Collectable and Antiquarian Books for Christmas - December 2025

Collectable and Antiquarian

Apidae 1-6 (Insecta Helvetica Fauna 12; Fauna Helvetica 4, 6, 9, 20, 26)

by Amiet, F.; Herrmann, M.; Mueller, A.; Neumeyer, R.

Cat No. : 63621, Published : 1996-2010, Illustrations : line drawings, distribution maps

£250.00

Text German, keys German and French. First editions. Complete set of volumes covering the bees (Apidae, Hymenoptera) of Switzerland: 1: Apis, Bombus & Psithyrus; 2: Colletes, Dufourea, (more)

Flora Agaricina Neerlandica Vol. 1-6: Critical Monographs on Families of Agarics and Boleti Occurring in the Netherlands

by Bas, C.; Noordeloos, M.E.; Kuyper, T.H.W.; Vellinga, E.C.

Cat No. : 63065, Published : 1988-2005, Illustrations : text figs

Hardback £500.00

Vols 1-5 published by A.A. Balkema, Vol. 6 by Taylor & Francis. Each volume contains comprehensive species descriptions with line drawings of habit, spores, cystidia and other relevant microscopic (more)

Birds from Moidart and Elsewhere. Drawn from Nature by JB

by Blackburn, [Jemima Wedderburn] (Blackburn, Mrs Hugh)

Cat No. : 53925, Published : 1895, Illustrations : frontis + 87 lithographic plates

Hardback £195.00

First edition. Scarce. A series of descriptions, pictorial and literary, of bird-life in the southwestern corner of Inverness-shire with attractive lithographic plates drawn from nature by the (more)

Catalogue of the Chelonians, Rhynchocephalians, and Crocodiles in the British Museum (Natural History)

by Boulenger, G.A.

Cat No. : 50812, Published : 1889, Illustrations : 6 plain plates, 73 text figs

Hardback £295.00

New [second] Edition. Scarce. Fine lithographic plates by Peter Smit, printed by Mintern Bros. In 1880 the Belgian zoologist, George Albert Boulenger (1858-1937) was invited to become Curator of (more)

Fungi of Switzerland. Vol. 1-6

by Breitenbach, J.; Kraenzlin, F.

Cat No. : 63027, Published : 1984-2005, Illustrations : numerous col photos, line drawings

Hardback £450.00

Text English. A contribution to the knowledge of the fungal flora of Switzerland. Vol. 1: Ascomycetes; Vol. 2: Aphyllophorales (non-gilled fungi); Vol. 3: Boletales and Agaricales (Bolets and Agarics (more)

A Monograph of the British Aberrations of the Chalk-Hill Blue Butterfly Lysandra coridon (Poda, 1761)

by Bright, P.M.; Leeds, H.A.

Cat No. : 63707, Published : 1938, Illustrations : 18 plates (4 col)

Hardback £175.00

First edition. Includes the 1941 supplement (pp. 139-144) loosely inserted - Errata + 'British Aberrations of the Small Copper Butterfly' by H.A. Leeds. (more)

Practical Taxidermy: A Manual of Instruction to the Amateur in Collecting, Preserving, and Setting Up Natural History Specimens of all Kinds

by Browne, Montagu

Cat No. : 53618, Published : [1878], Illustrations : 39 text figs

Hardback £55.00

First edition, undated. Publisher's catalogue at rear, dated December 1879.

Freeman 539. (more)

The Larvae of the British Butterflies and Moths Vol. I-IX [with] Larvae of the British Lepidoptera not figured by Buckler

by Buckler, W.; Stainton, H.T. (Ed.); Porritt, G.T. (Ed.); Haggett, G.M.

