The Rhinoceros: A Monograph (Special Limited Edition)

A$1,600 · Offered by Harry Hartog Rare Books

Limited edition

NARDELLI, Francesco (illus. Matthew Hillier; text compiled Sandra Raphael; foreword John Aspinall; maps John Woodcock). The Rhinoceros: A Monograph. London: The Basilisk Press, 1988. Elephant Folio (67 × 49.5 cm). Full brown leather. Cover titling in blind. Bound by Smith Settle, Otley. 134 pp. 20 full-colour tipped-in plates by Matthew Hillier throughout, with 4 plates for each of the five species. Numerous behavioural vignettes and sketches. Maps by John Woodcock. Text printed on 175gsm paper; plates printed on Mohawk Super Fine paper using a new waterless printing technique. First edition. Special Edition, limited to 60 copies, this being number 34. Signed by Francesco Nardelli and Matthew Hillier on the limitation page. Includes an original pencil illustration by Matthew Hillier, presented in a lime green frame. The Basilisk Press was established with a purpose that its own foreword writer described with characteristic directness. John Aspinall (the conservationist, zoo owner, and founder of Howletts and Port Lympne wildlife parks) wrote of the project: "The production of this book is a bold venture inspired by love and admiration, rather than commercial logic or academic zeal." The description applies equally to the Basilisk Press as an enterprise and to the specific monograph it produced. The five living species of rhinoceros are among the most endangered large mammals on earth. At the time of this monograph's production in 1988, all five were under severe threat; the J

• Binding: Hardcover

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