London : Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, and J Mawe, 1820 A fair copy of the 1st edition in newer cloth binding, with 3 (of 4) hand coloured plates and lacking the final text pages covering Teredo and Sabella, the explanation of the plates(pp117-123), the index, and erratum. Wodarch wrote his introduction to remedy the lack of an accessible and up to date guide for classifying shells and understanding their context. He hoped that this book would enable students to apply the Linnean system to their collections. This copy is in a newer cloth binding with gilt titles to spine. The binding is clean and sound with light wear to corners. Contents: half title; title page; preface; contents; Introduction; text 116pp; and 3 hand-coloured plates accompanied by text description. Contents generally clean with browning at the page edges. The pages are uneven in size and occasionally poorly opened.
London: G.and W.B. Whittaker, 1824 A fair to good copy of the 1st edition in the original publisher's cloth binding with black and white frontispiece by E Burney. The title page attributes the work as follows: 'By the Author of "Select Female Biography;" "Wonders of the Vegetable Kingdom;" &c.&c.' - reflecting a time when many women authors were unable to put their names to their works. The author, Mary Roberts, wrote a number of books, particularly on natural history, aiming to simplify aspects of the natural world for young people and new students. This copy retains the original black cloth binding rebacked with new cloth spine and, possibly, the original title label. The endpapers have been retained with repair. There are 2 ownership signatures to the fep. Contents with black and white engraved frontispiece; title page; preface; bibliography; errata; contents; and text pp 1-251. The binding is worn at the corners and edges. Contents generally clean with the odd spot/mark. There is some offsetting from the frontispiece. The page corners at pp 75-87 have been turned at some point and now show a faint crease. The top corner tips have been lost from pp 89,91,138,139 and 215. There is small loss from the gutter at p119 and a very small edge tear in the margin at p249. There is no text loss. The final page - 251 has had a paper repair - presumably when the book was rebacked.
London, Edinburgh, and Dublin: A Fullarton and Co. , 1853 A good copy of the 7th corrected and enlarged edition in the original brown cloth binding, with 21 hand coloured plates. The binding has some chipping with loss to the top of the spine, and the cloth is splitting and fraying at the top half of the front hinge. It is otherwise clean and in good order with just light wear at corners and edges. Internally the original endpapers are present and the contents are complete. The plates are tissue-guarded and very clean. The text (and endpapers) have light spotting. The Glossary and Index have been bound slightly out of order, with some Glossary pages in the Index and vice versa - but they are complete.
London : Robert Hardwicke, 1866 A very good to near fine copy of the 1st edition in the original decorative green cloth binding with 11 hand coloured plates and figures in the text. Produced at the height of the Victorian 'get to know nature' period, this book gives a simplified account of the British Mollusca and was intended for young people and new students. The binding has a decorative gilt snail to the front board and gilt titles to the spine. Internally the original brown endpapers are present; there is a frontispiece, title page; text and index with 10 further colour plates; and 4 p publisher's catalogue at the rear. The plate index calls for 11 plates; there is mention of a title page illustration - this is in fact refers to the gilt snail on the front board. The binding is very bright and clean. The spine is slightly darkened and with a little pulling at the top and bottom; there is a little rubbing to corners. The contents are in very good to near fine condition with little obvious marking.
London : Rivington and Co, 1799 A fair copy of Edward Donovan's work on British Shells, in contemporary half morocco bindings with 180 hand coloured plates. Donovan is justly famed for his accurately observed and delicate illustrations of wildlife - mainly birds, insects, fish and shells. He took advantage of the large numbers of specimens being brought back to museums and private collections from voyages and expeditions. British Shells was issued in parts between 1799 and 1803 and subscribers would have been able to bind their copies as they chose. Donovan's works had limited distribution because of their expense, and have become scarcer as many sets have been broken up for their plates. This set is half morocco, with gilt lines to the spine and gilt titles, volume numbers and dates, and has marbled boards. The page edges have been minimally trimmed. The bindings are worn but sound - so the morocco is losing its surface on the spine joints and corners and there is general edge wear. The volumes have spent some time in the library of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, and each volume has a stamp to the title page, some library numbers to the verso (except Vol I, which has another library stamp), and a stamp to a blank area of a text page later in the book. All the volumes have spotty and browned endpapers and blanks, and the quality of the text page paper varies considerably. Some is brown-toned, and some sections have brown toning to the margins, but not the text area. There are no tissue-guards, so there is some offsetting from strongly coloured plates. The plate paper is largely free of foxing, and varies from white to toned. There is the odd ?ink mark and spot, and occasional light browning at the top page edge probably from soot. Vol I: title page 1799; introduction 3pp; 36 hand coloured plates with text descriptions; index 10pp. Vol II: title page 1800; 36 hand coloured plates with text descriptions; 10pp index. Vol III: title page 1801; 36 hand coloured plates with text descriptions; 8pp index. Vol IV: title page 1802; 36 hand coloured plates with text descriptions; 8pp index. Vol V: title page 1803; 36 hand coloured plates with text descriptions; 7pp index; 1 pp advert for Donovan's works. Vol V has 2 plates which are foxed, and a waterstain affecting the top of the text pages accompanying plates CXLV and CXLVI. Please ask for more images if you would like to further assess condition.
