W. Hagelberg's Manual of Zoology Embracing Faithful Illustrations of the Animal World in its Most Prominent Types. Vols I - V.
Berlin: Wolff Hagelberg, Ca. 1880. Hardcover. Five albums, complete, in this series for young naturalists, with over 1,000 small fine embossed chromolithograph German stamps of the animals that the collector would paste into each volume. Printed by Wolff Hagelberg, the leading German fine art printers.
Australian animals are pictured in these fine stamps. With kangaroo, koala, wombat and thylacine stamps in the 'Mammals' volume; black swan, parrots and cockatoo in the 'Birds' volume. Each stamp page is laid out either in three columns by four rows, or three columns by three rows. All volumes complete with the numbered plates, and with the appropriate stamps laid down.
Tall 8vo, pictorial paper covered boards; the first volume with an illustration of a kangaroo. Amateur period reback with tan cloth spines, the original paper covered illustrated boards intact. Birds volume somewhat loose in covers, some cracking along inner hinge. Boards rubbed at edges and corners; last 3 volumes with rubbing to front and rear covers. Internally, chromolithograph stamps in very good condition. Volumes A and B include additional color printed photographic postcards laid down at the end papers by a previous owner.
OCLC: 17985089 records only 2 copies, at the Smithsonian and the University of Michigan. Good + condition. Item #24914
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