Actinologia Britannica. A history of the British sea-anemones and corals with coloured figures of the species and principal varieties.

London, Van Voorst, 1860. 8vo (22.2 x 14.1 cm). With 12 mostly hand-coloured lithographed plates. Original gilt-decorated and blind-tooled green cloth. Includes two handwritten English letters on the subject of sea-anemones to "Madam" signed by E. Densham, who - like Gosse - lived in Torquay, and of whom little else is known so far, except for the fact that he is mentioned in this work (p. 202): "Mr. Densham, a collector of Torquay, informs me that in October he obtained a group of eight or ten [of the diadem pimplet, Bunodes coronata Gosse] adhering to a mass of oysters". Perhaps the addressee is Juliana Graves Sawler who signed the book in the title page top margin, dated July 1862. From her hand is also a folded leaf with notes and illustrations. A few smudges in a few plate margins (did the owner copy the images?), otherwise a very good copy, especially the binding is in an unusual good shape with the gilt vignette and text quite bright. Nissen ZBI, 1641.