Original gray cloth, lettered/illus. in black. viii,9-320 pp., illus. w/ 16 color plates, 24 b&w and additional illus./decorations in text by Clarke. Moderate shelf/handling wear with cloth flecked on portions of both covers, most prominent on lower half of each, with a few relatively minor soil marks and spots to cloth. Mild rubbing along joints and spine extremities, tiny (1/8") tear to cloth along upper front joint. Text block edges typically toned with minor foxing, with a modest gap between top of binding and spine cloth, with binding firm and intact. Gift inscription dated 1933 on front flyleaf, otherwise unmarked. Front hinge fully intact, rear hinge slightly starting along lower portion but firm. Scattered internal foxing through interior, generally minor/light, ranging in a few instances to moderate, including several of the plates (foxed borders and/or blank versos). Diagonal edge crease to color frontis. Minor silverfishing to lower corners of rear flyleaf and rear pastedown. One leaf (pp. 13-14) had apparently detached and has been re-inserted, with archival document repair tape used to mend both long edges; fore-edge of this leaf shows some chipping and short closed tears, and this leaf shows some foxing and soiling. Overall, some cosmetic issues, but structurally intact, quite scarce. Clarke's first book.