Written in a vivacious strain by a real bird lover... {John Burroughs on Neltje Blanchan's Bird Neighbors}

{HISTORY}

Tender, insightful and full of joy, when Bird Neighbors was first published in 1897, birding enthusiasts and book critics alike marveled at the photographs, the colorful illustrations, the technical specifications, and the poetic phrasing that Neltje Blanchan used to describe the backyard birds that frequented the northeastern American landscape. Let's look at a few examples of how she gives personality to these common birds in rather uncommon ways...

•  (On the American Robin} Whether lightly tripping over the lawn after the "early worm" or rising with his sharp, quick cry of alarm, when startled to his nest nearby, every motion is decided, alert and free. No pensive hermit of the woods like his cousins, the thrushes, is this joyous vigorous "bird of the morning." Such a presence is inspiring. 
• (On the Chickadee) It fairly overflows with good spirits, and is never more contagiously gay than in a snowstorm. So active, so friendly and cheering, what would the long Northern winters be like without this loveable little neighbor?
• (On the White-Breasted Nuthatch) With more artless inquisitiveness than fear, this lively little acrobat stops his hammering or hatcheting at your approach, and stretching himself out from the tree until it would seem he must fall off, he peers down at you, head downward, straight into your up turned opera glasses. 
• Titmice always see to it that you are not lonely as you walk through the woods.  One might sometimes think his whistle, like a tugboat's, worked by steam.
• No bird of finer color or presence sojourns with us the year round than the blue jay. In a peculiar sense, his is a case of "beauty covering a multitude of sins." 

• (on the American Goldfinch) With plumage so lovely and song so delicious and dreamy...  At your approach, the busy company rises on the wing, and with peculiar, wavy flight, rise and fall through the air, marking each undulation with a cluster of notes, sweet and clear, that come floating downward from the blue ether, where the birds seem to bound along exultant in their motion and song alike. 

Included in each of these flowery and friendly descriptions of 150 garden birds are the technical details too - the Latin names, the dimensions, the physical attributes, the migration range, and the seasonal habitat. But what really makes this book sing (no pun intended) is Neltje's observation of each bird. She pulls quotes and poetry and reference notes from other famous ornithologists, nature writers and literary figures and pairs them with her own keen insight to give readers a complete character sketch of each bird's unique personality. It's a combination that makes for really delightful writing. 

Neltje Blanchan was the pen name for Blanchan De Graff Doubleday (1865-1918), wife of Frank Nelson Doubleday, the founder of the publishing company Doubleday.  A revered nature writer during her lifetime, Blanchan published over ten books on flowers and birds throughout her career. Also involved with the American Red Cross, she died tragically at the age of 52 from apoplexy during a Red Cross mission to China. 

This edition of Bird Neighbors is the 5th printing published in 1898 by Doubleday & McClure. The green coverboards, large size, original full color photographs and deckled edge give this edition gorgeous antique character. 

{SPECIAL FEATURES}

• 1898 edition published by Doubleday & McClure
• 234 pages including detailed index
• Illustrated with color plates throughout
• Individual birds and their descriptions are grouped by color palette
  

{CONDITION}

In lovely antique condition the interior pages are clean and bright and the spine is tight with all pages intact. There's sun fading to the outer spine, altering the color from dark avocado to green olive. An impressed stamp from the personal library of a previous owner is located on the on the title page and a few various pencil marks can be seen on a handful of pages, most often denoting a check mark. One page contains a mark executed in blue crayon or wax pencil. None of these marks interfere with treading the book in any way. The color photographs are bright and vibrant in color palette. The spine is tight and all pages are intact.  Please see photos.

{SIZE}

Measures 10.25" inches (length) x 7.75" inches (width) x 1" inch (thickness) and weighs 2.5 lbs.