Natural History Books - Balch - Mendip The Great Cave of Wookey Hole

Hovey, Horace C., Celebrated American Caves Especially Mammoth, Wyandot and Luray, Clarke, USA and Lockwood, London, 1882; original pictorial cloth; xii pp. + 228 pp. + 8 pp. [Clarke advertisements], illustrated (some folding); with detailed collector record card and old mark inside front cover where label removed and fep clipped top corner. 780 grams, 24 x 16.5 cm

Near fine condition; slight wear to binding hinges.

Ex libris Dr Eli Simpson. Acquired Miss C M Rawdin, 1982. The property of Mr and Mrs PR of East Sussex. Thence by descent to family members. Accompanied by hand-written record cards from Mr and Mrs PR.

This lot is from the collection assembled by a man who pursued a lifelong interest in speleology - the study of natural cave systems and he sought out important books on the subject ranging from 18th century classic works to rare pamphlets and offprints. The first book apparently acquired, by way of a gift from a family friend in 1955, when he was living as a young man in Australia and exploring the famed Jenolan Caves in New South Wales. For over fifty years, as he moved around the world, his interest expanded into USA cave systems and those in the United Kingdom and Europe. Many of the books have a pedigree of previous ownership and almost all are accompanied by meticulous index cards that record not only the full bibliographic information for each book but also when, where and from whom it was acquired, together with the price paid; the cards are often punctuated with pithy personal comments that show clearly the depth of interest in the subject. The collection represents an unrivalled opportunity today for collectors and others to acquire rare and important works.

Group comprising: Tiddeman, R. H., Report of the Victoria Cave Exploration Committee, offprints from British Association for Advancement of Science, 2rd, 3rd, 4th and 6th Reports, 1874-1878; sewn wraps, WITH On the Age of the Hyena-Bed at the Victoria Cave Settle and its Bearing on the Antiquity of Man, offprint from Journal of the Anthropological Institute, November 1877; sewn; WITH Brown, Geo. H., Victoria Cave its History and Exploration,1903; stapled lettered wraps, illustrated. 123 grams total, 18.5 x 12.5 - 21.5 x 14 cm

Good to fine condition. Some rare.

The property of Mr and Mrs PR of East Sussex. Thence by descent to family members.

This lot is from the collection assembled by a man who pursued a lifelong interest in speleology - the study of natural cave systems and he sought out important books on the subject ranging from 18th century classic works to rare pamphlets and offprints. The first book apparently acquired, by way of a gift from a family friend in 1955, when he was living as a young man in Australia and exploring the famed Jenolan Caves in New South Wales. For over fifty years, as he moved around the world, his interest expanded into USA cave systems and those in the United Kingdom and Europe. Many of the books have a pedigree of previous ownership and almost all are accompanied by meticulous index cards that record not only the full bibliographic information for each book but also when, where and from whom it was acquired, together with the price paid; the cards are often punctuated with pithy personal comments that show clearly the depth of interest in the subject. The collection represents an unrivalled opportunity today for collectors and others to acquire rare and important works.

Shaw, T. R., Cave Illustrations before 1900 A Catalogue of Non-Photographic Illustrations of Caves, BSA Monograph, Settle, nd (but believed 1967); pictorial wrappers with cloth spine; 184 pp.; with detailed collector record card and Keighley Public Library bookplate to front inside cover and ink library stamps to fep and reverse of title with associated small label and ink stamp to front cover. 495 grams, 26 x 20.8 cm

Fine condition. A rare and useful reference.

Ex libris Keighley Public Library (1968). Acquired Bishopstone Books, September 2007. The property of Mr and Mrs PR of East Sussex. Thence by descent to family members. Accompanied by a hand-written record card from Mr and Mrs PR.

This lot is from the collection assembled by a man who pursued a lifelong interest in speleology - the study of natural cave systems and he sought out important books on the subject ranging from 18th century classic works to rare pamphlets and offprints. The first book apparently acquired, by way of a gift from a family friend in 1955, when he was living as a young man in Australia and exploring the famed Jenolan Caves in New South Wales. For over fifty years, as he moved around the world, his interest expanded into USA cave systems and those in the United Kingdom and Europe. Many of the books have a pedigree of previous ownership and almost all are accompanied by meticulous index cards that record not only the full bibliographic information for each book but also when, where and from whom it was acquired, together with the price paid; the cards are often punctuated with pithy personal comments that show clearly the depth of interest in the subject. The collection represents an unrivalled opportunity today for collectors and others to acquire rare and important works.