signed first edition
1983 · Boston
by Fossey, Dian
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1983. First edition. Fine in near fine jacket.. Inscribed first printing of Fossey's landmark scientific memoir. The primatologist's famous account of her research and conservation work with the mountain gorillas of Rwanda, published just two years before her murder. Fossey, initially trained as a biologist, ultimately earned a degree in occupational therapy and made ingenious use of her prior work with (human) clients to gain a measure of trust from suspicious gorilla bands. Her opposition to poaching and destructive wildlife tourism was a major factor in saving mountain gorillas from extinction. A remarkable copy of a remarkable book. 9'' x 6''. Black quarter cloth with tan pictorial boards (gorilla stamped in black). In original unclipped ($19.95) dust jacket. Pictorial endpapers. Frontispiece illustration by Jay H. Matternes. Black and white photographs. xvii, [6], 326 pages. Inscription to title page: "All best wishes to Sue / Dian Fossey". Slightest bumping to corners. Light wear, minor creasing to jacket at head of spine.
(Inventory #: 39604)