The Naturalist's Library

Complete set of this celebrated work; forty crown 8vo volumes in all, in serviceable modern brown leatherette bindings, with gilt lettering to the spines. Fully collated, with all plates present: the few apparent discrepancies are clarified by the publisher's addenda and errata slips in the volumes. The standard of the colouring is consistently excellent throughout the thirteen hundred-odd plates. The arrangement of this set, based on the spine lettering and numbering, is taxonomic rather than chronological, with sections devoted to Ornithology, Mammalia, Ichthyology and Entomology. Some tissue-guards have worked loose; sporadic light-to-moderate foxing throughout, which is rather more pronounced in volume 3 of the Ornithological section (Gallinaceous birds); trace of fishmothing to edges of a couple of plates in volume 2 of Ornithology (Humming Birds, Part II), not affecting the images, and a gathering pulled in the same volume; Plate 10 in volume 11 of Ornithology (Birds of Great Britain and Ireland, Part II) rather scuffed. Numerous woodcuts in the text illustrate the work, besides the excellent plates after works by scrupulous natural history artists of the period, many of them renowned, such as Edward Lear. The title page vignettes and frontis. portraits are generally reckoned among the plates in the Contents pages. Lizars was one of the most competent producers of natural history engravings during the period, having been responsible for the early work on Audubon's 'Birds of America'. This is a remarkable set, the volumes largely in very good condition, and the plates outstanding.