Rare and Collectable Books - January 2026

Collectable and Antiquarian

Carcasson's African Butterflies: An Annotated Catalogue of the Papilionoidea and Hesperioidea of the Afrotropical Region

by Ackery, P.R.; Smith, C.R.; Vane-Wright, R.I. (Eds)

Cat No. : 63635, Published : 1995, Illustrations : 300 b/w illus

Hardback £55.00

The first comprehensive catalogue to the entire butterfly fauna of the Afrotropical region, covering 3593 species in 300 genera. Information on distribution, habitat and larval foodplant, where (more)

Arctic Bibliography Vol. I-III

by Arctic Institute of North America; Tremaine, Marie (Ed.)

Cat No. : 59751, Published : 1953, Illustrations : 3 col folding maps

Hardback £100.00

First edition. Three volume bibliography covering the early history of arctic exploration, an important reference for the history of arctic exploration and history. Vols I-II contain a bibliography (more)

Zoo Quest to Madagascar

by Attenborough, David

Cat No. : 58871, Published : 1961, Illustrations : 4 col + 32 b/w plates, 4 line drawings

Hardback £75.00

First edition, first impression. The Zoo Quest series of BBC nature documentaries (1954-1963) were the first to feature David Attenborough. Each expedition travelled to a particular tropical (more)

Zoo Quest to Paraguay

by Attenborough, David

Cat No. : 63896, Published : 1959, Illustrations : 4 col + 32 b/w plates

Hardback £75.00

First edition, first impression. The Zoo Quest series of BBC nature documentaries (1954-1963) were the first to feature David Attenborough. Each expedition travelled to a particular tropical (more)

The Birds of Africa. Vol. I-VII

by Brown, L.H.; Urban, E.K.; Newman, K.; Fry, C.H.; Keith, S.; Safford, R.; Hawkins, F.

Cat No. : 64007, Published : 1982-2004, Illustrations : col + b/w plates, text figs

Hardback £300.00

Universally recognised as by far the most authoritative work ever published on the subject, this monumental reference work contains encyclopaedic species texts, stunning paintings of all species and (more)

Bird-Life of the Borders on Moorland and Sea with Faunal Notes extending over Forty Years

by Chapman, Abel

Cat No. : 55460, Published : 1907, Illustrations : b/w frontis, 25 /w plates, b/w illus, 1 col folding map

Hardback £75.00

Second revised edition. Abel Chapman (1851-1929), a keen observer of nature and a notable conservationist, first published this work in 1889. In the Preface to the second edition, Chapman notes that (more)

The Borders and Beyond: Arctic … Cheviot … Tropic

by Chapman, Abel

Cat No. : 55518, Published : 1924, Illustrations : col frontis, 13 col plates, 21 b/w plates, 2 folding maps, text illus

Hardback £150.00

First edition. Colour plates by W.H. Riddell, 170 sketches by the author. (more)

The Life and Letters of the Reverend Adam Sedgwick. Vol. I-II

by Clark, John Willis; Hughes, Thomas McKenny

Cat No. : 58863, Published : 1890, Illustrations : 2 engraved portrait frontispieces, 2 col plates (1 double-page), 8 plain plates (1 double-page, 1 folding), text figs

Hardback £100.00

First edition. Scarce. Adam Sedgwick (1785-1873) is considered one of the founders of modern geology. As the Woodwardian Professor of Geology at Cambridge from 1818 until his death, Sedgwick made (more)

The History of Glanville's Wootton, in the County of Dorset, Including its Zoology and Botany

by Dale, C.W.

Cat No. : 64064, Published : 1878, Illustrations : 2 mounted b/w photographic plates

Hardback £140.00

First edition. Rare. Pt I - History of Glanville's Wootton; Pt II - Zoology; Pt III - Botany. Part I provides a short history and archaeology of the Parish of Glanville's Wootton, Dorset, with (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)

Early Man in Britain and his Place in the Tertiary Period

by Dawkins, W. Boyd

Cat No. : 63616, Published : 1880, Illustrations : 168 text figs

Hardback £75.00

First edition. (more)

Κοχύλια από τις Ελληνικές Θάλασσες (Kochylia apo tis Ellenikes Thalasses [= Shells from the Greek Seas]

by Delamotte, M.; Vardala-Theodorou, E.

