Books

Folio (327 x 213 mm), pp. 18, 1, 19-125, 1, 126-197, 20. Gothic letter, red and black throughout. Engraved pictorial title showing Duke Albrecht V of Bavaria within an architectural setting, surrounded by five councillors, lion at feet, receiving the statute book. Title on scroll supported by putti, above arms of the Dukes of Bavaria. Woodcut of a measuring rod and a crayfish on page 153 verso, three folding plates with ten woodcuts of freshwater fish recto and verso. Woodcut initials. Contemporary binding of German blindstamped pigskin over bevelled wooden boards, roll-tool panels of Biblical scenes and allegorical depictions, original brass clasps and catches completely intact. Library label pasted on the innerside of frontboard and small library stamp on the bottom of front paper, not affecting the engraving. An exceptionally well preserved copy with contemporary blindstamped pigskin and original brass claps,

Carolum Stephanum, Paris, 1553. Pierre Gourdelle (illustrator). Oblong octavo (117 x 177 mm). pp. (32), 448, with 187 woodcuts, many full page, in the text. Contemporary vellum with original title in ink on spine. Some pages browned, see images. Belon (1517- 1564), was a Renaissance scientist and based his work on true observation, rectifying what Aristotle, Oppianus, Pliny and other classical authors had written. He divided aquatic animals into two divisions, those provided with blood and those without, corresponding to the modern taxa: Vertebrata and Invertebrata. They were classified according to size, differences in the structure of the skeleton, mode of reproduction, number of limbs, body form and on the physical characteristics of the habitat (Pietsch, 1995). There are drawings of 110 species of fish. Nearly all the marine fishes are Mediterranean but there are also species of the Atlantic region obtained from the Paris market. Marine mammals, crabs, lobsters, shellfish, oysters and cockles are depicted as well.

A. Bertrand, Paris, 1826. Half-Leather. Book Condition: Good. R.P. Lesson (illustrator). First and only Edition. Folio, with engraved title and 157 engraved plates: 9 mammals, 44 birds, 7 reptiles, 38 fishes, 16 mollusques, 5 crustacians, 22 insects, 16 zoophytes (155 printed in colours and many finished by hand, 1sepia and 1 b/w). A complete and handsome Atlas of the Zoology Section of the voyage. A monument in the history of zoology. The French zoologist and skillful draughtsman R.P. Lesson sampled and drew the animals during the voyage. Many of his drawings were used as models by the artists J.G. Prêtre (Birds), A-G Bévalet (Fishes) and the engraver J-L. D. Coutant for preparation of the hand-coloured engravings. Contemporary red half morocco, marbled paper boards. The atlas is rebacked, preserving the original gilt ornamented spine. Some plates have marginal foxing, but not affecting the exquisite colours of the images.

Van Merlen, Paris, 1664. First Edition, 6 parts in 2 volumes (16.5 x 12.5 cm), with 67 engraved plates (22 x 15.5 cm) by Albert Flamen. A superb and COMPLETE SET OF ENGRAVINGS on large paper. Flamen used to first etch his plates and worked them afterwards lightly with a dry needle. The plates of this copy are carefully folded 'sur onglet' and beautifully bound in full blue morocco with gilt ornamental design on spine and inner dentelles. All edges gilt. Colourful marbled pastedowns, front and end papers. Latin and French names of fish and other aquatic animals are given below engravings.

Historiae Animalium liber IIII qui est de Piscium & Aquatilium animantium natura. Cum iconibus singulorum ad vivum expressis. Continentur in hoc volumine, Gulielmi Rondeletii & Petri Belonii Cenomani de aquatilium singulis Scripta. Zürich, Christof Froschauer, 1558. First Edition. Folio (389 x 238 mm), pp. 40, 1297 with printer's device on title page. More than 700 woodcuts in the text (Nissen, 1951).Engraved headpieces. Contemporary German blindstamped pigskin over bevelled wooden boards, roll-tool panels of prophets and Bible scenes, brass clasps and catches. Gessner (1516-1565), in his Historia Animalium, attempted to bring together all that was known about the animal kingdom in his day. The present volume on fish and aquatic animals is a part of his encyclopaedia of plants and animals, the first systematic treatise of the Renaissance.

