Beschreibung:

PERRY, George (fl. 1810). Conchology, or the Natural History of Shells: containing a New Arrangement of the Genera and Species . London: W. Bulmer and Co. for William Miller [1810-]1811 [plates watermarked 1813].
PERRY, George (fl. 1810). Conchology, or the Natural History of Shells: containing a New Arrangement of the Genera and Species . London: W. Bulmer and Co. for William Miller [1810-]1811 [plates watermarked 1813]. 2° (420 x 275mm). 61 fine hand-coloured aquatint plates by John Clarke after Perry. (Without half-title and 2pp. publisher's advertisements at end, occasional spotting.) 19th-century red straight-grained morocco, borders gilt and blindstamped, gilt inlays and edges (extremities and joints rubbed, corners bumped, some scuff marks). Provenance : Ernest Lacy (label dated 3 January 1950 presenting the book to the Royal Institution). FIRST EDITION of the first work on shells to be illustrated with aquatint plates. Although Perry's Conchology was sharply criticized by contemporaries such as Sowerby, modern assessment affirms Perry's contribution: ‘many of [Perry's] new generic and specific names are firmly entrenched in the literature today’ (Dance, pp.121). For his illustrations, subsequently vividly coloured by hand, Perry worked from natural specimens in the collections of the British Museum, William Bullock, George Annesley (Viscount Valentia), H.C. Jennings, W.J. Broderip and Elizabeth Bligh (wife of William Bligh, of Bounty fame). Dance pp.120-121, no.223; Nissen ZBI 3134.