Cat No. : 60460, Published : 1994, Illustrations : col + b/w photos, text figs

£85.00

Text Greek. A beautifully illustrated guide to the shells of the seas surrounding Greece, with 360 species described and illustrated. (more)

The British Hemiptera. Vol. I: Hemiptera-Heteroptera

by Douglas, J.W.; Scott, J.

Cat No. : 63993, Published : 1865, Illustrations : 21 engraved plates

Hardback £125.00

First edition. All published. (more)

Dictionnaire Bibliographique, Historique et Critique de Livres Rares, Precieux, Singuliers, Curieux, Estimés, et Recherchés. Tome Premier [Second, Troisième, & Supplément]

by [Duclos, Henri; Cailleau, André-Charles; Brunet, Jacques Charles]

Cat No. : 60498, Published : 1802

Hardback £160.00

Qui n'ont aucun prix fixe, tant des auteurs connus, que de ceux qui ne le sont pas; soit manuscrits, avant et depuis l'invention de l'imprimerie; soit imprimés et qui ont paru successivement de nos (more)

The Birds of Devon [with] Supplement

by D'Urban, W.S.M.; Mathew, M.A.

Cat No. : 55560, Published : 1892, 1895, Illustrations : col frontis, 4 col + 4 b/w plates, 3 folding maps

Hardback £175.00

With an introduction and some remarks on the migrations of Devonshire birds. First edition. With folding map of the county and two folding maps illustrating lines of migration. Hand-coloured (more)

Essays upon Natural History, and other miscellaneous Subjects, ... to which is added, a Catalogue in generical Order, of the Birds, Beasts, Fishes, Insects, Plants, &c. contained in Mr. Edwards' Natural History

by Edwards, George

Cat No. : 63902, Published : 1770, Illustrations : engraved portrait frontis

Hardback £295.00

First edition. Scarce. Portrait frontispiece of Edwards, engraved by J. Miller after Isaac Gosset. George Edwards (1694-1773) was an English naturalist and ornithologist, and his seven-volume work, (more)

Catalog of the Diptera of the Australasian and Oceanian Regions

by Evenhuis, N.L. (Ed.)

Cat No. : 58038, Published : 1989, Illustrations : col frontis, 3 maps

Hardback £125.00

Bishop Museum Special Publication 86. (more)

The Fauna of Shropshire: Being an Account of all the Mammals, Birds, Reptiles & Fishes found in the County of Salop.

by Forrest, H.E.

Cat No. : 55591, Published : 1899, Illustrations : b/w frontis, 24 b/w plates

Hardback £45.00

With an introduction dealing with the physical features of the County, a copius index, a Chapter on the prinicipal Naturalists who have done work in connection with the subject, and a short account (more)

Natural History of British Butterflies. Vol. I-II

by Frohawk, F.W.

Cat No. : 63633, Published : [1924], Illustrations : 60 colour + 5 plain plates

Hardback £320.00

A classic work based on the author's original observations, illustrating the life stages of all British Butterflies for the first time. Preface is dated 1914, but publication was delayed until after (more)

The Photographic Analysis of a Feather

by Gladstone, John S.

Cat No. : 56550, Published : 1918, Illustrations : 9 b/w plates

Hardback £75.00

Only 150 copies of this work were printed. Scarce. An interesting work, for its time the use of microscopy and photography to record such microscopic structures was an advanced method and contributed (more)

Birds of the Loch and the Mountain

by Gordon, Seton

Cat No. : 56502, Published : 1907, Illustrations : b/w photos

Hardback £50.00

Scarce first edition of this work on birds of the Scottish Highlands. (more)

Hand-List of Genera and Species of Birds, distinguishing those contained in the British Museum. Part I-III

by Gray, G.R.

