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About us
The Pigeoncote cares for lost and injured pigeon, and is a non culling pigeon refuge,
located in Olympia, WA USA. We have been in continuous service since 1993.

Couriers of the SkyMary Graham Bonner

Click to enlarge. Couriers of the Sky 1st ed. 1944Click to enlarge. Couries in the Sky copyright noticeClick to enlarge. Couriers of the Sky, YankThis is the first edition and is in very good condition, but the pages do show some tanning due to age.  It is not an ex-library issue and has no detracting markings.  It would be excellent, except that the pages have started to tan. The jacket  unfortunately is only good.

$45 1st Edition, 1944 Very good hardback with a jacket that I can't quite describe as good but certainly is not poor either. 6oz

Click to enlarge. Couriers of the Sky cover 1945 printingClick to enlarge. Couriers of the Sky Cook's painting from Levi's The PigeonThis second printing from 1945 is on a blue board with an imprinted pigeon as shown in the scan.  It is very nearly identical to the 1944 edition above. It is not an ex-library issue and has no detracting markings.  It would be excellent, except that the pages have started to tan.

 $25 2nd printing 1945, Very Good, no jacket.

Fancy Pigeon StandardsD. F. Ison

Book coverBook cover

1984 Edition in excellent would be mint except for its age condition, but only a good jacket. The jacket has some wrinkles on the back side near the spine. This is the standard guide, pun intended, for the less common breeds found in America.

 

$75 27 1984 Edition in excellent condition, but without jacket
$80

A Fancy for PigeonsJack Kligerman

Click for larger imageIt is obvious when reading this book that Jack became not only to know his subject, but to admire it.  As the jacket says "Too often they are lost in the squalor of big cities. Sadly, they 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 have for centuries attracted a great following among many people who see cause to celebrate what is probably the most misunderstood bird of all. Jack Kligerman happens to be one of those people, and so he has prepared this enlightening and fascinating tribute to that curious bird, the pigeon.

Perhaps no other bird has exerted such a strong influence on the imagination of western civilization as the pigeon, or its symbolic ancestor, the dove. The ancient Hebrews celebrated it as a symbol of love and fertility, while the Greeks believed that it carried the original source of life.

Man's fascination with pigeons bore practical aspects, too. The homing instinct (which still escapes scientific explanation) and the grace and quickness of pigeons in flight made them invaluable in wartime.

Kligerman begins his journey into the world of pigeons with the words of Pat Sottile, a devoted Brooklyn pigeon fancier: "On the roof . . . you're a natural enemy. In the streets you're friends. But... on the roof . . . its dog eat dog. You raise up your flock? I'm gonna raise up mine ... to get yours. 'Here we are introduced to Greenpoint's own special breed of pigeon fancier and la guerra, the pigeon game as it is played in New York'.

In Belgium, the pigeon-racing capital of the world, however, the pigeon fanciers are of another class altogether. Here, crack Racing Homers are raised in aristocratic circles where gentility reigns supreme. In Europe, too, we learn of the fabulous dovecotes of centuries ago that housed thousands of pigeons at once.

If the history and lore of pigeons are rich, then certainly A Fancy for Pigeons reflects the phenomenon. Whether Kligerman is bringing to us the excitement of pigeon-racing, the painstaking preparation involved in showing pigeons, or the colorful personalities of those who have become enamored of this fabulous bird, he presents his subject with charm and contagious admiration. Including valuable information on the craft of raising pigeons and appendixes of the major pigeon associations and journals, they are all here-Tumblers, Flights, Homers, and Pouters-superbly illustrated and lovingly described in this truly unique birding adventure."

A good read for anyone. Not just the pigeon fancier.

$24  Excellent hard back with jacket, 216pp.
$22 Nearly excellent hardback with jacket 21

Los Angeles Pigeon Club Bulletin: November 1959

Book coverHere is a small piece of history the most successful pigeon club in the country. Everything this club has done, they have done well as even this "lowly" bulletin shows.
$5

National Young Bird Show: Catalogs

Book cover Book cover Book cover
>$6 2001 >$6 2002 >$6 2003
$ 15 Entire set:

NPA Encyclopedia Of Pigeon Standards

Book cover $65 2000 Mint looseleaf
Book cover $95 2000 Mint Hardback, sign by NPA president John Heppner, Secretary James Avery, and District 8 representative Stan Luden.
Book cover $50 1993 excellent, but shows some signs of use
Book cover $50 23oz 1985 near mint
Book cover $35 32oz 1979 Interior is excellent but the covers have faded badly as can be clearly seen in the scan
Book cover

$40 24oz 1971 Very good issue, but previous owners have name stamp and have written page numbers next to the breeds in the index to help find them quickly. A nice touch for ease of use and should have been printed as part of the index, but it detracts from its original condition.

Book cover $50 23oz 1968 Near mint for its age.
$330 Entire set.

