Birds.- Woodpeckers.- Malherbe (Alfred) Monographie des Picidées, ou histoire naturelle des Picidées, Picumninées, Yuncinés ou Torcols, 4 vol., 123 hand-coloured lithograph plates, many heightened with gum arabic, some light foxing, bookplates, including Henry Rogers Broughton, contemporary red half morocco, richly gilt spines in compartments with floral motif and brown morocco labels, a few scuffs, [Anker 321; Fine Bird Books, p.120; Nissen IVB 587; Wood, p.449; Zimmer, p.415], folio, Metz, 1861-62.

⁂ A magnificent copy of the first global survey of woodpeckers, and most likely one of 100 copies. Although Alfred Malherbe was an amateur naturalist, this is 'probably the best monograph on the woodpeckers of the world' (Wood). The plates are drawn and lithographed by Mesnel, Delahaye and P. Oudart under the direction of Malherbe and are splendidly coloured, depicting the birds in their natural habitat.