THE NATURAL HISTORY OF SELBORNE. [With 124 coloured illustrations from White's contemporaries.]

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,new impression,rev'd format, illustrated,1st edn thus.[Originally and first published 1789.First published in Great Britain as 'The Illustrated Natural History of Selborne' by Webb & Bower (Publishers), Ltd.London,1981 reprinted in 1984. This new impression in revised format published by Thames & Hudson Ltd.,London,1993,so a 1st edn thus,with this publisher's newest edn.This redesigned and illustrated edition is with additional material and is published with the collaboration of The Gilbert White Museum.] FINE/FINE. Virtually as new,so no owner inscrptn and no price-clip to dw/dj - absence of publisher's price - these generally believed to be export edns,that are released for distribution abroad,before the trade edns' distribution in the country of its origin.Bright,crisp, clean,wrap-around, glossy colour pictorial illustrated dw/dj (The Village and Church of Selborne),with capitalised black-lettered title+author name and capitalised white-lettered illustrations credit to lower edge of front; spine/backstrip with similarly coloured+ lettered author+title as front and publisher's capitalised white-lettered name to foot of same,rear panel with ISBN+barcode. Negligible shelf-wear, bumping,creasing to edges and corners – no nicks, tears or splits present.Top+fore-edges bright,crisp and clean without foxing/spotting or other blemish; contents bright,tight,clean,solid and sound - virtually pristine - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corner tips,appears unread other than my own collation.Publisher's bright,crisp,clean,sharp-cornered, original plain green cloth boards with bright,crisp, blocked gilt lettered spine/backstrip,a green+yellow striped headband,and immaculate repeated antique reproduced b/w illustrated endpapers of S.H Grimm's 'North East View of Selborne, from the Short Lythe' (engraved as the frontispiece to the first edition of 'The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne). UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,illustrated,1st edn thus,6-256pp [paginated] includes an Introduction by June E. Chatfield (Former Curator of The Gilbert White Museum),her Postscript to the Introduction,the Compiler's Preface,a Gilbert White Advertisement,Letters to Pennant - Letters I - XLIV (44),Letters to Barrington - I-LXVI (66),a Footnote to pp25 [A State of the Parish of SELBORNE,October 4,1783], 124 colour flora+fauna illustraions interspersed throughout the text and the book, Sources of the illustrations and an Index; plus [unpaginated] half-title+title pages,and a Contents list/table. Visually the exterior appearance is exceptional,and even internally,the book is also in an exceptional condition/state of preservation and presentation for a book of its 30 year-old age. It really is an exceptional, exemplary example for its cleanliness,brightness and lack of major detracting faults. A classic of English natural history literature which has been through more than 300 editions and re-issues since first appearing in 1789. To complement the text,124 colour plates have been faithfully reproduced from the hand-tinted engravings of Gilbet White's contemporaries. Two centuries have passed since Gilbert White was laid to rest in his unassuming grave in Selborne churchyard.To commemorate the bicentenary,and to celebrate the man,this richly illustrated edition of his classic work in made available once more. White's accurate study of the flora and fauna of his native parish,first published in 1789,makes delighful reading today.His regular correspondence, beginning in 1767,with two distinguished naturalists, Thomas Pennant and the Honourable Daines Barrington,forms the basis of 'The Natural History of Selborne'. The fascination of the book lies in the magic of its prose and the vividness of its description,which have earned it the distinction of being the only work on natural history to have received equal acclaim as a masterpiece of English literature. Please contact seller,because of the heavier weight of this item,for correct shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page! N.B. ALL buyers please note,that stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded,after order's receipt and before the order's despatch,especially if the item(s) are offered either P+p included/FREE. ** N.B. US/Canada customers please be aware: Standard AIRMAIL postage from UK to these destinations can now cost more than the price of any inexpensive book! If speed is not of the essence,then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. anything from a 1/3rd to 1/2 of the standard US AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always. **