Wednesday, July 31, 2013

More vintage nature books!

Posted by Kirk 2 Comments
In my last post I mentioned Anna Botsford Comstock. She was very influential in the "nature study" field which  was in many ways one of the predecessors to my career as a professional interpretive naturalist. Her book, Handbook of Nature Study, was published in 1911. My copy is from
 the twenty-second edition printed in 1931.  It was probably one if the first "old" books I bought. 


My edition is the "Portrait Edition." Her portrait was added to the book by the publishers after her death in 1930, "so that her readers may share something of her noble presence."


Another notable book in my collection from a another powerhouse woman writer is this first edition hardcover of Silent Spring by Rachel Carson. Houghton Mifflin Co., Riverside Press Cambridge 1962. There is a little damage to the dust jacket but otherwise a great copy. This one was a gift. 


It sits along side my much smaller forth printing of the 1985 Fawcett Crest paperback edition. 


I have a few more book posts coming so the bibliophiles amongst you can look forward to that. For those of you not into books how about bees? There's a bee post in the works too. 
Read More

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Collecting Vintage Nature Books

Posted by Kirk
I've been getting into collecting vintage nature books lately. I thought I would share a few of my most recent finds.

First up Nature Study by Overton and Hill.
Published by American Book Company in 1905. First edition. 


The cover art is pretty awesome featuring nice details like spider webs, mushroom, frogs, dragonflies, house flies and a central butterfly. The book itself is an upper elementary text on Nature Study. It has an introduction by Anna Botsford Comstock

The photos inside show everything for snowflakes to the inside of an oak apple gall. 

Next up is my other recent purchase:

Nat the Naturalist by G. Manville Fenn.
Britain by Blackie and Son Ltd., Glasgow circa 1928


This is a young adult fiction book that features a lot of natural history in the storytelling. I particularly like it because the cover artwork is designed by the famous designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh. This was printed in Great Britain by Blackie and son Ltd., Glasgow. They commissioned Mackintosh to create this cover as a generic cover for a number of books they published. The book contains no publication date but a handwritten inscription inside reads, October 2, 1928. Mackintosh died in that same year.

Interestingly I have seen the identical book with the same cover featuring a different color plate opposite the title page. Here is the drawing in this edition. I do not know what edition this is. I have seen copies of this book as early as 1883. I have another edition on order with a more elaborate cover also by Mackintosh.


Those are my two most recent purchases. Any other book lovers out there with a penchant for nature or natural history books?
Read More

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

From the Field: Blinded Sphinx Moth

Posted by Kirk


This Blinded Sphinx Moth showed up on a window at work. Moths a fascinating creatures. Sphinx moths in particular have pretty awesome looking caterpillars too. Keep your eyes open for cool moths. Now is a great time to look out at the walls near porch lights in the evenings for some gorgeous and surprising discoveries. 

Read More