[Rarebooks] fs: Strictly for le Birds (Barbecue) (1808)

[Joslin Hall Rare Books]

[Bullard, Pierre] AVICEPTOLOGIE FRANCAISE, ou Traite General de toutes les 
Ruses dont on peut se servir pour prendre les Oiseaux...

Paris; Chez Cussac: 1808. 5th edition.

A wonderful, well-illustrated French book about catching birds!  Sad (or 
not?) to say, the French fascination for captivating avians was not purely 
recreational -a quick look at French cookbooks of the period (or even 
today) gives more than a hint at the true importance of catching our little 
feathered friends.

The 34 copper plate engravings show a wide variety of tools and devices, 
snares, nets, blinds, fake bushes and trees, and even a two-man cattle 
costume, that were all used to outwit local songbirds and wild fowl.  The 
frontispiece illustrates many of these contraptions arranged in the yard 
behind a grand house, as a gentleman leaps from behind a bush in pursuit of 
a pair of (rather small) songbirds.

Despite the fact that it went through 11 editions this book is not all that 
common these days.  Only 4 editions are listed on OCLC (no listings for the 
1808), with the 1822 and 1830 being the most numerous at 6 and 4 holdings 
each; the 1795 and 1854 editions are each represented by a single copy. The 
ABPC records show 3 copies sold at auction in the last 25 years, one of the 
1795 edition and two copies of this, the 1808 edition.

Hardcover. 4.5"x7.5", xxiv + 312 pages, plus 34 engraved plates and an 
engraved frontispiece.  Bound in old-ish marbled boards and pebbled cloth; 
some cover soil and wear, spine a bit faded and soiled.  Internally there 
is a little soil, but overall a nice copy.
Usually $450.00 // SPRING BARBECUING SPECIAL- $300.00

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