sumptuous works of other countries, notably of France, for example Levaillant's works, to which it was compared at the time... and with which it is quite comparable on account of its beautiful plates' (Anker). Edited by Borckhausen, Lichthammer and Bekker, the original plan, to issue four parts annually, was interrupted by the Napoleonic Wars, which meant that the interval between parts increased steadily. The 21st and penultimate part (present here) came out in 1811, but subscribers had to wait until 1817 for the final part which accounts for its rarity. The title page is even rarer and is often substituted by one of the original part wrappers. Anker 52; Fine Bird Books p.61; Nissen IVB 907; Wood 250; Zimmer 81.