Rare Antique Book, The Zoologist For 1854 : A Popular Miscellany of Natural History, Volume 12 (XII), Conducted by Edward Newman, F.L.S., Memb. Imp. L-C. Acad. Hardcover, Marbled Covers, Illustrated, 388 pages including Contents with an Alphabetical List of Contributors and an Alphabetical List of Subjects, Excellent Used Condition (EUC) The book is in remarkably good condition after 170 years. While the front and back hinges are cracked, the binding is solid and tight, there are no loose pages and no pages appear to be missing. There are some marks in pencil on the front endpaper, and there is a little damage on page 4332 where something appears to have been spilled on the page and a small hole resulted along the edge of the page. No other similar damage and no significant damage was observed anywhere else in the book. There is wear on the covers consistent with the book's age, and the corners are bumped and slightly broken, but the marbling is still in very good condition. The gilt lettering on the spine is almost entirely intact. There is browning and staining on the inside of the front and back covers, the endpapers and the edges of the pages, but there is little to no discoloration or staining on any of the interior pages. From conscicom.web.ox.ac.uk, "Beginning in 1843 [and ending in 1916], the Zoologist was the project of the entrepreneurial scientific printer and publisher Edward Newman. "Born into a Quaker family in 1801, Newman originally entered the rope-making business, but an early interest in natural history (and entomology in particular) led him to become a partner in the printing firm of George Luxford (1807-1854), of which he very soon became the sole owner. "Residing in London, Newman was embedded within the networks of leading naturalists, and was a founding member of the Entomological Society of London in 1833. He published widely on a surprising range of topics, with his most respected work regarding butterflies and moths. However, Newman also turned his hand to other topics with varying degrees of success, notably an article (published in the Zoologist) in which he argued pterodactyls to be marsupial bats. "The Zoologist was described as 'a popular miscellany of natural history'. Rather than commission articles written by experts, the periodical relied entirely upon its readers to furnish it with material. The aim was explicitly to attract as wide a range of contributors as possible, which made sound commercial sense, but was also underpinned by Newman's own belief in a more inclusive scientific community... "Newman looked to the 'multitude of observers' who had arisen since the time of White, and hoped that this army of scientific workers could make the Zoologist a success, providing contributions spanning a far wider field than that of an eighteenth-century clergyman. 'I wish that every district should have a chronicler of its natural history, and that the Zoologist should be a receptacle for all'. "Whether Newman's ideals translated into practice is another matter, but nevertheless, the Zoologist is one of many publications that offered a chance for naturalists to see their name in print, regardless of their social or scientific status. Newman proclaimed, 'every one who subscribes a single fact is welcome - nay, more than that - has a direct claim to be admitted as a contributor'. "The lists of contributors at the beginning of each yearly volume show many leading naturalists alongside others of whom we know very little. The subject matter is equally eclectic, ranging from 'manners of the water rat', 'anecdote of a robin', and the intriguingly titled 'electric centipede'. "The Zoologist was by far the most successful of Newman's many publishing ventures, and one the most long-lived of all the nineteenth-century popular natural history periodicals. It continued after Newman's death in 1876, surviving into the twentieth century and finally ceasing in 1916, presumably as many of its contributors were otherwise occupied at this time with more pressing matters than natural history." 8.5 in x 5.5 in x 1in, 1 lb 2 ozShipped in a box to protect the book as best as possible.