Kassel: Verlag von Theodor Fischer, 1878-1883. Folio, 33 chromolithographic (finished by hand) plates and accompanying text leaves. Publisher's green blindstamped and gilt cloth, a superb copy, very scarce in this condition.

A FINE LARGE PAPER COPY. This copy appears to be a large paper variant, with a different publisher's cloth, to the standard issue. The size is 40cm by 29cm, compared with the standard issue of 37cm by 27cm.

Anton Reichenow (1847-1941) was the most prominent German ornithologist of his day and worked at the Humboldt Museum from 1874 to 1921. He was the editor of Journal für Ornithologie from 1894 to 1921 and African birds were his speciality. Der Papageien is a comprehensive monograph and described all known species at the time of publication. It is also an unusually fine example of the difficult art of chromolithographic printing and is rivalled only by the second edition of Buller's birds of New Zealand, 1888. The Australian parrots are particularly fine, and all species are illustrated.

Fine bird Books (reprint) p. 133; Nissen IVB 767; Nissen SVB 401; Wood p. 532; Zimmer p. 514.