Feral Pigeons

• By Richard F. Johnston, Marian Janiga: - Published by Oxford Univ Press 1995

	$85  Mint hardback and dust jacket

A Fancy for Pigeons

• By Jack Kligerman

	Pigeons are commonly allotted only minor recognition within the ornithological hierarchy. And yet the heritage of pigeons is a noble one, their lore is rich, and they played an instrumental part in the understanding of evolution. But there are few who see cause to celebrate what is probably the most misunderstood bird of all. Jack Kligerman is one, and he has prepared this enlightening and fascinating tribute to that curious bird, the pigeon. Jack explores the strong influence on the imagination of western civilization the pigeon, or its symbolic ancestor, the dove has held. He also explores how man's fascination with pigeons bore practical aspects, too. Starting with Pat Sottile, a devoted Brooklyn pigeon fancier, he continues to Belgium, the pigeon-racing capital of the world, and travels through Europe learning more and more, including about the days when only the very privileged were permitted to raise pigeons, and built monumental dovecotes as edifices to their favored positions.
	$23 Publication date 1978, 216pp. Very good hardback, even though library copy, with rather poor jacket as can be seen from larger image.

The Pigeon

• by Wendell M. Levi, Hardcover:   Published by Wendell Levi Pub Co

		The Pigeon by Wendell Levi is without doubt the best, most authoritative, English language publication on domesticated pigeons. It belongs in every pigeon breeder's library from novice to expert. This book, tome, has been in publication since 1941, and has seen no rivals. It covers everything in depth, including chapters covering housing, feed, breeding, behavior, health, exhibitions, anatomy, physiology, breed varieties, history, and genetics. While still substantially correct, the sections on genetics and health are the most dated. Not that they are wrong, but rather that great strides have been made in these areas. Medications are much improved, and much more has been learned about pigeon genetics. The descriptions of various diseases and preventative actions remain on the mark, but recommended medications are out of date. After pinpointing the cause of the disease, check with your local supplier for the proper, up to date, medicine rather than those recommended in this book. In a five star scale, four stars. Nothing in my book gets five stars. I want to leave something to strive for.
	$125 Publication date: 1957. Very good condition signed by the Author. No dust Jacket.  5#
		This is the first edition copy printed in 1941.   It is in very good condition but the corners are a bit bumped and a couple of the end papers appear to be a bit loose.  The pages do show some tanning because of age as would be expected in a book nearly 70 years old.  To get a better view of the color print just give it a click.
	$65 Very good hard back as noted above. 1st Edition 1941 No jacket
	$90 Publication date: 1977. Excellent condition with very good dust jacket. ISBN: 0910876010

Encyclopedia of Pigeon Breeds

• by Wendell M. Levi, Hardcover: 

		The Encyclopedia of Pigeon Breeds by Wendell Levi, as all of his works, is absolutely the best English language book of the genre. Others have offered other versions, but this encyclopedia published in 1965 remains the epitome. Nearly every one of its 790 or so pages presents, along with concise descriptive text, a color photograph of one of the hundreds of pigeon breeds found in North America. This much color is just unheard of, but is exactly what is needed to fully describe these wonderful creatures. Granted the photographs are of how the breeds looked around 1965, and as clothes styles have changed somewhat. More beautiful photography can be found in the recent work of Stephen Green-Armytage, Extraordinary Pigeons, but it covers very few breeds in comparison and the text is not as complete by comparison. The American Pigeon Associations latest offering in the field, while showing the latest styles, is nearly all black and white and covers far fewer breeds. Encyclopedia of Pigeon Breeds is and will always remain the classic, most informative work in the English language.
	$150  Hard back excellent, no jacket
	$75, Library bound, reading quality, no jacket

Making Pigeons Pay: A Manual of Practical Information on the Management, Selection, Breeding, Feeding, and Marketing of Pigeons

