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NEW NATURALIST The New Naturalist, Main Series, nos. 1-126; Monographs, nos. 1-22, FIRST EDITIONS, William Collins, 1945-2015; together with a collection of original artwork, proof dust-wrappers, etc. (quantity) image 1
NEW NATURALIST The New Naturalist, Main Series, nos. 1-126; Monographs, nos. 1-22, FIRST EDITIONS, William Collins, 1945-2015; together with a collection of original artwork, proof dust-wrappers, etc. (quantity) image 2
Lot 183

NEW NATURALIST
The New Naturalist, Main Series, nos. 1-126; Monographs, nos. 1-22, FIRST EDITIONS, William Collins, 1945-2015; together with a collection of original artwork, proof dust-wrappers, etc. (quantity)

11 November 2015, 13:00 GMT
London, Knightsbridge

Sold for £15,000 inc. premium

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NEW NATURALIST

The New Naturalist, Main Series, nos. 1-126; Monographs, nos. 1-22, FIRST EDITIONS, numerous plates and illustrations, many with significant additions (author's signatures, letters, photographs, and other related insertions throwing light on the genesis and history of the series), publisher's cloth or (for the limited issues) leather, pictorial dust-jackets or slipcases as called for, 8vo, William Collins, 1945-2015; together with a collection of original artwork, proof dust-wrappers, etc. (quantity)

Footnotes

A MAGNIFICENT COMPLETE SET OF THE NEW NATURALIST SERIES, IN FINE CONDITION AND WITH NUMEROUS SIGNIFICANT ADDITIONS, including correspondence from/to many of the authors, original artwork, and proofs of dust-jackets.

The manuscript material includes correspondence and notes from the series' authors, often recording the progress of their books; bookplates and notes of well known naturalists, together in 9 box files (6 folio, 3 octavo in green cloth embellished with "NN" monogram). There are upwards of 20 examples proof dust-wrappers and artwork (mostly framed and glazed), including Ellis's art work for the original wrapper of W.G. Hale's Waders (most of the Ellis art work was destroyed in a Glasgow warehouse flood), and a unique linocut (230 x 246mm.) by Robert Gillmor for the dust-wrapper of Brian Spooner and Peter Roberts' Fungi.

Almost all the cloth copies have special points. For example: Eric Simms' copy of Ernest Neal's Badger is accompanied by a bundle of letters from Neal to Simms; Sir Julian Huxley's copy of Stephen Potter and Laurens Sargent's Pedigree is extensively annotated, and has a note by Frederick Wolsey [who is thanked in the preface to Juliette Huxley's autobiography for correcting her English] that it was the last book JH read, stating "After Julian died I made the probate valuation of his books for Juliette".

The present set provoked the response "Good grief, what a collection" (email from Peter Marren, 12 November 2008); further details of the collection are given in the collector's own account, just published as A Passion for Nature in Tim Bernhard and Timothy Loe, Collecting the New Naturalists, 2015, pp.296-97, a copy of which is included in the lot.

Provenance: Property of the Late Dr. David Kings, sold by order of the executor.

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