First edition of "the finest work on falconry which has ever been produced; not only on account of the beauty of the plates, wherein the hawks are depicted life-size and of the natural colours, but also for the general accuracy of the letterpress" (Harting). The very beautiful plates include ten after Joseph Wolf which "are by far the finest ever produced in any book on falconry. It is impossible to describe the mellowness and beauty of the colourings" (Schwerdt).
Wolf is described by Jackson as an "artist who ranks among the world's finest animal painters", and the present images were largely responsible for launching his international career. "Wolf's success lay in his sketching from life after painstaking study of the anatomy of the animals, and his care to get the structure correct and then paint fur and feather with extraordinary fidelity. But all the marvelous technique and deep knowledge was subservient to his ability to capture a moment in the life of his subject and preserve it in paint. Archibald Thorburn said of Wolf's pictures, 'There is an indescribable feeling of life and movement attained by no other wildlife artist'" (Jackson). Sir Edwin Landseer went further, describing Wolf as "without exception, the best all-round animal painter that ever lived".
The letterpress text includes extensive sections on the terms used in falconry, on the equipment used, descriptions of the birds that were currently being flown, and those that were not used. The text continues with recommended methods of catching or taking a suitable bird, how this bird should be treated and how it should be trained, and then how it should be flown. This is followed by a lengthy historical survey of falconry in Europe, Africa, Russia, Asia and the Americas. The text finishes with a six-page bibliography of works on falconry and an explanation of the plates. According to the exhibition catalogue documenting the falconry books in the Dutch Royal Library (The Hague, 1993), probably no more than 100 copies were printed, of which no more than 50 can be located today.
A very good, complete copy. Cottrell 24; Fine Bird Books (1990), p. 138; Harting 194; Jackson, Dictionary of Bird Artists of the World, p. 496; Landwehr 174; Nissen IVB, 832; Schwerdt II, 150; Thiébaud 833; Zimmer 554.