The voyager’s companion, or shell collector’s pilot;

A$4,250 · Offered by Douglas Stewart Fine Books

Limited edition

with instructions and directions where to find the finest shells; also for preserving the skins of animals; and the best methods of catching and preserving insects c. c. c. London : printed for and sold by the author, and by Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green, 1825. Fourth edition. Duodecimo, full polished calf (corners rubbed), gilt-lettered contrasting black morocco title label, gilt-lettering to foot of spine Library of Congress with gilt emblem of eagle and shield, bookplate removed from front free endpaper, hand-coloured aquatint frontispiece, pp. [iv]; vii; [blank]; 75; [1 adverts]; hand coloured aquatint plate in the text, a couple of small stains. A fine copy. The first guide to shell collecting, with some of the earliest direct references to collecting shells in New Holland and the South Seas. Mawe s charming and exceedingly rare guide to shell collecting was first published in 1804, unillustrated; only one surviving example of the first edition is known. The second edition is completely unrecorded, while OCLC locates two examples of the third edition of 1821. The fourth edition (here) of 1825 is similarly rare, with only two copies recorded on Trove. This edition is enhanced by two exquisite plates engraved by John Mawe. Stilwell suggests these were coloured by his wife, Sarah. The illustrations depict shells and fauna found in the farthest parts of the world, including the South Seas, with shells of the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii), the Marquesas and Society

• Binding: Hardcover

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