Since the Smithsonian is mentioned below, I should note that I checked
our holdings and sadly can't help with this query. We hold two copies of
Gurney's catalogue in the Birds library (National Museum of Natural
History), but both are the 1864 issue.
Interestingly one of the copies belonged to Spencer Baird, signed and
dated by him Dec. 10, 1864. It also contains two slips of paper, loosely
inserted:
1) the publisher's printed presentation notice: "Messrs. Matchett and
Stevenson beg to forward the CATALOGUE sent herewith, which is presented by
the AUTHOR to the Members of the Norwich Museum."
2) "Additional species of birds of prey added to the Norwich Museum since
1890." [list of scientific names follows] This printed sheet has a
manuscript note (in the hand of Charles W. Richmond?): "Rec'd from Gurney. /
July, 1914."
This copy is now in the Cullman Library (our rare-book room for nat-hist
materials). But I'm afraid that it doesn't assist the inquiry.
Leslie Overstreet
PLEASE NOTE new phone and e-mail
(Ms.) Leslie K. Overstreet
Curator of Natural-History Rare Books
Smithsonian Institution Libraries
P.O. Box 37012
NHB CE-G15 / MRC 154
Washington DC 20013-7012
phone: (202) 633-1176
fax: (202) 633-0219
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
http://www.sil.si.edu/libraries/cullman
>>> [log in to unmask] 01/16/07 07:59PM >>>
I did a Google search on the title and found it listed in Amazon.com as
not available currently but the 1861 publication turned up twice.
http://www.hypography.com/books/apf4/amazon_products_feed.cgi?Operation=ItemLookup&ItemId=B0008B66FE
Binding: Unknown Binding
Label: John Van Voorst
Manufacturer: John Van Voorst
Number Of Pages: 90
Publication Date: 1861
Publisher: John Van Voorst
Studio: John Van Voorst
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0008B66FE%3ftag=i16jp-20%26link_code=xm2%26camp=2025%26dev-t=D2E5ETG5CGB5DD/ref=nosim
A descriptive catalogue of the raptorial birds in the Norfolk and Norwich
Museum (Unknown Binding)
by John Henry Gurney
Availability: THIS TITLE IS CURRENTLY NOT AVAILABLE.
Try a Google book search and type in
descriptive catalogue of the raptorial birds in the Norfolk and Norwich
Museum 1861
and you will get some intriguing entries.
I checked the Smithsonian and also the database, Early English Books
Online (EEBO).
Hope this helps somewhat.
If nothing else, it does indicate the presence of a 1861 edition.
Lynn Westney
University of Illinois at Chicago
On Mon, 15 Jan 2007, Chaplin, Simon wrote:
> ________________________________
>
> From: Ray Williams [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: 04 January 2007 10:39
> To: History of Natural History
> Subject: Bibliographical query
>
>
> Greetings all!
>
> I'd be grateful for help in tracing a rare issue of a book.
>
> In 1864, Van Voorst published for J.H. Gurney "A descriptive catalogue
> of the raptorial birds in the Norfolk and Norwich Museum".
> The title page notes that it was part 1, comprising the Serpentariidae,
> Polyboridae and Vulturidae. In fact, no further parts were published.
>
> This 1864 issue is fairly common, and I've seen many copies over the
> years. However, I recently came across an earlier issue, the only
> differences being that the title page gives the date 1861, and notes the
> families Serpentariidae, Polyboridae, Vulturidae and Gypaetidae.
> I've been able to trace only one copy of this earlier issue, noted on
> OCLC at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.
>
> Further enquiries there established that the texts of the two issues are
> identical and are on similar paper, but I'm now left with the question
> of whether the 1861 issue was ever available commercially, or was a
> prepublication issue distributed only to colleagues of the Author (this
> unique copy was a presentation). Nevertheless, the cloth casing of the
> 1861 copy is the same as that of the common 1864 issue, and a Van Voorst
> advertisement was tipped in, so it doesn't seem to be a private issue.
> But what could explain the three year gap between the issues, and the
> fact that the 1861 is so rare?
>
> Can anybody direct me to further copies of the 1861 issue, please? And
> any ideas to explain the associated mysteries?!
>
> Thanks in advance for your kind help.
>
>
> Prof. Ray B. Williams,
> London, UK
> This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and
intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are
addressed. If you have received this email in error please notify the system
manager. This message contains confidential information and is intended only
for the individual named. If you are not the named addressee you should not
disseminate, distribute or copy this e-mail.
>
|