THE OCEAN AND ITS MEANING IN NATURE [caption- title] by [Desor, Pierre Édouard] - 1849

[Boston, 1849. 18pp. Sewn self-wrappers. Sewing partially absent, externally dusty, transparent but significant tidemark affects upper third of textblock, a few creased nicks along spine; a sound copy of a fragile item. First separate printing, as an offprint (according to OCLC) from the MASS. QUARTERLY REVIEW, June, 1849. Inscribed faintly in the upper margin of the first leaf: "G.B. Emerson with the regards of the Author." Desor, a Swiss geologist and naturalist, collaborated with Agassiz in Europe, and accompanied him to the US in 1847. He worked on the coastal survey, and helped with the geological survey of the mineral district of Lake Superior. The recipient was almost certainly educator and naturalist, George Barrell Emerson (1797- 1881). "The study of natural ecology became a focus of Emerson's adult life, and his influence extended into this area as well. Emerson was an environmentalist with the attitude of a romantic and the aptitude of a scientist. As a romantic he believed that 'every object is full of beauty, every sound has an echo in the heart of a child.' Seven years after its formation in 1830, the Boston Society of Natural History chose Emerson as its president. During his six-year tenure as president and scientist, he commissioned a zoological and botanical survey of Massachusetts and spent considerable time on his own botanical research. At one point during the survey he rejected an offer of the professorship of natural history and the directorship of the Botanical Garden at Harvard University" - AMERICAN NATIONAL BIOGRAPHY (online). There is one ink correction in the text. OCLC locates four copies of this separate, three of them at Harvard. OCLC: 80560036.