London : Lovell Reeve, 1854 A good copy with 20 hand coloured illustrations drawn by Sowerby and printed by Vincent Brooks. In the original decorative cloth binding with a gilt mollusk on the front board. This book forms part of Lovell Reeve's Popular Natural History series, designed for young people with aim of giving them an insight into the natural world. The decorative cloth bindings are very distinctive as is the good quality of the illustrations - with many of the volumes having hand coloured plates. This copy has been expertly rebacked to preserve the original spine and endpapers. It is therefore sound and tight. The front board has a couple of small indentations to the edges and a bumped top corner. The spine is dulled. The endpapers have slight marking. Contents: publisher's catalogue; half title; frontispiece; title page; preface; list of plates; text with 19 further plates; index. The paper has brown toning, particularly to edges and there is slight folding evident to the top page corners at the beginning of the book (probably related to the corner bumping). An early owner has written 'Chapter 18' above the chapter heading with roman numerals. Plate 1 has a professional repaired paper tear and page 232 has some red offsetting from the red on the shell on the following plate page. Overall a good sound copy of a scarce work.
London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, 1823 A very good copy of the 1st edition with hand coloured frontispiece and 36 further hand coloured plates. In newer quarter leather binding with marbled boards and gilt-lined raised bands to spine. The binding is in very good clean condition. With new endpapers and new initial and final blanks. Contents: frontispiece; title page; dedication; description of frontispiece; contents; Introduction; text interspersed with plates; glossary. Text and plates are in very good clean condition. There is the occasional mark including some brown spotting on pp xii and xiv, and occasional staining in the gutter (this looks to be caused by the paste from the original wraps). There is a handwritten note to p198.
![Illustrations of the Fossil Conchology of Great Britain and Ireland, with the descriptions and localities of all the species hitherto discovered. Parts 1,2,4,5,6,7, 8 [incomplete], 9, 10,11,12,19/20](https://d3525k1ryd2155.cloudfront.net/h/032/640/867640032.0.m.jpg)
Edinburgh: Maclachlan & Stewart; John Smith & Son; William Curry, Jun. & Co; Smith, Elder, & Co.; and W S Orr & Co, 1849 A rare set of parts in original paper wraps with 52 colour plates (of 53). They are undated but the full work was published by Smith, Elder in 1849. Parts 1,2,4,5,6,7,9,10,11 and 12 are complete - with original wraps, 4 colour plates and 4 pages of text. All were published in Edinburgh. Part 8, published in Manchester, is incomplete - lacking one plate, all the text and the back part of the wrapper. Some of the wrappers look to be made from the left-over print runs for other publications eg Illustrations of Game Birds. Part 19/20 was published in London and has 9 colour plates and 8 pages of text. All have dog-eared covers with some grubbiness and general nibbling to edges/spine area. The contents are generally clean but with a little rippling/grubbiness at edges. Presumably when bound, the pages and plates would have been trimmed. There is some light marking in parts 1 and 8. The plates are not bound in order eg Part 1 contains plates I, III, V and VI.
London : Harvey and Darton, 1826 A very good copy of the 1st edition with hand coloured frontispiece and 9 further hand-coloured plates. A scarce work by a little-known female author - Mary Anne Venning. Her best known work is probably 'The Geographical Present' and she wrote a number of other works for children with a scientific theme. She follows the same style as other female authors of the time eg Elizabeth Fitton, Jane Marcet, by using dialogue between a teacher or parent and a child or children to convey factual information. In contemporary quarter leather binding with marbled boards. The spine has been rebacked - retaining the original. The corners and edges have wear but the binding is otherwise in very good condition. The original endpapers have been repaired and retained. There is a light ink signature of Alice Harbuck to the fep and to the top of the title page. Contents: frontispiece, title page, advertisement (listing sources for her work) 1p, contents listing 3pp; text 103pp with 9 further hand coloured plates. Contents in very good clean condition. There is a little paint marking to the verso of plate 9.
