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Having looked at the New Naturalists and seen how natural history was a vehicle for advances in book design and war time propaganda, it is interesting to move further back in the history of its publishing and review some of the shoulders upon which that series stands. Opportunity arose for me guise of Jardine’s “The Naturalist’s Library”…

Natural History was among the collectables of the Victorian period, becoming quite the craze. Societies were formed and opportunities abounded for individuals to mix across classes and gender divides, yes it was even a science that it was acceptable for women to study. This series predates Victoria’s reign by three years, the first titles being published in 1833, but their popularity took off during that era. The desire to learn and to pass that along, saw to the accessibility of that knowledge in such an attractive format and helped fuel a human hankering to pit itself against nature in the hunt for specimens.

Sir William Jardine (1800-1874), 7th Baronet of Applegarth, was a naturalist was an author to some earlier volumes but also editor to the series, hence he is associated with the collection – often referred to as the “Jardine’s”. They were published by his brother-in-law William Home Lizars, whom had inherited the publishing house from his father Daniel Lizars, a talented duo of artist engravers. Jardine’s daughter also had a part to play as she illustrated some of the bird plates- quite the family affair.

As an aside, Jane Home Lizars (Jardine’s wife), had another brother – John Lizars FRSE (1792-1860). John was professor at the most prestigious Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, and one of his better known pupils was Charles Darwin.

We have had quite a lovely collection of these fascinating and wonderfully illustrated books come into our possession; it has been a privilege and pleasure to catalogue them. Come and see us or take a look online, they really are quite beautiful.

Natural History going Viral… Back in the day Having looked at the New Naturalists and seen how natural history was a vehicle for advances in book design and war time propaganda, it is interesting to move further back in the history of its publishing and review some of the shoulders upon which that series stands.

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"A Form of Escapism"- an assertion of optimism...

“A Form of Escapism”- an assertion of optimism…

The first meetings in the development of the New Naturalist (NN) series took place in 1942, amidst the conflict of World War II. The books were described by Professor Sir (Laurence) Dudley Stamp as ‘a form of escapism’ and the series seen as optimistic in the assumption of the outcome of the war – that the British public would be free to read them, untroubled by any new Germanic regime. The NN…

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Nicholas Culpeper – Rogue?

Nicholas Culpeper (1616-1664) is best known for his Complete Herbal first published in 1653. Before this he translated and wrote a number of other books, among them a translation of the Pharmacopoeia Londonesis, or the London Dispensatory, to which he added his own views on the cures versus those of the College of Physicians. This really annoyed the college, firstly for translating the book into English, so that they no longer had a closed shop, and probably as much for imputing that many of the college’s cures were not so good. He also saw patients in person and charged little or nothing, further annoying the college, who vilified him even after his death. There are opposing views of him today, on the one hand he is seen as a beneficent man of the people [he also fought and did surgery for the roundheads].

On the other hand he is seen as a bit of a rogue who squandered his money, and brought people back to the dark ages with his views on astrology and herbalism. I find it difficult to reconcile the idea of rogue with someone who worked so hard for the common good, he certainly warrants further interest from me with the contrasting aspects of his character, a bright loquacious man, motivated, intelligent, whose book Culpeper’s Herbal is not far off a household name, and whose life was shortened by a chest wound he sustained fighting for the Roundheads.

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This Lot caught our eye today; having been sold at auction and being checked through, the gorgeously illustrated end papers grabbed us. The Dolittle novels were illustrated by their author, Mr. Hugh Lofting.

Lofting was an Anglo-Irish civil engineer born in January 1886, he served in the Irish Guard during the First World War when the anthropomorphized characters of his novels began to take shape; not wishing to write to his children of the horrors witnessed in Flanders nor the banality of the day-to-day trench life, he sent home imaginative illustrated letters. Giving a voice to the animals he encountered, he could escape his surrounds and reach out to loved ones at home; powerful motivation.

Shrapnel wounds to his leg saw an end to his military service in 1918. His experience was a catalyst to pacifism and a desire to counter the glorification of the battlefield in children’s books.