Cat No. : 59712, Published : 1869-1871

Hardback £200.00

Part I: Accipitres, Fissirostres, Tenuirostres, and Dentirostres; Part II: Conirostres, Scansores, Columbae, and Gallinae; Part III: Struthiones, Grallae, and Anseres, with Indices of Generic and (more)

A Synonymic Catalogue of Orthoptera. Vol. I-III

by Kirby, W.F.

Cat No. : 63999, Published : 1904, 1906, 1910

Hardback £250.00

First edition. Very scarce. Complete in three volumes: I: Orthoptera Euplexoptera, Cursoria et Gressoria (Forficulidae, Hemimeridae, Blattidae, Mantidae, Phasmidae); II: Orthoptera Saltatoria Pt I (more)

The Butterflies of Kenya and their natural history

by Larsen, T.B.

Cat No. : 63630, Published : 1996, Illustrations : 64 col plates

Paperback £95.00

With a final section describing species discovered since publication of the hardback edtion in 1991. Scarce. (more)

British Dragonflies (Odonata)

by Lucas, W.J.

Cat No. : 63995, Published : 1900, Illustrations : 27 colour plates, 57 text figs

Hardback £175.00

The publisher is L. Upcott Gill. This is the scarcer issue with the imprint 'Bazaar Exchange & Mart' to foot of spine; it also has plain rather than patterned end-papers, lacks the blank leaf (more)

A Guide to the Natural History of Loch Lomond and Neighbourhood

by Lumsden, J.; Brown, A.

Cat No. : 55142, Published : 1895, Illustrations : 2 b/w plates

Hardback £65.00

Mammals and Birds by James Lumsden, Reptiles and Fishes by Alfred Brown. Scarce guide to the fauna of Scotland's largest freshwater loch. (more)

A Natural History of the Nests and Eggs of British Birds. Vol. I-III

by Morris, F.O.

Cat No. : 64043, Published : 1853, 1855, 1856, Illustrations : 225 col plates

Hardback £375.00

First edition. Plates numbered I-CCXXXII, but plates, XI, LV, LVI, LX, LXIX, XCIV & CXIX were not issued). Printed by B. Fawcett, Driffield.

Nissen IVB, 646; Mullens & Swann, p. 417 [but both (more)

Hymenopterorum Ichneumonibus affinum, Monographiae, Genera Europaea et Species Illustrantes. Vol. I-II

by Nees von Esenbeck, C.G.

Cat No. : 63841, Published : 1834

Hardback £500.00

First edition. Rare. An important early entomological work by the German botanist, physician, zoologist, and natural philosopher, Christian Gottfried Daniel Nees von Esenbeck (1776-1858) - a key (more)

Memoir of the Reverend Octavius Pickard-Cambridge M.A., F.R.S. by his Son

by Pickard-Cambridge, A.W.

Cat No. : 64018, Published : 1918, Illustrations : b/w portrait frontis, 7 b/w plates

Hardback £175.00

First edition. Rare privately published memoir of Octavius Pickard-Cambridge (1828-1917), an English zoologist and clergyman. He was born in Bloxworth, Dorset, and succeeded his father as rector (more)

The Victoria History of the County of Somerset. Vol. I

by Page, W. (Ed.)

Cat No. : 63640, Published : 1906, Illustrations : frontis, 36 plates (1 col), 1 folding col plan, 8 double-page col maps, text figs

Hardback £40.00

Volume one covers natural history (geology, botany, marine zoology, insects, birds, reptiles and fish) archaeology and the Somerset Domesday. Contributors include R. Lydekker, R.P. Murray, Linley (more)

The Genitalia of the ... Lepidoptera of the British Islands 1. Noctudae Males; 2. Geometridae; 3. Tortricidae; 4. Tineid Families; 5. Pyrales, Deltoids & Plumes; 6. Rhopalocera & Larger Moths; 7. Noctuidae Females

by Pierce, F.N.; Metcalfe, J.W.

