only yesterday I mentioned that I look at, and collect books,
about fish and fishkeeping, then today I find this book for sale at Antiquariaat Schierenberg, based in Amsterdam they specialize selling books about Anthropology, Decorative Arts & Design, Earth Sciences, History Of
Science, Natural History, Periodicals On Natural History, Photography,
Science and Travel & Exploration,
the book is a guide to the fish on the
coast of Ceylon, with the rather long title, A
selection from the most remarkable and interesting of the fishes found on the
coast of Ceylon,
from
drawings made in the southern part of that island from the living specimens by J. W. Bennett, many species were new to science,
the
author, John Whitchurch Bennett (1790-1853) was a British army surgeon, posted
in Ceylon, and a Fellow of the Linnean Society. Among his other published works
are: The Coco-nut Palm, Its Uses and Cultivation (1836, and Ceylon and Its
Capabilities: An Account of Its Natural Resources, Indigenous Productions, and
Commercial Facilities (1843)
published in London,
Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green, [1828-] 1830. 4to (31.2 x 24.6 cm),
the book has 30
splendidly hand coloured engraved plates, all heightened with gum Arabic, each
with a descriptive leaf of text [and] one extra original water-colour,
the work was twice reprinted. Some say that the first edition, which this is, is
the best, all editions are rare, the book is bound in contemporary green ruled half calf over marbled boards; spine with gilt ornaments and title, yellow endpapers, top edge gilt, preserved in a custom-made black cloth, luxurious, clamshell box with built-in cradle and black label with gilt title on the spine, Bennett included the local names, even in the local script, time for the cheque book, yours for €15,000, at todays rate £12,914 or $17,900, what a gem of a book, if only I had the money!
2 comments:
Stanley-I enjoyed seeing the different plates of various fish from the book covering the coast of Ceylon. When I was younger, I had a very nice Cichlid collection. Most of the group originated from Lake Malawi and were very colorful. I always wanted a saltwater tank but could not afford saltwater fish at the time. So instead, I invested in a nice group of Cichlids and large tank. I did have them for several years and many grew to the size of your hand. They would follow me in the tank as I walked across the room. Keeping the proper temperature and Ph greatly helped in having them display deep colors. They were beautiful and I was sad to leave them. I moved with my job, so gave the tank, equipment and collect of fish to my neighbor. He and his children used to visit my home to see the fish and so it was a great second home for them. It was interesting to sit and watch a tank for a few hours as you can develop a great sense of fish personalities. Bullies, speeders, shy types, all living in the same enclosed environment. It was a real pleasure having these fish at that time, something I really enjoyed.
Regards
John and Alley
Dear John and Alley, you may not know, but at about 9 or10 years old I had my first topical aquarium, and eventually had my own little fish shed where I breed many of them, I then started work at Kingfisheries aged13 in Beckenham which eventually I owned, and am still in fact a director of the company, below I there is a few of the many posts about our aquariums that we had whilst living in Thailand, one was 600 litres the other 900 litres,
https://stanleykemp.blogspot.com/2009/01/do-not-mess-with-fish-43.html
https://stanleykemp.blogspot.com/2016/07/we-were-up-early.html
https://stanleykemp.blogspot.com/2009/01/do-not-mess-with-fish-44.html
https://stanleykemp.blogspot.com/2016/12/how-time-flies.html
https://stanleykemp.blogspot.com/2016/10/as-it-was-saturday_16.html
also for my sins I had a few expeditions looking for new fish, one with the help of the Indian government,
https://stanleykemp.blogspot.com/2008/09/wettest-place-in-world.html
https://stanleykemp.blogspot.com/2011/09/there-did-not-seem-to-be-much-in.html
I also did a stint in Lake Tanganyika for 2 weeks, looking for new species, also SCUBA diving for cyphotilapia frontosa, which are only found at 20+ meters and have to be decompressed in holding barrels at 10 meters overnight or they get the bends! as an aside when in the shop and advising customers about the purchase of an aquarium I would always say to place the aquarium away from the television, as if it is too close you will be looking at the aquarium more than the television!, best regards, Stan and Diana.
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