The Story of Doctor Doolittle was first published in 1920 and a subsequent 8 novels were published in Lofting’s life time, a 9th shortly after his death in 1948. He died aged 61 in the USA, his adopted home. This last title is thought to have been delayed by his writing of “Victory for the Slain“, his only work for adults, a single long poem in seven parts about the futility of war.

Anthropomorphism is an age-old technique used by an elder to pass on life’s Lessons, that predates literature. Doctor John Dolittle does keep good company though: animal stories in the Bible, Fables, and in more modern times Carroll’s stories of Alice, C. S. Lewis’ Narnia Chronicles, Collodi’s Pinocchio, Kipling’s Jungle Book and, for the little ones (not so dark), Milne’s Winnie the Pooh and the tales of Beatrix Potter…

Personally I was also intrigued by our previous owner, Anne Vera Penny, and her inscribing of the books with consideration for the design of the illustrations :-). Proof altogether that there are always more bookish pleasures to be had.

Find more Dolittles in our Children’s section of keoghsbooks.com

A Lot of Doctor Dolittle This Lot caught our eye today; having been sold at auction and being checked through, the gorgeously illustrated end papers grabbed us.

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“The Miseries of Human Life; or the Groans of Samuel Sensitive, and Timothy Testy; with a Few Supplementary Sighs from Mrs Testy. In Twelve Dialogues as Overheard by James Beresford, A. M. Fellow of Merton College Oxford” – to give it its full title!

A curious title; a precursor to “Private Eye”? This satirical little tome, is very William Hogarth in tone, as was another I came across the other day; “The Natural History of Stuck-up People”. Neither title would have crossed my path were it not for the wonderful world of a certain antiquarian book dealer; T.V.M. Keogh’s Books :-)

The Miseries of Human Life? "The Miseries of Human Life; or the Groans of Samuel Sensitive, and Timothy Testy; with a Few Supplementary Sighs from Mrs Testy.

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A Cap of Gray Hairs for a Green Head

A Cap of Gray Hairs for a Green Head

We love the title of this book, it has such strong visual connotations. Ours sees the work in its fifth edition, dated 1710. We surmise that the concept and title may have been inspired by Proverbs 16:31 “Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life” from the Christian Old Testament of today’s Holy Bible. This volume has a second title, or a continuation to this initial…

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Carroll’s Alice is very well traveled…

She has told of her adventures in many a far flung land it seems. We recently added to our fabulous collection of Alice’s with more non-English language editions including: Latin, Romanian, Italian, Polish, Icelandic, Portuguese, Serbian, German, Turkish, Spanish, Croatian, Latvian, Japanese, Swedish, Hebrew, Lithuanian, Finish, Danish, Korean, Czech, Greek, Russian, Afrikaans…

Many stem from a collector of the Lewis Carroll’s work, Anthony Beale (1932-2011) and are new to the public arena. His was a collection considered to be one of the finest in private hands within the UK.

Quite a breadth of translations, and the illustrations are fabulous, Alice-o-philes of the world unite and feast your eyes!

And there are more… For the information on ours go to http://keoghsbooks.com – if the book hasn’t sold you’ll find their descriptions catalogued.

Tell us (and the rest of the world), where has your Alice been or come from?

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I have to say that in working within a bookshop as a “grown up” my behavior is akin to how I imagined working in a sweet shop might be as a child. It is exciting (no really, it is), I get to taste all this good stuff that I never knew existed and very occasionally you might find me hidden behind the counter visually gorging. Not much time for the latter but I do encounter and re-encounter those books that wink at me, as much as to proffer – go on  you know you want to!

A case in point, this lovely little book left us today but I took photos to share…

and once again I realise I have let the adult responsibility of life’s necessities win over my lexical passions, a reminder to live a little.

The sweet shop in question – http://keoghsbooks.com

  The one that got away – again!

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I like BIG books and... little ones work for me too. Mrs Beeton how to