The journal of a naturalist.
London: John Murray, 1829. 8vo. xii, 403, [1] pp. including publisher's advertisement. FIRST EDITION. With folding aquatint frontispiece and 10 plates (some with multiple figures). Contemporary half calf over marbled boards, covers worn, joints cracked; interior very nice. Armorial bookplate with initials EDS on paste-down. Item #10298
First edition of the botanical work inspired by White's The Natural History of Selborne. Knapp roamed the English countryside with a keen eye for its plants, both common and rare, as well as the birds, insects, and animals abounding among them. Though he concentrates mainly on plants, the author also discourses on creatures, as when he compares the various kinds of fur sported by the mole, bat, hamster mouse, and caterpillar. His focus is the district between Bristol and Gloucester.
Knapp (1767-1845) trained as a botanist and lived his whole life in England. His other major work is Gramina Britannia, or Representations of the British Grasses. He was a fellow of the Linnean Society and of the Society of Antiquaries.
Price: $225.00