Veitch, James H. Hortus Veitchii. A History of the rise and progress of the Nurseries of Messrs. James Veitch and Sons, together with an account of the Botanical Collectors and Hybridists employed by them and a list of the most remarkable of their introductions.
1st. Ed. Pub. James Veitch and Sons Ltd. 1906 pp.542 with 50 plates of photographs and illus. 4to. Hardback. TEG. Early signaure to half-title. Ffep. neatly removed. Internal hinges a little tender - text block still sound. A couple of sections a little clumsily opened and a small number unopened. Rubbed out drawings to verso of two plates, occ. spotting o/w. contents fine. Original red cloth binding with gilt lettering in vg. plus condition.
A most fascinating work. Hortus Veitchii begins with a biographical introduction to the Veitch family and their interests. Around a fifth of the work is dedicated to accounts of 27 of the leading plant collectors and hybridists whom the Veitch’s employed, including William Lobb, Thomas Lobb and E.H. Wilson. The book then focusses on the vast number of plants these men brought back and worked on; not just by listing them, but through an enticing mixture of detailed background text and photographs.
£150.00 [ref: 67862]

Verner, Willoughby. My Life Among The Wild Birds of Spain.
1st. Ed. Pub. John Bale, Sons & Danielsson. 1909 pp.xvi, 468 with many b/w. photos. and illus. in text and fold-out view of Bearded Vulture's nesting station on linen as published at rear. Large 8vo. Hardback. Very minor, very occasional spotting, o/w. contents fine. With the bookplate of Herbert Massey to front pastedown. With one note in pencil reference the number of eggs laid by Raven in Britain. Original decorated green cloth boards, spine more recently relaid, and very pleasingly, the original end-papers retained in tact, all in nr. fine condition. A scarce work with super provenance.
Herbert Massey (1852-1939) ‘created one of the finest private collections of birds’ eggs ever to be formed in Britain.....The quality of his collection was paramount and contained some of the rarest specimens ever assembled in one collection.....His eggs of the Limicolae were so outstanding that Frank Poynting chose to base his illustrations in his classic ‘Eggs of British Birds - Limicolae’ (1895/96) from specimens in Massey’s collection.....Herbert Massey was a remarkable oologist. Kind hearted and generous, he was not subject to outbreaks of irritability or petulance to which some of his fellow oologists were sometimes prone at meetings.’ (Cole and Trobe).
£750.00 [ref: 60808]

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von Lendenfeld, Robert. A Monograph of the Horny Sponges.
1st. Ed. Pub. for the Royal Society by Trubner and Co. 1889 pp.iv, 936 with 51 plates. Large 4to. Hardback. Ex. academic lib. Minor spotting, very largely confined to three plates, o/w. contents exceptionally clean and fine. More recent camel colour cloth, gilt lettered, in nr. fine condition.
An important and comprehensive work dedicated to the study of the orders Monoceratina and Hexaceratina, published on behalf of the Royal Society.
£120.00 [ref: 61980]

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Wallace, A.R. Island Life. Or the Phenomena and causes of Insular Faunas and Floras.
1st. Ed. Pub. Macmillan, London. 1880 pxvii, 526 with a hand-coloured map. Royal 8vo. Originally a W.H.Smith and Son’s subscription library copy, the only indication being their partly removed label to ffep and a neat repair to the title-page. Scattered, light foxing at ends o/w. contents in fine condition. Original publisher’s binding, internal hinges strengthened, with boards gently rubbed and bumped. A thor. vg. copy.
The forward thinking W.H.Smith & Son’s subscription Library operated from 1860 to 1961 with the objective that ‘it embraces all the most important Works of History, Biography, Travel, Fiction, Poetry, Science and Theology, as well as the leading magazines and reviews’. It is highly likely that following its publication in 1880 this copy went straight into the subscription service.
£750.00 [ref: 42943]

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Wallace, Alfred Russel. Darwinism. An Exposition of the Theory of Natural Selection with Some of its Applications.
1st. Ed. Pub. Macmillan. 1889 pp.xvi, 494 with portrait photographic frontis. of Wallace plus 37 text illus., colour fold-out map plus 2-pages of Publisher’s adverts. 8vo. Hardback. Prov : With the charmingly illustrated bookplate of John Fowles (1926 - 2005), author of ‘The French Lieutenant’s Woman, to ffep. Further charming bookplate to front pastedown and a signature to verso of ffep. With the minor exception of some spotting to the frontispiece’s tissue guard the contents are exceptionally clean and fine. Original green cloth binding, lettered in gilt to spine, in nr. fine condition.
A most pleasing copy of Wallace’s work in support of Darwinism with some very interesting provenance.
£1,200.00 [ref: 70715]

