“A monograph of the genus Casuarius.” (with) “A dissertation on the morphology and phylogeny of the Palaeognathae (Ratitae and Crypturi) and Neognathae (Carinatae).” From Transactions of the Zoological Society, Vol. XV, Part V., No. 1

London: for the Society, 1900. FIRST EDITION. Complete with 18 hand-colored lithographed plates of birds by Keulemans, 2 hand-colored lithographed maps, 4 duo-tone osteological plates, and 10 text illustrations. Half morocco, with the original blue printed rear wrapper bound in at the end. From the library of Dr. James M. Dolan, Jr., curator of the San Diego Zoological Society, with his bookplate and blind-stamp on lower blank margin of first leaf. An excellent copy with only very light browning on osteological plates. First edition, as issued by the Zoological Society of London. Rothschild, with Keulemans’ exquisite plates, again outdoes himself. Rothschild was obsessed with the cassowary, a giant flightless bird with a colorful neck native to Papua New Guinea and the surrounding islands. He invested huge amounts of money in bringing the species over to England (both dead and alive) in order to study their habits, plumage, and behavior. In this monograph Rothschild describes in minute detail all species and subspecies, local names, measurements, distribution, bibliography, and all other pertinent information such as the anatomical and taxonomic information. Casey Wood refers to it as “a beautifully illustrated treatise” and Anker goes a step further by calling it “an especially profusely illustrated treatise.” The second section deals with”the relations of the Casuariidae to the remaining ‘Struthious’ forms, and the position of these with regard to the ‘Carinatae’” (introduction). Pycraft credits Rothschild for having furnished the bulk of the material for this monograph.

Rothschild (1868-1937), 2nd Baron Rothschild, member of one of the world’s wealthiest familes, was a British zoologist who became a great collector and founded the Rothschild Natural History Museum in London. The Zoological Society published a number of exquisite ornithological monographs in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century; this one is considered one of the most important as well as magnificent and beautifully illustrated monograph of the period.