Davies, W.H. — My Birds

Jonathan Cape London 127, frontis, b/w illus. . HB. 8vo, orig. cloth. Vg in d/w (edge wear, in removable protective sleeve).. Second Impression. William Henry Davies (1871-1940) was a Welsh poet and prose writer. He is best known for his book, <i>The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp</i>, a vivid account of his wandering life in Britian, USA and Canada. He gained support from literary figures such as George Bernard Shaw. His most significant poem, <i>Leisure</i>, 1911, includes the famous lines, ‘What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare?’Published relatively late in Davies's career, <i>My Birds</i> is one of his more personal prose works on natural history. It was issued in the same year as the companion volume My Garden (1933).Unlike the systematic bird books of the period, it belongs to the tradition of literary natural history associated with W. H. Hudson, Richard Jefferies and Edward Thomas.Its attraction lies in the combination of personal observation, affection for familiar birds and Davies's characteristic literary style.The delightful wood-engravings are by Hilda M. Quick (1895-1978), an accomplished British wood engraver whose work appeared in a number of illustrated literary and natural history publications..