Walton, I. & Cotton, C. The Complete Angler; or, Contemplative Man’s Recreation: Being a Discourse on Rivers, Fish-ponds, Fish, and Fishing.
2nd. Bagster. Ed. Pub. R. Watts. 1815 pp.514 with portrait frontis., plates and illus. 8vo. Hardback. Some scattered foxing to contents, small label removed from verso of frontis., o/w. contents fine. More recently rebound in green cloth boards, with original spine-title relaid, in fine condition.
£175.00 [ref: 42105]

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Weston Bell, E. The Scottish Deerhound. With notes on its Origin and Characteristics.
1st. Ed. thus Pub. Peregrine Books. 1990 pp.[x], [viii], 138 with 16 plates plus further illus., and 20-page publisher’s catalogue. Large 8vo. A total of 131 numbered copies were sold (from a total print run of just 250 copies) pre-publication to subscribers and these people are listed within. This copy is No. 25 and was purchased by E.M. Krähenbühl, Switzerland. Contents fine. Bound in green cloth with gilt decoration to front board in fine condition. A super copy.
£200.00 [ref: 67756]

Weston Bell, E. The Scottish Deerhound. With notes on its Origin and Characteristics.
1st. Ed. thus Pub. Peregrine Books. 1990 pp.[x], [viii], 138 with 16 plates plus further illus., and 20-page publisher’s catalogue. Large 8vo. A total of 131 numbered copies were sold (from a total print run of just 250 copies) pre-publication to subscribers and these people are listed within. This copy is No. 112 and was purchased by H. & F. Crawley, Nova Scotia, Canada. Four tiny spots and one small mark o/w. the contents are in fine condition. Bound in green cloth with gilt decoration to front board in nr. fine condition. A super copy.
£200.00 [ref: 66466]

Whitaker, J.I.S. The Birds of Tunisia. Being a history of the birds found in the Regency of Tunis.
1st. Ed. Pub. R.H. Porter, London. 1905 Two volume set with two photogravure frontispieces, 15 hand coloured plates by Gronvold, two further photogravure plates plus two maps. Royal 8vo. Hardback. TEG. Light spotting to ends, a very minor amount to less than a handful of text leaves o/w. contents exceptionally clean and in fine condition. Handsome contemporary half morocco leather over marbled boards by R.H. Porter in nr. fine condition. Comes with a handwritten letter (dated Jan 1896) from J.H. Gurney, author of ‘Rambles of a Naturalist in Egypt and other Countries’, in which he thanks the recipient for ‘your kind present of the young ‘Spilornis Cheela’ [Crested Serpent Eagle] on behalf of the [Norfolk and Norwich] Museum. Also comes with a loosely inserted 5-page obituary for the author Joseph I.S. Whitaker published in The Ibis (1937). Limited Edition of just 250 sets. A most pleasing set.
Highly respected Sicilian-English ornithologist J.I.S. Whitaker contributed a number of papers to The Ibis between 1894 and 1910, ‘mainly on the birds of Tunisia and Morocco, which culminated in the publication in 1905, of two handsome volumes, ‘The Birds of Tunisia.’ So accurate and up to date were his writings at that time that this will long remain the standard work on the country’ (The Ibis (1937). Stunning plates by Henrik Gronvold.
£850.00 [ref: 72171]

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White, Gilbert. The Natural History & Antiquities of Selborne & A Garden Kalendar. Edited by R. Bowdler Sharpe.
Ltd. Ed. Pub. S.T. Freemantle. 1900 Two volumes. With many plates, illustrations and vignettes. Crown 4to. Edges untrimmed as published. TEG. Bound in original stiff vellum boards - spine of volume 1 rebacked, preserving most of the original; a 4cm split to vellum at top of rear external hinge. Otherwise, bindings in vg. condition. Internal hinges in fine condition. Gilt embossed, hand coloured coat-of-arms to front boards. Very minor amount of foxing, o/w. contents in fine condition. Limited edition of 160 sets, this being no.67. Signed by Bowdler Sharpe and the artists.
This edition is beautifully illustrated by three of the leading illustrators of the period, namely J.G. Keulemans, Herbert Railton, Edmund J Sullivan. Further, this edition contains Gilbert White’s Naturalist’s Kalendar first published in 1795.
£400.00 [ref: 36807]

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