Cat No. : 63709, Published : 1886-1901, 1981, Illustrations : 164 col plates (105 hand-col); 35 col plates

Hardback £500.00

Scarce complete set. The definitive work on the larvae of British Lepidoptera. The work was published posthumously, with Vol. I-V edited by H.T. Stainton and following his death, Vol. VI-IX by G.T. (more)

Butterflies. Poems

by Burnett, David; Roberts, Rosemary

Cat No. : 63438, Published : 1999, Illustrations : illus

Hardback £35.00

Limited edition of 130 copies, numbered and signed by both the poet and the artist (this copy no. 50). Handset in Goudy Old Style and printed on Hahnemühle wove paper by the private press, Celtic (more)

Birds Ashore and Aforeshore

by Chalmers, Patrick

Cat No. : 63268, Published : 1935, Illustrations : 16 col plates, text illus

Hardback £150.00

Illustrated from watercolours and drawings by Winifred Austen. Leather-bound edition limited to 150 numbered copies, signed by author and artist (this copy no. 11). (more)

The Moor and the Loch containing Minute Instructions in all Highland Sports. Vol. I-II

by Colquhoun, John

Cat No. : 59676, Published : 1884, Illustrations : 2 mounted b/w photo frontispieces, 13 plates, 2 text engravings

Hardback £120.00

Sixth edition, enlarged. John Colquhoun (1805-1885), Scottish sportsman and writer on sport and game. The author was always a keen and accurate observer of nature; but in his sympathy for the (more)

The Birds of Paradise and Bower Birds

by Cooper, W.T.; Forshaw, J.M.

Cat No. : 63393, Published : 1977, Illustrations : 60 col plates, b/w illus, maps

£160.00

First edition. Fine colour plates by the Australian ornithological artist, William T. Cooper, depict all known species of birds of paradise and bower birds in their natural habitats. These (more)

Lepidoptera of Dorsetshire. Or A Catalogue of Butterflies and Moths Found in the County of Dorset

by Dale, C.W.

Cat No. : 63618, Published : 1886

Hardback £120.00

First edition. Scarce. With an appendix containing a few of the chief rarities of the other orders of insects. (more)

The Works of Charles Darwin. Vol. 1-29

by Darwin Charles; Barrett P.H.; Freeman R.B. (Eds)

Cat No. : 63392, Published : 1987-1989, Illustrations : facsimile title pages, col + b/w plates, folding maps, text figs

Hardback £725.00

Pickering Masters edition, complete in 29 volumes.Pickering Masters edition, complete in 29 volumes. Introduction by Paul Barrett, which explains that ‘The selection of the particular edition of the (more)

Journal of Researches into the Natural History and Geology of the Countries Visited during the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle round the World, under the Command of Capt. Fitz Roy R.N.

by Darwin, Charles

Cat No. : 63207, Published : 1845, Illustrations : 14 text figs

Hardback £550.00

Second edition, corrected, with additions. Taken from Darwin's journals while on the H.M.S. Beagle, these notes form a background for ideas he would later develop in On the Origin of Species, (more)

Charles Darwin's Shorter Publications 1829-1883

by Wyhe, J. van

Cat No. : 63720, Published : 2009, Illustrations : text figs

Hardback £95.00

Charles Darwin's words first appeared in print as a student at Christ's College, Cambridge in 1829, and in almost every subsequent year of his life he published essays, articles, letters to editors, (more)

A Catalogue of the African Hesperiidae

by Evans, W.H.

Cat No. : 63631, Published : 1937, Illustrations : 30 plates (7 col)

Hardback £125.00

Indicating the classification and nomenclature adopted in the British Museum. (more)

The Naturalist's Pocket-Book, or Tourist's Companion, being a brief introduction to the different branches of natural history, with approved methods for collecting and preserving the various productions of nature

by Graves, George

Cat No. : 63300, Published : 1818, Illustrations : 8 engraved plates (5 hand-col)

Hardback £250.00

George Graves (1784-1839?), a Fellow of the Linnean Society, was a bookseller and colourist, and the author of eight works on natural history. A biography of Graves by W.H. Curtis, notes that (more)

The Universal Herbal: or, Botanical, Medical, and Agricultural Dictionary. Containing an account of all the known plants in the world, arranged according to the Linnean system. Vol. I-II

by Green, Thomas

Cat No. : 63689, Published : [1824], Illustrations : 2 frontispieces, 1 engraved title-page, 106 uncoloured plates

Hardback £600.00

Second edition, revised and improved. Complete in two volumes, with 106 engraved plates, 2 engraved frontispieces, 1 additional engraved title page. The plates are uncoloured in this set.