Cat No. : 63851, Published : 1909-1943, Illustrations : 247 plates of figs

£280.00

Rare complete set of the privately published original editions. Some volumes now scarce, particularly that on the Noctuidae (Females), of which only 100 copies were printed due to wartime (more)

Adventures among Birds

by Three Schoolboys [Scott, Peter; Dilke, Michael; Brereton, John]

Cat No. : 53487, Published : 1926, Illustrations : numerous b/w illustrations

Hardback £350.00

Limited edition of 525 copies, with the first 25 specially bound and numbered, this volume being No. 3. Rare. Produced while Peter Scott was still at Oundle School, the book contains some of his (more)

Die Schmetterlinge Europas. Bd 1-3 [with] Die Raupen der Schmetterlinge Europas. Bd 4

by Spuler, A.

Cat No. : 64047, Published : 1908-1910, Illustrations : 95 + 60 col plates

Hardback £550.00

Text German. This combined edition, revised by Spuler, comprises the third edition of E. Hofmann's Die Gross-schmetterlinge Europas and second edition of Die Raupen der Gross-schmetterlinge (more)

British Spiders: An Introduction to the Study of the Araneidae of Great Britain and Ireland

by Staveley, E.F.

Cat No. : 55365, Published : 1866, Illustrations : 16 plates (14 hand-col)

Hardback £65.00

First edition. Hand-coloured plates by Tuffen West, printed by W. West. Publisher's catalogue dated 1st October, 1873 bound at rear. (more)

The Pterophorina of Britain: A Monograph

by Tutt, J.W.

Cat No. : 63915, Published : [1894]

Hardback £45.00

Reprinted from 'The British Naturalist'. Scarce. (more)

Classification of the Aradidae (Hemiptera-Heteroptera)

by Usinger, R.L.; Matsuda, R.

Cat No. : 63965, Published : 1959, Illustrations : 4 b/w plates, 102 figs

Hardback £75.00

First edition. Illustrations include many full page habitus drawings. (more)

The Microscope, or Descriptions of Various Objects of Especial Interest and Beauty, adapted for Microscopic Observation

by Ward, Mary

Cat No. : 57269, Published : 1880, Illustrations : 8 col plates, 25 text figs

Hardback £75.00

5th edition. Mary Ward (the Hon. Mrs W.) (1827-1869) (born Mary King, Ferbane, Co. Offaly, Ireland and cousin of William, 3rd Earl of Rosse, the renowned Irish astronomer) was an '…exceptionally fine (more)

The Entomologist's Text Book; An Introduction to the Natural History, Structure, Physiology, and Classification of Insects, including the Crustacea and Arachnida

by Westwood, J.O.

Cat No. : 64019, Published : 1838, Illustrations : 5 hand-coloured engraved plates, additional engraved title-page with hand-col vignette

Hardback £110.00

First edition. Scarce. Fine hand-coloured plates by the author. Based on entomological articles first contributed by Westwood to the British Cyclopaedia of Natural History (1835-37).

Freeman 3948; (more)

Index Entomologicus; or, a Complete Illustrated Catalogue ... of the Lepidopterous Insects of Great Britain

by Wood, W.

Cat No. : 63997, Published : 1839, Illustrations : 54 hand-coloured plates

Hardback £275.00

First edition. Scarce. The hand-coloured plates include 1950 figures of butterflies and moths.

Horn-Schenkling 24425; Nissen ZBI 4458. (more)

Scientific Results of the Cambridge Expedition to the East African Lakes, 1930-1, 1-18.

by Worthington, E.B.; Beadle, L.C. Parker, H.W.; de Beauchamp, P.; Florence, R.; Lundblad, O.; Moore, J.P.; Imms, A.D.; Trewavas, E.; Jaczewski, T.; Gordon, I.; Lowndes, A.G.; Ricardo, C.K.; Balfour-Bro

Cat No. : 59527, Published : 1932-1939, Illustrations : 4 b/w plates (1 double-page), 1 folding tinted map, text figs

Hardback £75.00

Scarce complete set of 18 reports on the Cambridge Expedition to the East African Lakes 1930-1931. This expedition was a major scientific survey organised by the University of Cambridge, led by E.B. (more)

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