Eyelids of the Morning by Peter Beard, Spectacular 2 Page Autograph Treatment

Eyelids of the Morning by Alistair Graham and Peter Beard

Featuring Spectacular Peter Beard Double Page Autograph and Art

Peter Beard is one of the great photographers of the 20^th century. His photography books including “Peter Beard, The Art Edition” by Taschen, “Eyelids of the Morning”, “The End of the Game”, and “Diary” are among some of the finest ever published. Although he is noted for his unique signature treatments, for this copy of “Eyelids of the Morning” he really outdid himself. The two page spread on the title page and first free endpaper includes a photo of an elephant with the handwritten caption, “The End of the Game Last Word from Paradise”, a photo of a giraffe, a hand written quotation, “By his sneerings a light doth shine and his eyes are like the Eyelids of the Morning, (JOB)”, his full signature with a dedication “All My Best” along with his Nairobi post office address, and finally his classic fountain pen droppings and brown brush strokes. I have taken numerous photographs of the two page spread and they appear at the bottom of this listing. You can click on any of the pictures and view all of the photographs as a slideshow.

The book is the 1990 Chronicle Books, San Francisco edition of “Eyelids of the Morning”. The true first edition was published by NY Graphics in 1974. From the Peter Beard website, “Hailed by reviewers as “enthralling,” “spectacular,” and “vividly dramatic” when it was first published in 1974, Eyelids of Morning remains a standard for natural history reporting, stunning wildlife photography, cutting-edge ecological ideas, and hard-core realism.  The legendary and fearsome Nile crocodiles and the Turkana tribespeople who live side by side with them are the focus of this classic, the dramatic and adventurous tale of Alistair Graham’s three years of research on Kenya’s Lake Rudolf. Joined by photographer Peter Beard – whose prodigious talent is displayed here in over two hundred full-color and duotone photographs – Graham undertook an investigation into the habits, history, and dubious future of one of the last great crocodile populations on earth in an unprecedented scientific effort to prevent this population’s almost certain extinction.

From years filled with near-fatal encounters with crocodiles, bandits, and drowning, and a variety of conflicts with the Turkanas, the authors fashioned a moving and captivating account of the crocodiles’ profound influence on native myths, symbols, and everyday lives. This is also a sobering documentation of the devastating impact that hunters, explorers, and developers have had on the crocodiles’ existence, as well as a hard look at essential population dynamics and the politics of sheer survival in a world racing toward ecological disaster.

A monumental work, Eyelids of Morning will fascinate anyone concerned with the plight of African wildlife – and the future of humanity itself.”

The definitive book on crocodiles (mainly the giant ones in L. Turkana (formerly L. Rudolph), Northern Frontier District, Kenya), it contains over 100 incredible photographs.  Measuring 10’ x 14”, the book is a hardcover bound in dark blue cloth with gold stamping on the front cover and spine. The condition of the book is FINE in a FINE- dust jacket with very superficial wear. This is a wonderful opportunity to obtain an exceptional copy of one of Peter Beard’s more important works with one of the most remarkable autograph treatments that I have ever encountered.