An Essay towards a Natural History of the Corallines and other Marine Productions found on the coasts of Great Britain and Ireland; to which is added The Description of a Large Marine Polype taken near the North Pole by Whale-fishers in 1753
by ELLIS, John;
- Used
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
London, printed for the author, 1755, First edition. . contemporary full calf, gilt decorated spine, gilt title lettering on leather spine label, joints cracked and worn but holding, edgewear, small armorial bookplate on endpaper, light foxing, interior is clean and very good, no tears. . 4to [27 x 21 cm]; xvii, [x], 103 [i]; pp, 40 engraved plates, some folding, including frontis & plate of Cuff's aquatic microscope, some of the plates are by Ehret, renowned botanical artist. . Freeman 1131: 'plate 38 absent in many, plate 39 in most copies'. Both are present here, plate 39 being the microscope plate, being the earliest depiction of Cuff's aquatic microscope (see Clay & Court, History of the Microscope, p66-68). 'In 1754 he became a fellow of the Royal Society, and in the following year established his reputation as one of the most acute observers of his time by the publication of An Essay Towards a Natural History of the Corallines. . . . imperfectly comprehended by Linnaeus, he established the animal nature of this group of organisms'. Linnaeus described him as a 'bright star of natural history', and 'the main support of natural history in England'. Nissen 590. British Museum Cat. 523. Knight, Natural Science Books in English: 'Ellis's handsome volume on corals and zoophytes'. Knight, Zoological Illustration p. 103: 'the classic work was done by John Ellis in his Essay towards a natural history of the Corallines, of 1755. . . he persuaded Ehret, the great botanical artist, to accompany him, there to draw from nature. . . The book duly contains delicate engravings from these drawings'. A picture of this book is available on request by email.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Horizon Books
(CA)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- J13303
- Title
- An Essay towards a Natural History of the Corallines and other Marine Productions found on the coasts of Great Britain and Ireland; to which is added The Description of a Large Marine Polype taken near the North Pole by Whale-fishers in 1753
- Author
- ELLIS, John;
- Format/Binding
- Contemporary full calf, gilt decorated spine, gilt title lettering on leather spine label, joints cracked and worn but holding,
- Book Condition
- Used
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Publisher
- London, printed for the author, 1755, First edition.
- Size
- 4to [27 x 21 cm]; xvii, [x], 103
- Bookseller catalogs
- Nature- Marine & Fresh Water Biology;
Terms of Sale
Horizon Books
All books are as described with any major defects noted. If you have any questions about condition or need a picture of any book, please email us directly. Prices in US funds, shipping/insurance extra, we ship world-wide & securely wrap and pack all books. There is no handling charge and shipping is at cost. We ship by post office, UPS, FedEx, etc. Payment by US check on US bank, US international money order, VISA & MasterCard [please give your card billing address if paying by cc], or wire transfer to our bank (a US$20. bank charge). Cheques from Canadian banks accepted at the current rate of exchange. GST charged to Canadian addresses. All customer information is fully secure & confidential. We specialize in rare & out-of-print Travel & Exploraton, Gardening, Natural History books. All books are guaranteed and returnable within 7 days of receipt with prior notice, and returned in same condition as sent.
About the Seller
Horizon Books
Biblio member since 2003
Toronto, Ontario
About Horizon Books
We buy and sell rare and out-of-print books related to Travel & Exploration, Gardening and Natural History. We are always interested in purchasing libraries, collections and individual books of merit in our specialties. We have been selling books on the Internet since 1993. We also sell antique prints - please email us for our current web page with images of each print and map. BROWSE OUR BOOKS FROM THE LISTS DIRECTLY BELOW, or search by author, title, keyword.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Spine Label
- The paper or leather descriptive tag attached to the spine of the book, most commonly providing the title and author of the...
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Calf
- Calf or calf hide is a common form of leather binding. Calf binding is naturally a light brown but there are ways to treat the...
- Cracked
- In reference to a hinge or a book's binding, means that the glue which holds the opposing leaves has allowed them to separate,...
- Bookplate
- Highly sought after by some collectors, a book plate is an inscribed or decorative device that identifies the owner, or former...
- Plate
- Full page illustration or photograph. Plates are printed separately from the text of the book, and bound in at production. I.e.,...
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