• by Wendell Mitchell Levi, Hardcover:   Published by Cornwall Press

		This book was first published in 1946 when pigeons were still commonly used as a food source. It emphasizes the squabbing breeds (the kind you eat). It also covers basic issues such as housing and feeding very well, and health fairly well. If you are interested in raising birds for the table, this book is probably not a bad choice even for a novice. As you can see in the scan the jacket is pretty rough, but the book itself is really in excellent condition. This is a classic of the genre because it is not only very good, but also because it was written by Wendell Levi, the best known author about pigeons in the United States. Wendell was associated with one of the largest squab farms his entire life, so not only had great academic credentials, but first hand experience as well.
Offers taken at this time.	Publication date: June 1947, Excellent hard cover book with very poor jacket. 2#
	Similar to Levi's other work, The Pigeon; this book was also republished several times. It was revised in 1968, but followed the same basic pattern including chapter layout and length. Many of the chapters cover what every pigeon breeder should know and many devoted to as the title states - making pigeons pay. Chapters include, squabs as a food, shall I raise squabs, how to start, selecting breeding stock, breeds used for commercial purposes, how to build the squab house, how to feed, how to breed, how to market, how to treat sick pigeons, how to keep down parasites and pests, how to utilize by-products, and miscellaneous.
	$80 Publication date: June 1972  Mint hardback with excellent dust cover, ISBN: 0-910876-0-37
	$40 Publication date 1972 Excellent hardback with very good jacket
	$45 Publication date 1968,  Excellent hardback with a good jacket.  This first revised edition has much better paper quality than that of 1972 edition.

A handbook of Fancy Pigeons

• H. P. Macklin

	H. P. Macklin was a very prolific writer for the American Pigeon Journal during its heyday. He penned articles nearly every month in his series of Pigeon Portraits which grew into this book. It was originally issued as a paperback in 1954 with the dust jacket shown here. The pictures in this original version are pasted on special colored board sheets.   Tom McCaig edited the second enlarged edition as a hardback. The pictures are printed on the pages in this version rather than as separate pictures which were glue tacked in.
	$75, Near mint with only minor discoloration of the covers. 2#
	$110, 1st edition paperback very good condition with the exception of the dustjacket. Does have previous owners name sticker glued on title page..#1

Fancy Pigeons

• By Erich Muller and Ludwig Schrag Published in 1985

	$75 Mint Hardback with glossy boards no jacket

The book of the Pigeon

• Carl Naether

	While The Pigeon first published in 1941 by Wendell Levi is without doubt the best, most authoritative, English language publication on domesticated pigeons. This book The Pigeon preceded Levi's tome by two years, and is certainly to be commended as the second best general work and even exceeds Levi's in one area - that of breed descriptions. Here again Levi's Encyclopedia of Pigeon Breeds is better than what offered here, because of the color pictures and the huge number of breeds presented. Naether's work here though is nothing to sneeze at. While the photographs are only black and white and the breeds covered are far fewer, what is there is covered in more depth. If you are interested in a far less expensive alternative to acquiring both of Levi's work, this is it. Actually, I believe one should have all three. The breed descriptions provided and the photographs from the late 1930's can't be acquired anywhere else.
	$25 1939 1st.  Very good hardback without cover.
	$20 1939 2nd.  Very good hardback without cover.  This addition added a decent index.
	$18 1944 3rd expanded addition.  Very good hardback without cover.  Now includes chapter on loft construction and pigeon coop tools.

Pigeons

• by Carl Naether, Hardcover:   Published by Tfh Pubns

This is Naether's beginners guide with illustrated with many color photos and black and white photos. It provides all the information a novice needs to get started with a pair or two of pigeons as great pets and also some introductory material about various aspects of the pigeon hobby and sport. It covers, selecting and caring for pigeons, concentrating on providing readers with the information they need and. All given in an interesting and easy-to-read style. In short it provides the following sections: Introduction; keeping pigeons for pleasure and profit; housing pigeons properly; Feeding and caring for pigeons; breeding pigeons; some essentials in starting with fancy pigeons; the exciting sports of flying and of racing pigeons; raising utility, or squabbing, pigeons. A very nice introductory hard back book

$11 Publication date: 1984:  Excellent condition hard cover book.  ISBN: 0876668376

Making Squab-Raising Profitable

• By Carl Naether

Carl takes the bird by the feather and using his extensive knowledge to provide information on how to breed pigeons with an eye toward profitable production.  This first edition was produced in 1955 when the great squab plants had already started to decline.  A second edition was printed in 1964.  I have never seen another copy of this first edition, making it a very unusual find indeed. This 32 pages pamphlet is in excellent condition.  Not a mark on it and was obviously kept in a good location.

