A first and only edition from Bernard Quaritch of a rare set of ornithological prints by cartographer Nicolaes Visscher I from 1659. The 24 plates show more than 100 figures in natural settings (£3,750).
Highlights from the natural history offerings at Firsts London which opens today and runs through May 19 include:
* The British Zoology by Thomas Pennant, illustrated mainly by Peter Paillou, London, 1766. One volume folio with 132 hand-coloured plates (121 birds and 11 mammals), all prints hand-coloured by Paillou, and engraved by Peter Mazell. From the Library of Hugh Cecil Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale (1857-1944), one of the richest men in England in his day. Pennant was an 18th century polymath, regarded as the most able British zoologist between John Ray and Charles Darwin and the leading British ornithologist of hist time. From BAS Books (£38,000)
* A set of John Gould folios bound in full morocco by Zaehnsdorf. Published across six decades, the folios are seldom gathered together and presented in uniform bindings. Offered by Peter Harrington (£2m)
* Marshall Rare Books bring The Zoology of the Voyage of the Beagle, under the Command of Captain Robert FitzRoy, R.N., during the Years 1832 to 1836 by Charles Darwin, the work that underpinned his The Origin of Species (£150,000)
1/5
BAS Books/Firsts London
The British Zoology by Thomas Pennant
2/5
Peter Harrington/Firsts London
A set of Gould folios
3/5
Marshall Rare Books/Firsts London
The Zoology of the Voyage of the Beagle
4/5
Shapero Rare Books/Firsts London
Brazilian Flowers by E(dith) H(olland) Norton
5/5
Alembic Rare Books/Firsts London
Collection of Flowers Classified According to Natural Orders
* Shapero Rare Books are showing the rare Brazilian Flowers by E(dith) H(olland) Norton which includes 50 hand-coloured plates and two original watercolours. The work was published in 1893 and only three complete copies have appeared at auction in the last 50 years (£19,500).
* An attractive and carefully organised herbarium, Collection of Flowers Classified According to Natural Orders, probably produced during the 1930s as a student project at St Katharine's College, London, by Elsie T. Skinner. It contains 151 carefully mounted specimens, presenting 121 different species from around the UK (Alembic Rare Books, £1,200).
Clare Marshall from Marshall Rare Books will explore the popularity and collectibility of colour plate natural history books at the fair on May 19 at noon, looking at their relationship to science and exploration, and why books on birds are some of the most beautiful examples.
