Item LIB 70748 Rare book - Osbert Salvin, '[Collected articles from The Ibis on the ornithology of Central America]', Blackwell Scientific, 1859-1864

Summary

This volume contains 12 articles from 'The Ibis' authored or co-authored by Osbert Salvin on Central American ornithology between 1859 and 1864. The articles are interleaved throughout with blue lined pages containing hand-written annotations and illustrations.

Osbert Salvin (1835-1898) was an English naturalist whose major work, 'Biologia Centrali-Americana' (1879-1915), was co-authored by naturalist Frederick DuCane Godman (1834-1919). Salvin was a respected expert in the fields of ornithology, entomology and palaeontology, authoring numerous publications and actively participating in scientific societies including the Royal Society, Zoological Society, Linnaean Society, Geographical Society and Entomological Society. He served as Strickland Curator of Birds at Cambridge University 1874-1882 and became an Honorary Fellow of his College, Trinity Hall, in 1897. Godman was similarly influential as a naturalist and collector, and was a fellow of the Royal Society, Geographical Society and Society of Antiquaries of London. He served as President of the Entomological Society, British Ornithologists' Union and Geological Society, and was also a Trustee of the British Museum.

Salvin and Godman met while at Cambridge, taking field trips to study local birds and butterflies. They were among the founding members of the British Ornithological Union in 1858, with Godman serving as President 1896-1913. Salvin co-authored the first article published in the society's journal 'The Ibis' and later served as editor 1871-1882. Both naturalists travelled extensively, including in Central America, where they collected birds, insects, and other zoological specimens, later establishing their own museum and library. Back in Britain, they drew on their connections with local collectors to develop their collection of specimens from locations they hadn't visited on their expeditions. They worked with numerous collectors and naturalists, including Herbert Huntington Smith and his wife Amelia 'Daisy' Woolworth Smith, and an Indigenous collector Mr M. Trujillo.

In 1877 they decided to publish an encyclopaedia on Central American fauna and flora, intending to release six parts per year with 12 sheets and six coloured plates across the various zoological and botanical disciplines. Their material was so extensive that the work amounted to an enormous 63 volumes over 36 years and included descriptions of 50,263 species by many leading experts of the day. When Salvin died suddenly in 1898, entomologist and collector George Charles Champion helped Godman finish editing 'Biologia Centrali-Americana'.

Godman and Salvin authored the volumes on birds and lepidoptera. The four ornithology volumes were published between 1879 and 1904 and covered 1,413 species. There were three volumes of text and one volume of plates with 84 hand-coloured lithographs by J. G. Keulemans depicting 149 species. The publication was drawn out by Salvin's prolonged illness, and the third volume was completed with assistance from Richard Bowlder Sharpe and William Robert Ogilvie-Grant. It is likely that this annotated collection of earlier articles was used in preparation for the Aves section of 'Biologia Centrali-Americana'. While the annotated volume bears the bookplate of Frederick DuCane Godman, the annotations appear to be in Salvin's hand and show the naturalist reviewing and revising his own work.

Salvin and Godman donated much of their vast collection to the British Museum in 1885. Following Salvin's death, and as the parts of 'Biologia Centrali-Americana' were completed, Godman continued this donation. A memorial tablet with portraits of Salvin and Godman was displayed near a statue of Charles Darwin in the central hall of the Natural History Museum to acknowledge the importance of their donation.

Their library remained with Godman's estate upon his death in 1919 and is thought to have been gradually dispersed. Many items from the Godman Library are recorded in 'An introduction to the literature of vertebrate zoology: based chiefly on the titles in the Blacker library of zoology, the Emma Shearer Wood library of ornithology, the Bibliotheca Osleriana and other libraries of McGill university, Montreal' (1931). This item, which once belonged to the Godman library, was acquired by Museums Victoria's predecessor institution the National Museum of Victoria in 1970.

Physical Description

Hard-cover, half bound volume in brown leather and marbled paper measuring 22cm high. Raised bands with gold stamped text on spine. Red and yellow endbands. Red speckled block edges. Hollowback. Green endpapers. Comprises 12 printed articles on cream wove paper with blue lined paper interleaved. Handwritten contents page with manuscript numbering throughout. Contains manuscript annotations and hand-coloured illustrations in watercolour, gouache and graphite.

Significance

This unique volume of articles from 'The Ibis' is an important example of how books were customised for use by scientists in their research. The interleaved pages have been deliberately inserted for the purposes of revision, following a long-established practice in education and research. The annotations show Salvin actively revising his work prior to the publication of the ornithology volumes of 'Biologia Centrali-Americana'. Based on the dates that appear with the annotations, the volume appears to have been used as a field diary during Salvin's trip to Guatemala in 1873-1874 to document new findings or confirm previous observations. Significantly, this item provides evidence of an intermediary stage in the publishing process and provides insight into 19th century field research.