This close-up of the inscription found within Richardson’s Notice of the Fishes is addressed to “Dr. Greville.” This Dr. Greville is likely Robert Kaye Greville (1794–1866), an English natural historian who specialized in mycology and botany. Greville’s herbarium included some specimens from Arctic expeditions, and Richardson and Greville were known correspondents.
This is one of the earliest publications by zoologist and explorer, Sir John Richardson. His Notice of the Fishes was included as an appendix in Sir John Franklin’s Narrative of a Journey to the Shores of the Polar Sea, in the Years 1819, 20, 21, and 22 (1823). This is the scarce separate printing of Richardson’s report on the fish of this important Arctic expedition and includes his inscription to “Dr. Greville.”
I chose this copy of The Fishing Tourist for rebinding as the text block was generally clean but the binding had suffered serious damage. When I received the rebound book from Debra Frances, I was delighted to find a portion of the original binding’s spine and endband pasted to new front free endpaper. Small details such as this that preserve the physical history of a specific copy of a book are one of the things I love about book collecting.
The Fishing Tourist: Angler's Guide and Reference Book
Debra Frances (binding in fish skin); Charles Hallock (author)
New York (published); bound in lake trout caught in northwestern Ontario
I believe that engaging with the larger community of book artists and craftspeople is an important—and arguably essential—part of being a book collector. I enjoy occasionally commissioning custom bindings for my books. This copy of Hallock’s The Fishing Tourist was recently bound in fish skin by Winnipeg binder and book artist, Debra Frances. The skin is Lake Trout, which Debra caught in a Northwestern Ontario lake and then cleaned and tanned herself before executing the binding. The Fishing Tourist is a significant book, as it was the first to widely publicise the presence of an important gamefish, the Michigan Grayling. Unfortunately, the fish became so popular that overfishing, combined with habitat loss and introduction of other fish species, led to its extinction by the 1930s.
The “Fishes” section of Shaw’s General Zoology includes four volumes, each with an engraved title page adorned with a vignette of a fish in an ocean scene. In my hand-coloured copy of this title, all four vignettes have also been hand coloured.
General Zoology or Systematic Natural History
Shaw’s General Zoology was a popular natural history compendium published in the first quarter of the nineteenth century. The “Fishes” volumes of Shaw’s Zoology are often found on the market today; however, this is the first (and only!) copy I have seen where all 189 engravings have been professionally hand coloured. This specific plate was chosen to compare with the uncoloured example of the same plate featured in the original exhibition.
This page shows young Elsje exploring the ocean in her new piscine form, naively unaware of the dangers that await her in the background.
I enjoy adding these sorts of books to the social history portion of my collection. Many nineteenth-century children’s stories feature fish (or children who transform into fish) that stray from the safety of their homes and parents. Some children, like our Elsje, are able to return home safely after their ill-advised adventures, but others are not so lucky… Cautionary tales such as these were common in the nineteenth century.
The lovely front wrapper of Elsje bij de Visschen was protected for over 100 years by the custom dust jacket created for the book not long after it was published.