Natural History

The botanical magazine; or flower garden displayed...
Vol. 1
William Curtis
(London, 1787)

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There is a wide selection of fine and rare natural history books with European and American books predominating. Areas of notable strength include ornithology, horticulture, botany, pomology, and entomology. The voyages and accounts of early exploration are also strong.

Collecting has been primarily limited to early natural history published before 1850. A few of the important titles are the octavo edition of Audubon's Birds of America, a 1536 Hortus Sanitatis, The Natural History of the Rarer Lepidopterous Insects of Georgia (London, 1797), and A.J. Downing's The Fruits and Fruit Trees of America, (New York, 1845).

The Paul Barrett Darwinian Collection includes first editions of almost all of Charles Darwin's most important works.

Did You Know ...

• In 1966, Special Collections acquired Conrad Gesner's Historia Animalium (Zurich, 1551-1558) for it's Natural History collection. This title formed a link between between the medieval bestiary, largely baseed on Aristotle and fable, and the tradition of modern zoology. Gesner's animals are described from observation and his woodcuts are recognizably accurate.
• In 1966, Special Collections acquired Conrad Gesner's Historia Animalium (Zurich, 1551-1558) for it's Natural History collection. This title formed a link between between the medieval bestiary, largely baseed on Aristotle and fable, and the tradition of modern zoology. Gesner's animals are described from observation and his woodcuts are recognizably accurate.