Nissen (more)

Five Stylised Watercolour Studies of Insects

by Harris, Edward Swinfen

Cat No. : 63361, Published : 1856

£65.00

A group of five early watercolour drawings by Edward Swinfen Harris (1841-1924), created when the artist was just fifteen years old. The studies depict four butterflies and moths, along with a (more)

Essays on Sport and Natural History

by Harting, J.E.

Cat No. : 56505, Published : 1883, Illustrations : portrait frontis, wood engravings to text

Hardback £250.00

First edition. Scarce. A collection of essays by ornithologist and sportsman James Edmund Harting (1841-1928), covering field sports, wildlife observation, falconry, angling, and country life. The (more)

Recreations of a Naturalist

by Harting, J.E.

Cat No. : 56509, Published : 1906, Illustrations : portrait frontis, over 80 b/w text illus

Hardback £70.00

First edition. A collection of essays by the noted ornithologist, sportsman and long-time contributor to The Field, James Edmund Harting (1841-1928), reflecting his wide knowledge of British (more)

A Revision of the Bombyliidae (Diptera) of Southern Africa. Pt I-III

by Hesse, A.J.

Cat No. : 57775, Published : 1938-1956, Illustrations : 3 b/w plates, 618 text figs

Hardback £240.00

From Annals of the South African Museum XXXIV, XXXV (Pt 1+2). Rare. Albert John Hesse (1895-1987) was a South African entomologist. He was a curator at the South African Museum for fifty one (more)

Birds in London

by Hudson, W.H.

Cat No. : 55164, Published : 1898, Illustrations : b/w frontis, 16 b/w plates (including tinted map), 15 text illus

Hardback £195.00

First edition. Illustrated by Bryan Hook and A.D. McCormick, with photographs from nature by R.B. Lodge.

Freeman 1814; Mullens & Swann p. 303; Payne A16a. (more)

Birds of Paradise and Bower Birds

by Iredale, T.

Cat No. : 63729, Published : 1950, Illustrations : 33 col plates, 1 folding map

Hardback £450.00

With coloured illustrations of every species by Lilian Medland. Specially bound edition, limited to 150 copies, signed by author and artist (this copy no. 53). (more)

Bird Illustrators: Some Artists in Early Lithography

by Jackson, C.E.

Cat No. : 63608, Published : 1975, Illustrations : 14 col plates

Hardback £125.00

Specially bound edition, signed by the author and limited to forty-five copies (this copy No. 2).

Artists featured include William Swainson, Edward Lear, John Gould, Frederick William Frohawk, (more)

The Birds of Kenya Colony and the Uganda Protectorate. Vol. I-III

by Jackson, F.J.; Sclater, W.L.

Cat No. : 62996, Published : 1938, Illustrations : b/w portrait frontis, 24 col plates, 241 text figs, large folding col map

Hardback £240.00

First edition. (more)

Monographia Apum Angliae: or an Attempt to divide into their natural Genera and Families, such Species of the Linnean Genus Apis as have been discovered in England

by Kirby, W.

Cat No. : 63722, Published : 1802, Illustrations : 14 plain + 4 hand-coloured engraved plates

Hardback £395.00

First edition. Text English and Latin. Errata leaf bound preceding the Preface in Vol. I.

Nissen ZBI, 2188; British Bee Books, 165; Horn-Schenkling, 11735. (more)

Familiar Butterflies and Moths

by Kirby, W.F.

Cat No. : 63430, Published : 1901, Illustrations : 18 col plates

Hardback £125.00

First edition. Fine chromolithographic plates. Attractive decorative binding. (more)

Studies of Nature on the Coast of Arran [LARGE PAPER EDITION]

by Milner, G.

