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Natural History of Victoria. Prodromus of the zoology of Victoria; or, figures and descriptions of the living classes of the Victorian indigenous animals

Natural History of Victoria. Prodromus of the zoology of Victoria; or, figures and descriptions of the living classes of the Victorian indigenous animals

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Natural History of Victoria. Prodromus of the zoology of Victoria; or, figures and descriptions of the living classes of the Victorian indigenous animals

by McCOY, Frederick

  • Used
Condition
A very good set finely bound
Seller
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Surry Hills, New South Wales, Australia
Item Price
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About This Item

Melbourne: Robert S. Brain, 1885 -, 1890. A very good set finely bound. Two volumes, thick octavo, with all 20 "decades", 199 lithographic plates (including one double folding plate), nearly all coloured and some finished by hand; attractively bound in contemporary navy half calf, spines gilt, double labels in maroon and tan.

A superb copy of this beautifully illustrated work. McCoy's book has been a somewhat overlooked classic of Australian natural history, representing the culmination of nineteenth-century scholarship in the field.

Irish-born Frederick McCoy arrived in Melbourne in 1854 to take up the first Professorship of Natural Science at the newly-formed University of Melbourne. For the next forty years he was at the centre of colonial scientific life. He became the first Director of the newly formed National Museum of Victoria and was responsible for the rapid development of the Museum and its collection.

McCoy 'built up an outstanding natural history and geological collection, including mining models, exploiting his knowledge of overseas sources. In 1870 the Museum [of Natural and Applied Sciences, Melbourne] was placed under the Public Library trustees... Ever pestering for funds and uncovering trustees' plots to move the museum, he found his best defence and consolation in the popularity and scientific standing of the museum. Annual attendances averaged 53,000 in the 1860s, 95,000 in the 1870s, 110,000 in the 1880s and 108,000 in the 1890s. Painfully he acquired government money to publish serially his Prodromus of the Zoology of Victoria (1878-90) and Prodromus of the Palaeontology of Victoria (1874-82)' (ADB).

There has been a recent resurgence of interest in McCoy's work, notably with the important exhibition and online catalogue of the Prodromus, 'Caught & Coloured, Zoological Illustrations from Colonial Victoria' at the Melbourne Museum.

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Details

Bookseller
Hordern House Rare Books AU (AU)
Bookseller's Inventory #
3709351
Title
Natural History of Victoria. Prodromus of the zoology of Victoria; or, figures and descriptions of the living classes of the Victorian indigenous animals
Author
McCOY, Frederick
Book Condition
Used - A very good set finely bound
Quantity Available
1
Publisher
Robert S. Brain, 1885 -
Place of Publication
Melbourne
Date Published
1890
Note
May be a multi-volume set and require additional postage.

Terms of Sale

Hordern House Rare Books

14 day return guarantee, with full refund including original shipping costs for up to 14 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged. For full terms please visit our website.

About the Seller

Hordern House Rare Books

Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Biblio member since 2009
Surry Hills, New South Wales

About Hordern House Rare Books

Hordern House, founded by Anne McCormick and Derek McDonnell in 1985 and named for our original building in Sydney's Potts Point, is an internationally renowned dealership, specialising in rare books, manuscripts and paintings.Nowadays we conduct our business in the heart of Surry Hills, five minutes from the centre of Sydney. We occupy an entire floor of a converted warehouse where we have created a customised environment for our work and the display of rare books, manuscripts & paintings.Always reflected in our extensive stock of rare and select material is our specialization in voyages and travels (with a special interest in the Pacific & Australia), natural history and colour-plate material, paintings and voyage art, historical maps and manuscripts.

Glossary

Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:

Octavo
Another of the terms referring to page or book size, octavo refers to a standard printer's sheet folded four times, producing...
Calf
Calf or calf hide is a common form of leather binding. Calf binding is naturally a light brown but there are ways to treat the...
Gilt
The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...

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