A Monograph of the Algae of the Firth of Forth. Illustrated with Herbarium Specimens of some of the Rare Species.

Traill (George William)

A Monograph of the Algae of the Firth of Forth. Illustrated with Herbarium Specimens of some of the Rare Species.

Description: FIRST EDITION. Mounted albumen-print photograph of the Lady's Tower (Elie), containing 8 original algae specimens, annotated; pp. 16, [10], large 4to; original cloth-backed printed boards, inscribed 'To the Royal Society of Edin[burgh] from the author', with ink-stamps of the Society to front board and title-page; front cover with a few splash-marks to head and a little wear to corners.

Publication Details: Edinburgh: printed for the author by the Edinburgh Co-Operative Printing Company, Limited, 1885

Notes: A late nineteenth-century monograph about Scottish algae, containing remarkably vibrant specimens, by celebrated self-taught phycologist George W. Traill (1836-97). Traill (1836-97) was a clerk in the Standard Life Company in Edinburgh, who in what little spare time he had became one of the greatest authorities on Scottish algae. He was an indefatigable collector, who in 1892 donated his collection to the Herbarium of the Edinburgh Botanic Gardens. A loosely inserted advertisement for the present work features glowing reviews from Nature and the Journal of Botany: 'The work of a true and enth...moreA late nineteenth-century monograph about Scottish algae, containing remarkably vibrant specimens, by celebrated self-taught phycologist George W. Traill (1836-97). Traill (1836-97) was a clerk in the Standard Life Company in Edinburgh, who in what little spare time he had became one of the greatest authorities on Scottish algae. He was an indefatigable collector, who in 1892 donated his collection to the Herbarium of the Edinburgh Botanic Gardens. A loosely inserted advertisement for the present work features glowing reviews from Nature and the Journal of Botany: 'The work of a true and enthusiastic naturalist [...] The number of species enumerated as found on the shores of the Firth of Forth are 225, of which one-ninth of the whole number are new to Britain'. The specimens, which retain the full listing of algae identified by Traill, have retained their colour beautifully.Uncommon. Library Hub cites six copies in British and Irish institutional libraries. Also in stock, one other copy with identical text but varying provenance and alternative specimens. HIDE