Cat No. : 55449, Published : 1894, Illustrations : frontis + 9 photogravure plates, 12 text illus

Hardback £120.00

Illustrations by W. Noel Johnson. Large paper edition limited to only seventy-five numbered copies (this copy No. 49). (more)

Siluria: A History of the Oldest Rocks in the British Isles and other countries

by Murchison, R.I.

Cat No. : 63576, Published : 1872, Illustrations : col frontis, folding table, text figs; 41 plates (7 double-page)

Hardback £150.00

5th edition. Chromolithographic frontispiece by Charlotte Dempster, printed by Vincent Brooks; 41 lithographic plates of fossils by J.D.C. Sowerby, printed by W. West (bound in separate volume). (more)

Contributions to a Manual of Palaearctic Diptera. Vol. 1-4

by Papp, L.; Darvas, B. (Eds)

Cat No. : 63344, Published : 1997-2000, Illustrations : text figs

Hardback £995.00

Vol. 1: General and Applied Dipterology; Vol. 2: Nematocera and Lower Brachycera; Vol. 3: Higher Brachycera; [Vol. 4:] Appendix. Scarce set of this comprehensive work on the Diptera of the (more)

Harvestmen: The Biology of Opiliones

by Pinto-da-Rocha, R.; Machado, G.; Giribet, G. (Eds)

Cat No. : 63346, Published : 2007, Illustrations : 64 halftones, 52 line drawings

Hardback £95.00

Comprehensive treatment of this major order of arachnids, with more than 6,000 species worldwide. Synthesis of current knowledge, focusing on basic conceptual issues in systematics and evolutionary (more)

A Complete History of the Butterflies and Moths of Sussex. Vol. 1-4

by Pratt, C.R.

Cat No. : 63443, Published : 2011-2015, Illustrations : col + b/w photos, distribution maps, charts

Hardback £320.00

Vol. 1: Introduction and the Micro-moths, including the Swifts and Clearwings; Vol. 2: The Pyralids and Plumes, the Butterflies and the Geometer Moths; Vol. 3: The Hawks to the Fan-foots; Vol. 4: (more)

The Entomologist's Useful Compendium; or An Introduction to the Knowledge of British Insects

by Samouelle, George

Cat No. : 63427, Published : 1819, Illustrations : 12 hand-coloured + 12 uncoloured plates

Hardback £300.00

Comprising the best Means of obtaining and preserving them, and a Description of the Apparatus generally used; together with the Genera of Linné, and the Modern Method of arranaging the Classes, (more)

The Macrolepidoptera of the World Vol. 1: The Palearctic Butterflies [with Supplement]

by Seitz, A.

Cat No. : 63708, Published : 1909-1932, Illustrations : 89 + 16 col plates

Hardback £695.00

English edition. Main volume (Text & Plates, 2 vols) (1909), and the Supplement (1932). Fine chromolithographic plates. (more)

Through Unknown African Countries: The First Expedition from Somaliland to Lake Lamu

by Smith, A. Donaldson

Cat No. : 57706, Published : 1897, Illustrations : portrait frontis, b/w illus (26 full page), 6 folding maps

Hardback £350.00

First edition. Illustrated by Charles Whymper (1853-1941), Arthur Twidle (1864-1936), and others. Arthur Donaldson Smith (1866-1939) was a noted American explorer, naturalist and big game hunter who, (more)

Journal of the Discovery of the Source of the Nile

by Speke, John Hanning

Cat No. : 57936, Published : 1864, Illustrations : portrait frontis, 1 b/w photo, 24 engraved plates, engravings to text, folding map in rear pocket

Hardback £240.00

Second edition. A landmark account of Victorian exploration, this firsthand narrative documents John Hanning Speke’s 1860-1863 expedition that identified Lake Victoria as the headwaters of the Nile. (more)

The Natural History of the Tineina. Vol. I-XIII

by Stainton, H.T.