Neapoli, Ex Officina Jacobi Raillard, 1689, first edition. Crown octavo (154 x98 mm), with one engraved allegorical frontispiece showing Apollo with lyre and fishing rod offering a fish to a group of women, and 11 engraved plates, decorative headpieces, printer's flowers and woodcut tailpieces. Bound in early nineteenth-century vellum. Spine with gilt ruled bands and gilt lettering. Supralibros of the House of Masséna with their cote of arms stamped in gold on both covers. All edges gilt. Provenance: André Masséna (1758-1817), Duc de Rivoli , Prince d' Essling.

James Steiner, Germany. Publishing Date Ca. 1910. Oblong 12mo, 12 x 17 cm. Publishers blue cloth, gilt title and a gilt illustration of the Hawaiian beach with a fishing boat on frontcover. Oblong 12mo, 12 x 17 cm. Publishers blue cloth, gilt title and a gilt illustration of the Hawaiian beach with a fishing boat on frontcover. With 12 breathtaking chromolithographs of tropical sea fishes found near the Hawaiian islands. The following fish species are illustrated: the Humuhumu, Ula ula, Kapuhili, the flying fish Malolo, the Laipala, Ohua, Lae-Nihi, Kikakapu, Kawa, Akilolo, Kala, and the Nohu. The plates are bound in accordion style, and can be viewed either by turning each leaf or by folding out. A description of the Honolulu Aquarium is printed on the inside of the back board. Magnificent and complete copy.

London, William Mackenzie, [1879]. First edition. Two folio volumes. 41 plates of fishes by A.F. Lydon after Benjamin Fawcett, coloured from woodblocks and heightened with gum arabic. Plates protected by tissue-guards. Numerous engraved chapter vignettes and 64 wood-engraved illustrations with river and lake scenes. Title-pages printed in red and black. Original publisher's brick textured cloth. Black-, gilt-, blind-stamped with piscatorial motives like anglers, dragon flies, water lilies and bull rushes on both covers. All edges gilt.

Warszawi, Drukarnii Latkiewicza, 1822. Octavo (128 x 203 mm) pp. 7, 464, 24, 4 plates with 13 lithographs of fish, sygn.: Litogr. w Warszawie 1822 T. P. . Contemporary hard paper boards, spine professionaly rebacked. Text in Polish. An extensive and rare work on the taxonomy of fishes. Embellished with the following engravings: Myletes macropomus, Hydrocinus brasiliensis, Pristigaster Lichtensteinii, Sudis giganteus, Leptocephalus Morrisii, Eremophilus Mutisii, Prenadilla Cyclopum, Astroblephus Grixalvii, Argentina Sphyraena, Spatularia nasifolia, Scombresox Saurus, Callorhynchus Gronovii, Hakonosa dziwacznego. Previous owners: Library stamps of the Bibliotheka Zakladu on second page; J.Tenenbaum inscribed on front pastedown;  J.W. Smoniewski stamped on title page.

Paris, chez Plassan, ans VI-XI de la republique (1798-1803). Duodecimo (170 x 120 mm), 11 volumes, pp. 288, 416, 360, 472, 414, 413, 428, 447, 368, 401, 399 and 116 uncoloured plates. Contemporary light-brown half-calf. Sprinkled boards. Spines with six gilt ruled bands and gilt-lettering. Second compartments with salmon-coloured label, read La Cépède followed by volume number. Third compartments, with dark-blue label, read poissons. All edges yellow. Full-page engravings by the widow Tardieu after the famous painter de Sève. A complete copy of this rare taxonomic work, with beautifully preserved French bindings. Being a great admirer of the legendary zoologist Buffon, of the famous Histoire Naturelle (1749 -1804), Lacépède contributed substantially to this work by writing the chapters on Quadripèdes ovipares et Serpents (2 volumes), Poissons (5 volumes) and Cétacées (1 volume), (B.M.N.H.,1903). The five volumes on Fishes were printed in quarto (1798-1803). A reissue appeared in eleven volumes in duodecimo (1798-1803) as in the present copy. Nissen, Schöne Fischbücher, 1951, nr. 87.