London : Smith, Elder, and Co.,, 1845 A good copy of the 1st edition in the original decorative cloth binding with 27 colour plates. With title page, dedication, preface and systematic index pp i-xi; text with occasional pencil scholarly annotation; alphabetical list and index and description of plates 142pp; list of works by Brown; and 27 colour plates bound at the rear. Loose alphabetical list of land and fresh water shells included - published by Smith Elder and for 'effecting exchanges and naming collections'. The binding has blind stamped illustration to the boards and gilt decoration and titles to spine. There are some areas of fading to the boards but they are very clean and the spine is bright. Corners have wear and bumping and there is a little pulling to the spine. There is a little grubbiness to the endpapers and a small ink signature to the top of the fep. Text pages generally clean with the occasional spot or mark - mainly in the gutter of the top margin. The tissue -guarded plates have some spotting - mainly to margins rather to the images. The tissue guards have spotting. Plate edges protrude beyond the text page edges and therefore have some browning.
London : L REEVE & CO., 1855 A rare original copy of Lovell Reeve's Monograph on the Genus Patella, which formed part of Vol 8 of his 20 volume work: Conchologia Iconica. In very good condition with 42 hand coloured plates. In plain red cloth binding with gilt titles to spine. The front page of the part wrapper has been bound in, slightly trimmed, as the title page. With half title page (with small section of verse); plates and accompanying text pages; and index with small errata note (2pp). The text pages are dated 1854-55, but they are not numbered. The binding is in very good clean condition with a little wear to edges and a very small mark to the back board. The contents are in very good bright condition. The plates are not tissue-guarded, so, where the shells are strongly coloured, there has been some offsetting to the next text page. There is a small repaired edge tear to the half title page. Pages have light brown toning towards the edges.
London : L REEVE & CO., 1856 A rare and very good copy of Lovell Reeve's Monograph on the Genus Cancellaria, with 18 hand coloured plates by George Brettingham Sowerby. Complete in itself, this Monograph is part of Vol 10 of Lovell Reeve's extensive 20 volume Conchologia Iconica. In strong plain cloth binding with gilt titles to spine. The front cover to the original wrap has been bound in as the title page. There is a further half title with some verse. Each plate is bound with its relevant text page. None of the pages are numbered; they have a date at the bottom - covering 1855-1856. With single page index to the Genus at the rear. The side of the half title page has been repaired (not affecting text) but the remainder of the contents are in very good clean condition.
London : Benjamin White, 1776 A very good copy of this scarce work, with 7 folding hand-coloured plates. Emanuel Mendes da Costa (1717-1791) was a very knowledgeable and respected 'amateur' with a focus on fossils. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1747. In his preface to this work he states that he did not see himself as a conchologist, but came to the study through his fossil work, where shells, sometimes in near perfect condition, were very frequent. He decided to study them in more detail: giving a series of public lectures on the subject which formed the substance of this work. This copy is in a recent near fine half leather binding with raised bands, gilt titles and blind tooling to spine; and marbled boards. The pastedowns are new - the front with the name of Dwight W Taylor stamped to the top. Contents include Preface pp i-viii; text pp 1-296; folding tables pp 297-8; Index pp 299-318; errata 1p; publisher's advert 1p; 7 folding hand coloured plates. The contents are in very good clean condition. There is a repair to the edge of the side margin of p 155 where the book was poorly opened. There are 2 old pencil annotations (pp 160 and 194) to the effect that the numbering of the figures is transposed. Pages 169 and 176 have a darkened line to the side margin not affecting text. A lovely copy of an extremely rare work.
LONDON : John and Arthur Arch, 1815 A good copy of the 1st edition of this extremely rare work, with 11 plates, 9 of which are hand coloured. Brookes set out to write for those who wanted to understand Conchology, but who might not have a grounding in natural history. He took care to use english rather than latin names where possible, and to give readers a clear framework for their study. This copy is in a later speckled calf binding with gilt lining and blind stamped decoration to the board edges. The spine has raised bands with gilt lining and gilt stamped decoration. There is a leather title. It is in near fine condition. Page edges are marbled. There is an inked owners name to a preliminary - J Reid Moir. 3rd November 1919 - possibly the Reid Moir who authored 'Antiquity of Man in East Anglia'. The title page has browning and some spotting and an ink mark. The text pages vary between very clean and bright (the majority) to occasional foxing and spotting, to quite heavy foxing in the margins (a section p 71- circa p 90 - affecting margin but not text itself). The plate paper is slightly brown toned but the plates are generally clean and the hand colouring is beautifully done. Each plate has a protective guard.
