[HOUGHTON, William (1829-1897)]. British fresh-water fishes. London: William Mackenzie, n.d. [1879].
FIRST EDITION; in two volumes, cloth bound, hardcovers, folio (37.5 x 28.5 cm), pp. volume I. half-title, blank (2), frontis, title, blank, dedication, blank, preface vii-viii, contents ix-x, introduction xi-xxvi, 1-92; volume II. half-title, blank (2), frontis, title, blank, 93-204. Beautifully bound in full brown pebble-grained cloth, bevelled edges, illustrated boards in gilt and black with fish and fisherman motif embossing, spine accents with blind-stamped bands, all edges gilt. With half-titles, title-pages in red and black, 41 large chromolithographic plates, including the frontispiece, of different types of freshwater fish, with chapter vignettes and wood engravings, drawn from nature by A.F. Lydon, and engraved by Benjamin Fawcett. Condition: NEAR FINE. Bindings tight and secure. Covers beautifully preserved. Some very light fox spots.
Notes: "Houghton, a Shropshire clergyman, aimed his book at the fisherman rather than the naturalist, and the text (of which there is, unusually, plenty) gives information about recognition, feeding and breeding habits, habitat, bait and so on." (Buchanan - Nature into Art). Alexander Francis Lydon's plates, which were printed by Benjamin Fawcett, show each fish in what is meant to be its natural habitat. For this work, Houghton studied the specimens in the collection of the British Museum. British Fresh-Water Fishes is notable for its incorporation of the naturalistic backgrounds of the fish habitats. The fact that this work has been reprinted in subsequent editions from the 19th century through the 1980s attests to the quality and interest of the descriptions and illustrations, even though taxonomists have since revised some of the classifications. Wonderful first edition copy, clean, fresh and crisp. Westwood & Satchell 247. Nissen, ZBI 2009.
