Avifauna Spitzbergensis. Forschungsreisen nach der Bären-Insel und dem Spitzbergen Archipel, mit ihren faunistischen und floristischen Ergebnissen. KOENIG (Alexander).

First edition. Large folding map mounted on linen, in pocket, numerous halftone illustrations in text, 26 heliogravure plates of scenery, 34 coloured plates after Thorburn, Keulemans, G. Krause and H. Schultz, of which 14 are chromolithographs by Greve of Berlin and the rest colour collotype (Lichtdruck), 4to., in the deluxe binding of straight-grain blueish leather, richly gilt debossed pictorial cloth inset on front cover, a.e.g., printed presentation slip from the author inserted, a little fading to the spine else a near fine copy. x, [ii], 294pp. Bonn, [published by the author], A truly deluxe production sharing the results of German zoologist Prof. Alexander Koenig's three expeditions to Svalbard, in 1905, 1907, and 1908. The first part is dedicated to accounts of the voyages, with beautiful heliogravure photographic plates, followed by a detailed bibliography of Bear Island and the Spitsbergen Archipelago from 1598 to 1910. There follows a comprehensive ornithological survey of the region, conducted by Otto Le Roi. Koenig came from a family who had made a great fortune in the sugar trade, and as such was able to fund his burgeoning interest in natural history. His university studies graduated to collecting and expeditions, and in 1912 he opened the Museum Koenig in Bonn, to house his specimens and further their study. His co-author Otto Le Roi was employed by the institute, however the museum's construction was halted by the outbreak of WWI, and Le Roi was killed on the Carpathian Front. Clearly a passion project, no expense was spared in the production of this publication. The illustrations are lavish and copious, each tipped in on an articulated stub, with a tissue guard of waxed paper. They are supplied by four different artists using a variety of printing techniques, with the oological plates being especially beautiful. This book is scarce in commerce, with the deluxe variant binding especially uncommon. The authors presentation slip would suggest that these special copies may have been bound as special gifts from the author. A copy lacking three plates and in a standard binding (half cloth with gilt title to spine) sold at auction in 2019. Prior to that, RBH finds a copy, also in cloth backed boards, at Hodgson in 1965 and Sotheby's in 1963. A copy with the deluxe gilt pictorial binding came up at Swann in 1960.