Cat No. : 56113, Published : 1855-1873, Illustrations : 104 hand-coloured plates

Hardback £1,000.00

Scarce complete set. Text English, French, German & Latin in parallel columns. The attractive plates illustrate adults, larvae and leaf mines, leaf damage, etc. This major work received contributions (more)

The Caterpillars of British Moths. Series I + II

by Stokoe, W.J.; Stovin, G.H.T.

Cat No. : 63641, Published : 1948, Illustrations : 141 plates (many colour), text figs

Hardback £80.00

First edition. Illustrated by J.C. Dollman. (more)

The Water-Colour Drawings of Thomas Bewick

by Thomson, David Croal

Cat No. : 63267, Published : 1930, Illustrations : 40 tipped in col illus

Hardback £60.00

First edition. Limited to 325 copies, numbered 1-325 (this copy no. 109), bound in cloth, and 200 copies on hand-made paper (numbered 326-525), bound in half leather. (more)

Insectorum sive Minimorum Animalium Theatrum. The Butterflies and Moths

by Thomson, G.; [Moffet, Thomas]

Cat No. : 63553, Published : 2000, Illustrations : b/w illus

Hardback £55.00

First edition. Thomas Moffet's (or Moufet's) Insectorum Theatrum, or the Theatre of Insects (1634), was the first book on insects published in Britain. This book is the result of a study of (more)

Spiders of North America: An Identification Manual

by Ubick, D.; Paquin, P.; Cushing, P.E.; Roth, V. (Eds)

Cat No. : 63351, Published : 2005, Illustrations : 1400 line drawings

Paperback £35.00

1st edition. This illustrated guide to the spider genera of North America, north of Mexico, provides over 1400 illustrations and keys to the genera in 68 spider families. Over 550 genera are included. (more)

The Seymer Legacy: Henry Seymer and Henry Seymer Jnr of Dorset and their Entomological Paintings, with a catalogue of Butterflies and Plants (1755-1783)

by Vane-Wright, R.I.; Hughes, H.W.D.

Cat No. : 63313, Published : 2005, Illustrations : 76 col plates

Hardback £220.00

This book presents full-colour, near full size plates of the 72 exquisite watercolour paintings, Butterflies and Plants, made by the great 18th century English naturalist Henry Seymer and his son. (more)

The Complete Angler or the Contemplative Man's Recreation

by Walton, Izaak; Cotton, Charles; Major, John (Ed.)

Cat No. : 63360, Published : 1925, Illustrations : 8 etched plates, 74 wood engravings

Hardback £60.00

This limited edition, edited by John Major, with eight etchings by Damman on Japon Vellum, is printed upon paper specially made for this edition. (more)

British Birds [Original signed pencil sketch by Roland Green to endpaper]

by Willett, Wilfred; Green, Roland

Cat No. : 63059, Published : 1949, Illustrations : 16 col plates, 44 text illus

Hardback £55.00

Illustrated by the bird artist Roland Green (1890-1972) (more)

The Historic Guide to Bath

by Wright, G.N.

Cat No. : 63293, Published : 1864, Illustrations : frontis, text engravings

Hardback £65.00

First edition. (more)

Birdwing Butterflies of the World

by d'Abrera, B.

Cat No. : 63867, Published : 2003, Illustrations : 158 colour plates, 85 col + 10 b/w photos, colour map

Hardback £325.00

2nd revised edition, with completely new plates and text. Most of the illustrated specimens are primary types. Photographs of living butterflies, early stages and environments. The edition is limited (more)

Set of ten finely hand-coloured butterfly prints, reproduced in Fiorella Falteri’s Stampe d’arte studio

by Falteri, Fiorella

Cat No. : 62644, Published : [1990s]

£500.00

Printed by Italian craftswoman Fiorella Falteri at her Florence studio Stampe d’arte, renowned for over thirty years for producing reproductions of antique prints using traditional printing (more)

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