Paris, Furne, Jouvet et Cie, 1876. Superoctavo (270 x 172 mm), 2 volumes, pp. 12, 668, and 648 with 36 hand-coloured steel-engravings (Nissen, 1969), in splendid condition. Beautiful contemporary wine-red half-calf, including leather corners, with matching red marbled boards. Five gilt ruled raised bands on spines and gilt lettering. Second compartments read Cuvier followed by Histoire de Lacépède and third compartments with volume numbers. Other compartments with gilt decorations. Colourful marbled pastedowns, front and endpapers. A superb copy with all plates in top condition. Bernard-Germain-Étienne Delaville also known as Comte Delacépède (1756-1825), was professor in zoology (reptiles and fishes) at the Museum of Natural History in Paris. The introduction to the book, by Cuvier, gives excellent background information on Lacépède. He is described as a versatile genius, publishing works on music, physics and zoology. Lacépède was invited by the composer Christoph Willibald Gluck to write the music for the opera Alcyone. Being a great admirer of the legendary zoologist Buffon of the famous Histoire Naturelle (1749-1804), he contributed substantially to this work by writing the chapters on Quadrupèdes ovipares et Serpents ( 2 volumes), Poissons (5 volumes) and Cétacées (1 volume) ( B.M.N.H., 1903). The present book, of which the first edition appeared in 1839, is literally based on the contents of the eight volumes of Lacépède incorporated in Buffon's classic work. The new issue, however, has many footnotes with new information or views and uses the new classification of Desmaret. Apart of the scientific value, the text includes a number of interesting anecdotes. The excellent plates, showing the animals in lovely landscapes, are from Annedouche, Beyer, Mme Fournier, Manceau and after the painter Edouard Traviès. They cover the following animal groups: whales 5 plates, reptiles and batrachians 15 plates, fish 4 plates in volume one and fish 12 plates in volume two. Nissen,1969; B.M.N.H.,1903.

Genève-Bale-Lyon, H. Georg, Libraire-Éditeur, printed by Ramboz et Schuchardt, 1874. First and only edition. Large-folio (510 x 330 mm), pp. 12, 209, 3, and 20 plates. Lunel notes in his preface that his son Alphonse has drawn fish from life, painting the colours quickly on paper after removal the specimens from capture into glass jars. Text and the magnificent large colour lithographs were printed at first by Jacomme on his lithographic press in Geneva. As the quality of colour plates printing was more sophisticated in Germany, Theodor Fischer in Kassel continued the work. The images have many colours, gold and silver. A beautiful album with brilliant sparkling fish. A limited number of 120 copies were printed (Sotheby's 2003). The present copy has the luxurious green half morocco publisher's binding including leather corners with marbled boards, a spine with five false raised bands, gilt decorations and lettering. Some inoffensive marginal foxing and one plate modestly repaired with a tiny tape at the back.
Nissen, Schöne Fischbücher, 1951, nr. 90.

John van Voorst, printed by Samuel Bentley, London, 1842. Contemporary full-green Morocco. First edition. Super Octavo (259 x 162 mm), pp.15, 250, with 205 fine wood-cuts in the text. Engravings probably by Mary and Elizabeth Clint. Full green morocco, gilt lettering on spine and 5 raised bands. Second compartment reads Heraldry of Fish, third compartment Moule, and London 1842 on spine heel. Other compartments with gilt emblems. Gilt ornamentation on covers. Gilt bordered dentelles, marbled pastedowns, front and endpapers, top edge gilt. A beautiful and very rare large paper copy. Moule states that, as symbols for names, almost all fish have been used in heraldry. A LARGE PAPER COPY with 11 ADDITIONAL PLATES of which one is hand-coloured. In many instances fish have been incorporated into the arms to reflect the produce of the state or the family name. The fish displayed on the heraldic device may also be chosen by the bearer of the device because he feels that the particular species displays a characteristic which he admires. Thus the acquaint device has a twofold interest. The subjects in The Heraldry of Fish are arranged according to a natural history form of classification. The book consists of XIV sections. Of particular interest are: V. The salmon, trout, smelt, and grayling, with their enemy the otter; XII. The dog-fish, sea lions, and other monsters; XIII. The seal, mermaid and triton. Among the extra illustrations, some of which are hand-drawn, are: the contre-seal of Godfrey de Lucy, Bishop of Winchester; the autograph, seal and arms of Sir Thomas Lucy; the arms of Walton and Cotton; the ancient seal of the corporation of Swansea; and the arms of van Voorst of Utrecht. The only hand-coloured plate is of Coryphaena hippurus.

