The Vintage Birder

Reverend Charles Alexander Johns  was born on 31st December 1811 in Plymouth, England was a 19th-century British botanist and educator who was the author of a long series of popular books on natural history. Johns died in 1874. There is an archive of Johns's papers at the Cornwall Record Office in Truro.  Originally published in 1862, this copy is the fifteenth edition published in 1920 after his death. Another beautiful Inscription  Stunning plates and engravings This copy I purchased from Claire at Chapter House Bookshop in Sherborne.

I had umed and ahhed about buying these binoculars. They weren't particularly clean and with some crystallisation in the ocular lenses were boarding on a no-no. But after many weeks and some haggling (which I don't usually do with charity shops) I bought them.  These are the  Ross Stepruva  (early style) 9X35 The early models have the shorter ocular assembly and longer objective tubes Compared to the later model here, notice the difference. Serial no' 139235 Year of Manufacture probably 1949-1950 After a good clean and checking the collimation it was a reasonable view and sharp as most Ross Binoculars are. A makeshift strap from cord and a few repairs to the case adds character and tells a story. (Ross introduced the Stepruva design circa 1932 and along with the 7X50 Steplux and 8X30 Stepron was one of Ross' most popular models continuing to be marketed until approximately 1970 when the company ceased selling binoculars. Sometime in the 1950's-60's Ross Stepruva...

Here is another page and text from these wonderful little vintage Ladybird books. With summer officially starting on the 1st June I thought I'd start with the What to look for in Summer set of four. Stunning artwork by Charles Frederick Tunnicliffe. This evokes a lot a school boy memories of yhe 1970's 

 Over the weeks travelling into work I see many species of birds en-route, and three of the most pleasing are the Red Kite twisting and gliding effortlessly through the air. Red Kite: A rare sight during my years of birding through the 1970's, 80's, 90s. Corn Bunting: Again not so common. ( beautifully painted by George E. Collins). 'Pylon Buzzard' seen most days somewhere on a particular pylon.  (This is not my image).