The Book of Naturalists: An Anthology of the Best Natural History

Description:

First UK edition. Scarce in dust jacket. A delightful work, in which the American naturalist William Beebe (1877-1962) carefully selected key natural history works. As he states 'With so many equally excellent aspirants for inclusion, making choice perplexing, I gave weight to several considerations, such as wide distribution throughout time, nationality, geography, and subject matter'. Arranged in chronological order, the work is in two parts. The first deals with 'the beginnings of natural history' and includes writings by; Aristotle, Pliny, Gesner, van Leeuwenhoek, Reaumur, Linnaeus, Gilbert White, Bartram, von Humboldt, Audubon and Thoreau. Part two, begins with Darwin and includes, Wallace, Agassiz, Thomas Huxley, Jean-Henri Fabre, Theodore Roosevelt, Reginald Farrer, Julian S. Huxley and Rachel Carson, etc. Beebe provides two introductory surveys to each part, and short but interesting and sometimes amusing biographical notes about each author.

Condition

8vo, orig. cloth. Vg in d/w (torn with some loss; in removable protective sleeve). Previous owner's name to endpaper.