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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.…

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,…

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…

Additional binding photo.

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 “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.

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…

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,…

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.