MAWE, John.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

The Linnaean System of Conchology, Describing the Orders, Genera, and Species of Shells, Arranged into Divisions and Families: First edition, the copy of the natural scientist William Wilson Saunders (1809-1879), with ownership signature, dated 2 January 1829, on the front pastedown. In 1833, Saunders was elected a fellow of the Linnean Society, to which the book is dedicated, and joined the fellowship of the Royal Society two decades later. Born in Derbyshire, John Mawe (1766-1829) spent his younger years at sea and then turned to mineralogy and natural history, collecting minerals for the king of Spain and travelling in Brazil. Back in London, he and Sarah Mawe, similarly a shell specialist, opened a new shop on the Strand, strategically near to Sotheby's auction rooms, selling specimens to the growing market of armchair collectors. The Mawes published several works on the subject, including the world's first shell-collecting guide. The Linnaean System of Conchology presents their up-to-date knowledge of different species and the parts of the world where they are found.Saunders's initials and pressmark are on the title page, alongside a large 19th-century secretarial notation recording his presentation of this copy to an unidentified library or society.

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