Strange Animals I Have Known

New York: Brewer, Warren & Putnam Inc.. Near Fine. (c.1931). First Edition. Hardcover. (no dust jacket; quarter-bound, snakeskin-patterned paper over black cloth) [nice clean book, minor shelfwear to bottom edges, spine slightly turned, minor soiling to paper spine label; on the rear pastedown is an attractive label from the famous Satyr Book Shop, which at that time had locations in both Hollywood and Los Angeles]. (photographic endpapers; sepia-tone photographs) The first of several autobiographical books by this author (1876-1942), in his day considered America's foremost herpetologist. He began collecting and studying venomous snakes at the age of twelve, and in 1899, following a series of odd jobs, he was hired as an assistant curator in charge of reptiles at the Bronx Zoo just prior to its opening, and remained with the zoo (being given ever-greater responsibility for its critters) for the rest of his career. Also an accomplished photographer, he provided most of the illustrations for this and his other books, and pioneered the production of nature-themed documentary films during the silent-film era. .