$25  excellent pamphlet

Building and Aviary

• By Carl Naether

	When it comes to pigeons, Carl Naether was indeed a very prolific writer. He penned more titles than even the famous Wendill Levi. He puts his considerable talents to work in this excellent hardback book. He includes many drawing to assist in the design and includes the logic that one needs to build that perfect home for your pigeons.
	$23 Excellent hardback

Building an Aviary

• By Naether and Vriends, Hardcover

	The book is a collaboration of Naether a well known American writer about pigeons and dove, and Matthew Vriends who has written extensively about a variety of bird pets. This little hardback is a general primer as well as a handbook on what it takes to build a good aviary for pigeons as well a variety of other caged birds. It also provides the basic information to assist the breeder in raising young successfully with the elements of care that make life for the birds more enjoyable and you as well. So this is more than just an aviary construction manual, it also cover nest boxes, feeders and all the other essential that you will need.
	$13 Mint hard cover, with much better paper quality as well. published 1981, 157pp. ISBN 0-87666-693-1
	$11 Very good hardcover published 1981, 157pp. ISBN 0-87666-693-1

Pigeons and Doves

• By Nofsinger and Hargrove

What I like the most about this book for the very young reader is the cover picture.  Pigeon breeders have long known that these birds are smart enough to figure out where to get a good fresh drink of water, but it may surprise others.  Give it a click and look at the full size image.  The text is for very early readers with large fonts and many, many pictures of pigeons.  Ray Nofsinger was a novice pigeon racer when he helped write this book at a young age of 20.  It helped him to write the book in a way that even the very young could appreciate what he has to offer about pigeon history, care and their connection with us.  It is an ex-library book and has lots of the usual library markings, including the card pocket, but is otherwise in very nice shape.  This book was not abused by the library's clients.

$12 Good library hardback copy printed in 1992

Pigeons: Hamlyn Pet Guides:

• By Rick Osman

This "thumbnail" size manual is truly designed for someone who is wondering about all that might be involved with raising a pigeon or two as pets. It has all the information needed to the task and is therefore a perfect primer for what might be involved. It really is not complete enough beyond this initial introduction and those caring for several pigeons would be better served by one of the other books that are available on the subject all the way up to Levi's incredible work The Pigeon also available on the site. But then at $5, including postage, this is the perfect primer.

$5 Hamlyn Pet Guides, small 32 pages pocket handbook.

Pigeons

• By Mervin F. Roberts

	Roberts authored several pet manual during the 50's and 60's, and this is a very fine example of his work. It really does a decent job of covering the basics that any beginner would appreciate, but out does others in this field with a better handling of the variety of breeds that are available, including many color photographs of some rather exotic breeds. Since it is only 64 pages in length, some of the other basic topics are given a lighter brush than Vriends' more recent work.
	$9, Paperback 1962, 64pp very good.  Would be excellent except for that it shows its age.
	$8, Paperback 1962, 64pp good
	This paperback has the exact same contents as Roberts' How to Raise and Train Pigeons, but as can be plainly seen has a completely different cover. This cover is almost identical to Naether's book of the same name, which was published some time later. Both of Roberts' books were printed in 1962 by T.F.H. Publications, and even the identical publisher identification numbers (TFH-512) were used for both. It is hard to understand why two different cover versions were issued, and why the same cover picture would be used on Naether's work some years later. This particular copy is not in very good shape and is reading quality only, but it is certainly worth it for the collector because of its rarity.
	$12, Paperback 1962, 64pp reading quality.
	This is the beginning beginners manual authored by authored by Roberts in 1956. It was published by T.F.H. Publications in Jersey City. It covers the base basics and is appropriate for someone taking care of pigeons for a few days or those considering a pigeon for a pet, as it does detail all that is required to take care of a pigeon properly. They published a wide array of pet instruction manuals and were the same publisher Naether used.
	$5, Very good paperback of 24 pages.

Captain of the Queen's Flight

• By Len Rush

	Early in 1962 Len Rush learned that Her Majesty knew of his reputation as a pigeon fancier. But more than that, she wished to appoint him as her Royal Lofts Manager. And so Len’s ideal avocation became his life long profession. He brings to this memoir all the canny enthusiasm that made him so successful at his most incredible assignment Immediately, with royal direction, Len made the lofts in the garden ready for the arrival of royal birds. Len chose thirty-six birds of superb stock for the first generation of the Queen's flight family that he was set to create. As soon as they were settled, the Queen came to Len and her racing pigeons and visited with him and the birds often until his retirement.
Not many of us have such an opportunity to meet with royalty and chat about what we love.  For Len and the Queen it was pigeons. There are nearly a quarter million pigeon racers in England, so the competition is fierce but tempered by the profound respect all flyers have for their birds, and each other. Lens story captures the serene but thrilling spirit of the sport. He has lived so and here he charmingly invites us to come homing with him.
	$30 mint hardback and excellent dustjacket.