The fishes of Finland drawn and coloured from life by Gösta Sundman. Helsingfors, G.W. Edlund & Co., 1883-1893, 12 parts bound in one volume. Folio. Pp. 20, 8, 7, 6, 12, 14, 6, 8, 2, 11, 12, 17, 34, II (10), with 41 stunning chromolithographs, heightened with silver, and finished by hand. Attractive early 20th century binding in wine red half calf. A complete copy. The text, in parallel columns in Swedish and English, deals with the taxonomy and ecology of the Scandinavian fish fauna and the fishing techniques applied by anglers and fishermen. Tiny label of the Bildstens Bokbinderi of the Eksjö Museum in Sweden. Nissen, Schöne Fischbücher, 1951, nr. 104.

Romae, 1554. Earliest issue, on colophon last leaf dated October 1557. Folio (412 x 282 mm) pp. 8, 256. A splendid copy of this sumptuous and prestigious work with a distinguished provenance. Engraved allegorical title with architectural border decorated with marine motifs and central medallion portrait of Salviani. Above the title the arms of Marcello Cervini, the later pope Marcellus II, Salviani's patron and benefactor. Eighty one full-page excellent copper engravings, containing 98 figures of fishes and molluscs numbered 1-53 and 55-99. Number 54 was omitted in all issues and does not exist (Nissen, 1951). Woodcut initials with a historical background. Salviani's woodcut device on the last page. The 81 plates show traces of artists' signature marks. Nicolas Beatricetto probably designed the title-page and the fish illustrations were made by Antoine Lafréry. Another theory is that they were drawn by Bernardus Aretinus and engraved by Nicolas Beatricetto. Some of the plates bear contemporary letterpress cancel slips over their captions. We have noticed that these cancel slips are also present in the earliest issue copy of the Bibliotheca Casanatense in Rome. Contemporary ivory vellum with old skilful rebacking of spine. Title hand-written, in Indian ink, on spine. Edges sprinkled in red. Some marginal and modest repairs throughout.

Leipzig, Johan, Heinrich, Kaven, 1791. Octavo, pp. (16 ), 375, and 22 folding plates with 69 handcoloured copper engravings of fishes. Contemporary half calf with marbled boards. Old skillful rebacking, preserving the original spine. Five raised bands and gilt-tooling, second compartement bearing the title: Naturgesch. Der Fische. Scheureck's Naturgeschichte aller Fische is ONE OF THE VERY FIRST HANDCOLOURED FISH BOOKS. Artist and engraver are unknown, but possibly it is "gezeichnet und gestochen von Friedrich August Scheuereck" himself. The work has an extensive reference list including all Renaissance ichthyologists. The author follows the nomenclature of Linnaeus. Although written for schools the book is a skillful and interesting systematical work. Books by Scheuereck are very rare. It is not present in the libraries of Harvard and Yale University. Literature: Heinz Wegehaupt, Kinderbücher, 1851-1900. Provenance: Ex-libris of the Bibilotheca Tiliana and a tiny handwritten signature of a previous owner: A.G. Juel, 1843.

Paris, Gauthiers-Villars, 1888. Quarto (283 x 228 mm), pp. 35 with 4 lithographed plates of which 2 double-page and chromolithographed. Contemporary cardboard binding, with Vaillant, Cap Horn and Poissons printed on spine. Inside are fly leaves, followed by original printed wrappers.  Apparently a presentation copy with handwritten name in ink of M. Thomizl? by the hand of Vaillant. Vaillant (1834-1815), professor in zoology at the Museum of Natural History in Paris, was a notorious and prosperous publisher of morphological and taxonomic papers on fishes of all regions of the world (Dean, 1917). In the present work, on The Scientific Mission to Cape Horn (1874-1883), a collection of 65 fish species from Tierra del Fuego are described. The beautiful images of 10 fish species are drawn and lithographed by Mesnel and printed by Becquet. Provenance: Bookplate from Monica. A mint copy.

