The Natural History of British Fishes

Very good copy of the first edition of "one of the finest works on fishes."

Complete with 120 beautiful copperplate engravings, drawn, engraved and coloured by the author. Donovan made his drawings from recently caught fish, most while they were still living. The text often describes the location the fish was caught: the ocean sunfish, Mola mola, was "an elegant little specimen caught near the coast of Brighton."

Depicts several endangered species such as the Atlantic bluefin tuna, Thunnus thynnus, and Atlantic halibut, Hippoglossus hippoglossus, and the critically endangered European sturgeon, Acipenser sturio, and angelshark, Squatina squatina.

"The paint is laid on so thickly that is frequently impossible to see the engraved lines underneath. The already rich colour is heightened with burnished highlights, albumen overglaze and metallic paint."

Complete five volumes bound in two (1,2 and 3,4,5),

Edward Donovan (1768-1837) was an Anglo-Irish naturalist and the author and illustrator of a number of important natural history books on British flowers, birds, shells, insects and animals. A Fellow of the Linnaean Society and the Wernerian Natural History Society, he wrote and illustrated The Natural History of British Insects 1792~, The Natural History of British Birds 1794~, An Epitome of the Natural History of the Insects of China 1798, The Natural History of British Shells 1799~, An Epitome of the Natural History of the Insects of India 1800~, The Natural History of British Fishes 1802~, An Epitome of the Natural History of the Insects of New Holland 1805, etc. He was also a voracious collector, once paying 83 guineas for a rare specimen of a cream-coloured courser, Cursorius cursor, and from 1807 to 1817, he opened his extensive collection to the public as the "London Museum and Institue of Natural History." He died penniless in 1837, bankrupted by his expensive publications and collecting habits, and an acrimonious lawsuit against his thieving publishers, the Rivingtons.

Contemporary half leather, rebacked keeping the original spines with green title labels and gilt, original marble boards scuffed and stained but holding, original marble endpapers with hinges taped. Interior mostly clean, all plates with rich and vibrant hand colour, some slight age-toning to the paper.

A lovely complete set of the classic of British ichthyology.