NPA Grand National Show & Convention;

Entire set. $125
These professionally prepared reports are the best way to learn not only what type of breeds were being shown, but even the colors and varieties shown by the fanciers of the day. A super resource.
Book cover Lancanster, Pennsylvania, 2005
  sold
Book cover Birmingham, Alabama 2004
$18.5 Mint
Book cover Premium catalog
$6 Mint
Book cover Hartford, Connecticut 2003
 

Sold

 

Book cover Premium catalog
$6
Book cover Tacoma, Washington 2002
$18.5 Mint
Book cover Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 2001
$18.5 Mint
Book cover Milwaukee, Wisconsin 2000
$18.5 Mint
Book cover Myrtle Beach, South Carolina 1999
$18.5 Mint
Book cover San Bernardino, California 1998
$18.5 Mint
Book cover National Pigeon Association Premium Catalog: 1954 This NPA premium catalog is in remarkably good condition. It still has the unused entry blank, pre-addressed envelope, shipping tag, and admission pass. A rare find.
$7
Click for large image National Pigeon Association Premium Catalog: 1942 This NPA premium catalog is in remarkably good condition. It is in mint condition for its age. It still has the unused entry blank, a letter from the Automobile club of Southern California inviting all the the show, and best of all a post paid post card from the Hilton to reserve the room of your choice. If $5.50 for an ocean view room is a little to high for your budget you can get a street side room for $5 A rare find, especially coupled with the show report for this event which is also available
$18 Mint, except for its age. 6oz
Book cover National Pigeon Association Marked Catalogue: 1942 This marked catalog is in excellent condition. If you have some interest in knowing what was shown, by whom, and what place they took, this is the pamphlet for you. Just the the 6 pages exhibitor list is a small treasure trove.
$18
Book cover National Pigeon Association Premium List: 1928 Harrisburg, PA Another very early NPA premium list that is yet in very good condition. It is complete with an unused entry blank and the envelope to send in the entry that never went. The cover has a much darker green background than the scan show.
$22

National Pigeon Association Yearbook:

Book cover 1947-48 This is a very nice copy of an early NPA yearbook. There is some damage to the cover that can be seen from the larger scan, but otherwise in very good condition. The pages, however, have started to tan a bit.
$14 5oz
Book cover 1950-51 This early NPA yearbook is in excellent condition for its age. The cove is only slightly soiled and the interior is near perfect. My scanner does not pick up greens very well, so the cover's background color is actually light green.
$12 5oz

Pageant of Pigeons

The Pageant of Pigeons was and remains the premier pigeon show in America. There are others that are good and at times even compete with the size and grandeur of the Pageant, but none consistently. One of the outstanding features of this premier show is the quality of the entire production, and most certainly the very best show catalogs on this of the Atlantic, replete with photographs.. If one wished to learn the progress of breeds and their handlers, the Pageant's show catalogs has no piers. The show catalogs have been produced nearly every year with only a couple of exceptions, one being when the Los Angeles Pigeon Club hosts the National Pigeon Association (NPA) nationals. When he LPC hosts the NPA nationals, the same energy and quality is devoted to hosting and recording the events of those shows. While the NPA show catalogs of more recent vintage are as good, they do not have the long history. In fact the LPC's show catalogs were the foil and impetus for the improvement in the NPA catalogs.
Book cover 1980  
Book cover $15 1983 in mint condition. For some unknown reason this year's edition used the same cover photograph as the 1979 issue. 7oz
Book cover $121983 in excellent condition. For some unknown reason this year's edition used the same cover photograph as the 1979 issue. 7oz
Book cover $11 1984 Excellent condition, would be in mint except for a small tear on rear cover. 8oz
Book cover $15 1990 in excellent condition, near mint 16oz
Book cover $14 2006 in excellent condition, but with a minor rip on the spine, otherwise mint. 19oz

PigeonsDorothy Hinshaw Patent, William Munoz (Illustrator)

Book cover click for larger imageCity sidewalks, park benches, rooftops-we are used to seeing pigeons everywhere. But how much do we really know about these birds that are able to make their homes in just about any place that people will? While pigeons are so familiar to us that we rarely pay much attention to them, their uncommon intelligence is certainly worth another look.  This resourceful study of the living, eating, mating, and nesting habits of pigeons also reveals many other intriguing details about an extraordinary bird. For instance, did you know that pigeons have no trouble distinguishing a Picasso from a painting by another artist? Or that carrier pigeons were indispensable in wartime because of their uncanny ability to travel hundreds of miles at a stretch to reach a precise location? A pigeon's "bird brain" has proven to be startlingly quick to adapt, which helps explain why more than two hundred breeds survive today.
$16, Published 1997, 78 pages, hardback, and jacket mint.

Chas. Siegal & Son R-67 CatalogSiegal's

Siegel catalog cover, click for larger image

As the title page proclaim, Chas. Siegel's was America's largest pigeon supply house and one of the oldest as well. This catalog was published when catalogs were still substantial, and this one numbered R-67 was most probably published for that year, but certainly no later than 1971 as determined by the selling price of APJ's at $3 per year. APJ's went to $4 per year in January of 1972. It is a very good source of pigeon memorabilia and even some comical relief. The change in pricing is always interesting. For just one example the small leg message bands used by the armed services during WWII were $4.75 per dozen. Today, when you can find one, they are closer to $15 each.

$8 Very good for its age. Some minor foxing.