Author: Stone, W.
Title: Bird studies at Old Cape May. An ornithology of coastal New Jersey. Volume 1-2. [Complete].
Description: Philadelphia, PA, The Delaware Valley Ornithological Club at the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 1937. 4to (27.0 x 20.0 cm). 941 pp.; 119 photographs and two coloured plates after watercolours by E. Poole. Numerous woodcut illustrations in the text. Original uniform green buckram with gilt title on the front boards and spines. Pictorial endpapers (maps). = First edition published in a limited edition of 1400 copies of which this is number 119. Most copies ended up in (public) libraries. This set, however, escaped from library markings and remained entirely clean. The author, the American naturalist - chiefly ornithologist -Witmer Stone (1866-1939) "...was considered one of the last of the 'great naturalists.' Stone ... was president of the American Ornithologists’ Union (AOU) ... and was editor of the AOU's periodical The Auk. For all of his work as one of the preeminent ornithologists of his day, Stone's most enduring popular legacy is undoubtedly his charming Bird Studies at Old Cape May (BSOCM), originally published by the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club (DVOC) in 1937 [This work]. This was an ornithological history of the New Jersey coast, with an emphasis on Cape May County, particularly the coastal areas. The bulk of the work consists of species accounts of all the birds that had been found in Cape May County at the time of the writing, with their historical occurrence in the state and notes on seasonality, habits, behavior, etc. gleaned from Stone's own notes and the records of fellow DVOC members. Stone dedicated Bird Studies at Old Cape May to his wife. Stone first visited Cape May in August 1890, and spent most of July-August 1891 there. He made frequent trips there over the years, and became an annual summer resident starting in 1916 and continuing until at least 1937" (Wikipedia). Minimal shelf-wear, otherwise in mint condition. Rare outside the USA, and particularly so in such a wonderful state.

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