Juliusz Sypniewski, *Shepherding*, Volumes I and IV [1881–1882]

Volume: Issue I (1881): 102 pp., zoological and historical sections, and a list of sheep farms (the title page and the first 6 preliminary pages are missing). Quarter IV (1882): pp. 264–328, treatise “Wool Science.”

Illustrations: Volume I includes a fold-out, color plate titled “Pedigree Tree of Purebred Merino Sheep.” Volume IV includes a colorful schematic plate and woodcuts of microscopic preparations showing the structure of wool.

Size: 28 cm.

Binding: Original paperback cover.

Juliusz Sypniewski, a wool expert and grader, was among the participants in the 1876 expedition to California, where, together with Helena Modrzejewska, Karol Chłapowski, Henryk Sienkiewicz, and others, attempted to establish a farm in Anaheim. Upon his return, he wrote a comprehensive handbook on sheep breeding. In the Kingdom of Poland, following the emancipation of the serfs, Merino sheep breeding and the production of fine wool were an important source of income for many estates.

Volumes I and IV of the first edition, published in installments, for agricultural historians and enthusiasts of the history of Polish emigration to America.

Volume I: interior clean and intact; title page and first 6 preliminary pages missing; original cover heavily damaged; back cover separated from the spine; genealogical table with minor tears at the folds. Volume IV: uncut, clean paper, no foxing, color plate in very good condition. The entire volume requires bookbinding restoration.

An item from the 19th Polish Antiquarian Book Auction.