Description
First American edition of Elephant by David Enderby Blunt, in the scarce first state dust jacket.
Octavo, xi, [4], 260pp. Green cloth, title in white on spine, illustration of an elephant head in white on front cover. Stated “First Edition, 1933” on copyright page. Slight lean to text block, a touch of toning to spine and hinges, faint foxing to top edge. Bookseller’s label on rear endpaper. Complete with 17 plates featuring illustrations and charts, including frontispiece. A near fine example. In publisher’s original dust jacket, price-clipped, archival tape to verso at spine, flap fold, and top edge, chipping to edges, sunning to spine, shelf wear. A good example of the scarce first state dust jacket. (Czech 30, Hosken 20)
Commander David Enderby Blunt spent fifteen years in the Royal Navy until he was released from service in 1919. In 1925, he became a Cultivation Protector for the Game Preservation Department of Tanganyika, where Tanzania is located today. Blunt was employed to cull elephants to reduce the destruction of native gardens and crops. In his first year with the Elephant Control Scheme, he shot ninety elephants.