London: Printed for S. Bagster, in the Strand, 1810. 12 mo (13 x 17 cm). Pagination summary: [18], [1]-215, [216-217] 218-246 and 6 fish engravings to text. The title-page is followed by the title-page of the 1653 edition with an engraved cartouche. Bound in contemporary full calf, gilt tooled spine, light rubbing to edges. A good tight copy, very scarce in this condition. The cartouch of the 1653 edition, this is the first edition, is peculiar and may be understood as a message avant la lettre. The artist arranged 4 dolphins and 2 bunches of fish around a plaque on which an advertisment is inscribed. It is a preludium to a bible text, John xxi, 3, inviting the disciples and probably also the reader to go a fishing. The combination of such a commendatory text and an appealing image is quite unique in seventeenth-century painting and drawing.

John C Nimmo, London, 1889.  Octavo (8x5.6 in). Pagination summary: [i]-xv, [xvi], [i]-445. With eight original etchings and seventy-four wood engravings. Rebound in full blue morocco. The front cover has an inset hand painted vignette of leaping fish. Marbled front and endpapers. The half-title is printed in black, the title-page in red and black and under the 1884 Major vignette is printed: ‘With eight original etchings and seventy-four wood engravings’. On the title-page verso the imprint reads: ‘Printed by Ballantyne, Hanson & Co’. At the foot of page 445 it reads: ‘Printed by Ballantyne, Hanson & Co, Edinburgh & London’. A handsome and complete copy, see Coigney 143.

London, 2nd ephemera Edn. Nathaniel Cooke, Milford House, Strand,1854. Octavo (7.5x5 in). Pp. xiv, 309 , with a portrait frontispiece, decorative and printed titles, printed title-vignette, and title of first edition, 3 engraved plates of flies, and 39 woodcut illustrations (including 19 of fish and 6 of tackle) in the text. The present copy is complete as Coigney 70 (the fifth copy). The binding is bright blue cloth and blind stamped with scroll and floral design. It has a gilt centrepiece to upper board with shield in leaf and stem borders. AEG. A mint copy in the publisher's original binding (by Leighton Son & Hodge Shoe Lane London, see their sticker affixed to the inside of the back cover). Provenance; Armorial bookplate of Morton Kelsall Peto, the famous Scottish painter of landscapes, with his motto: ‘Ad finem fidelis’ 1880.

London: Nattali and Bond, 1860, a reissue of the first Nicolas edition of 1636. First published in 1653, Walton's COMPLEAT ANGLER, presented as a colloquy that takes place over several days (like the CANTERBURY TALES), is probably the most famous book in the world about recreational fishing. This edition, from the text of the fifth edition 1676, representing the final revisions by Walton, is augmented with extensive memoirs of Walton and Cotton. Large 8vo ( x ), two volumes: pp. [1-16] [i] ii-ccxii [1-4] [1] 2-129 [130]; [1-4] [131] 132-436 [1-32].

Printed by T. Maxey for Rich. Marriot, London 1653 (facsimile edition by William Griggs, 1882). Small octavo, 9.5x14.5 cm. Pagination [16], 1-246, with 6 images of fish. Bound in full green crushed morroco by Sotherans, spine and gilt title faded, gilt decorated turn-ins, top edge gilt.
Bibliographers agree that this is a photographic reproduction of Walton’s first edition of 1653 made by William Griggs, Photo-Lithographer to the Queen and to the Science and Arts Departement, South Kensington. It can be dated 1882. On page 245, line 17 ‘contention’ is printed for ‘contentment’, this misprint occurs only in this facsimile edition, which allows it to be easily identified, see Coigney 117. A handsome copy of a rare edition in a lovely binding.

Londini, C. Davis, 1743. including an additional engraved title page dated 1685 and signed "Paul van Somer" showing a miraculous catch of fish, fishermen holding a dragnet, a herald announcing the arrival of fresh fish and Pallas Athene drawing a cod, A reissue of the 1686 edition, The Royal Society authorised this re-issue in 1740 (published in 1743). 187 full-page engraved plates with a title-page dated 1743 and the addition of a 12 pp. index by C. Mortimer. Folio (377 x 235 mm), pp. 8, 344, 32, 12, 12.  Engraved head-pieces. Contemporary calf, gilt rules consisting of flower motifs on both covers, spine with raised bands and compartments with black armorial tooling (old rebacking), red gilt-lettered label, outer turn-ins and all edges gilt. Contemporary unobtrusive scholarly pencil annotations to text and plates, joints and corners slightly rubbed. Some of the plates bear contemporary letterpress cancel slips over their captions.