North American Herpetology; or A Description of the Reptiles Inhabiting the United States, in five volumes (Second edition)
by Holbrook, John Edwards
- Used
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Some occasional foxing to the text and to the title page of volume 5, fraying to the outer edge of plate 1 in volume 2, the fine
- Seller
-
Iowa City, Iowa, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Philadelphia: J. Dobson, 1842. Second edition.. Some occasional foxing to the text and to the title page of volume 5, fraying to the outer edge of plate 1 in volume 2, the fine hand-colored plates are bright and clean, a tight copy in very good condition.. Pp. xv, 17-152; vi, 9-142; ii, 3-128; vi, 7-136; vi, 5-118, (1, errata); with 147 hand-colored plates. Publishers original one-half dark red leather, spine with four raised bands, lettered in gilt in two compartments, over newer marbled boards, square 4to (11 3/4 x 10 1/2 inches). John Edwards Holbrook (17961871) was an American physician, zoologist, herpetologist, and naturalist. He is considered the Father of American Herpetology. According to Kraig Adler (History, p. 33), John Holbrooks scientific reputation rests on his books North American Herpetology (first edition in four volumes, 1836-1840, second edition in five volumes, 1842, and Ichthyology of South Carolina (first edition, 1855-1857). In his Herpetology, which he began in the mid-1820s, Holbrook described and illustrated every American species, which at the time meant primarily east of the Mississippi River (Adler, History, p. 33). Holbrook also researched the literature to determine the correct scientific names to be used, thus helping to stabilize the nomenclature. Perhaps the outstanding feature of his Herpetology, was the quality of the illustrations. Adler (p. 33) states that Holbrook was obsessed with providing scientifically accurate and life-like drawings. He employed as many as 17 artists to achieve this accuracy (p. 33). Holbrook also obtained live specimens of nearly all species to help the artists to accurate depicts the color and morphology. During the final production of the first edition, Holbrook became so dissatisfied with the quality of the illustrations that he abandoned its completion and instead issued a second edition in 1842. This second edition (offered here) was rearranged to follow the current taxonomy of the day. The plate number was increased to 147 scientifically accurate hand-colored plates. No subsequent revisions were made to this work. Aside from a three-page list of the amphibians and reptiles of Georgia published in 1849, this second edition of Herpetology represents Holbrooks final contribution to the field of herpetology. According to Sabin (32454), this work is worthy of a place in the library of the naturalists by the side of Audubon and Wilson. Faint blind stamp of the Library of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge on the outer top corner of the title page of each volume. Volume 3 has the signature of Harriott Pinckney Holbrook along the top edge of the title page. She is a descendant of John Edward Holbrooks brother. Very scarce work especially in such nice condition.
Reviews
(Log in or Create an Account first!)
Details
- Bookseller
- Natural History Books (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 9759
- Title
- North American Herpetology; or A Description of the Reptiles Inhabiting the United States, in five volumes (Second edition)
- Author
- Holbrook, John Edwards
- Book Condition
- Used - Some occasional foxing to the text and to the title page of volume 5, fraying to the outer edge of plate 1 in volume 2, the fine
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Publisher
- Philadelphia: J. Dobson, 1842. Second edition.
- Weight
- 0.00 lbs
- Bookseller catalogs
- Fine and Rare;
- Note
- May be a multi-volume set and require additional postage.
Terms of Sale
Natural History Books
All prices are net. If you do wish to use a credit or debit card, you can contact us directly for more purchasing options. We encourage customers to contact us to verify availability, condition, and specific shipping instructions. We do not offer books for sale in the state of Iowa.
About the Seller
Natural History Books
Biblio member since 2007
Iowa City, Iowa
About Natural History Books
Natural History Books is an independent, rare book retailer operating out of Iowa City, IA. The business is owned and operated by Noriko and Russell Ciochon. We only sell books through our NHB website and other book service websites. We do not offer books for sale within the state of Iowa.We specialize in rare and hard to find books in all areas of natural history especially ornithology, herpetology, ichthyology, mammalogy, paleontology, botany, evolutionary biology and travel and exploration. Our rare and hard-to-find book section has many fine hand-colored plate books. Our latest acquisition is the ichthyology and aquarium fish collection of Ross Socolof Books of Florida. We are always buying natural history books – if you have a collection to offer, please contact us at noriko@naturalhistorybooks.com or by calling (319) 354-9088.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- Tight
- Used to mean that the binding of a book has not been overly loosened by frequent use.
- Plate
- Full page illustration or photograph. Plates are printed separately from the text of the book, and bound in at production. I.e.,...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Raised Band(s)
- Raised bands refer to the ridges that protrude slightly from the spine on leather bound books. The bands are created in the...
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Marbled boards
- ...
- Title Page
- A page at the front of a book which may contain the title of the book, any subtitles, the authors, contributors, editors, the...