The Naturalist's Library: Mammalia: Dogs by Charles Hamilton Smith, Sir William Jardine - 1839/40

Complete set of all two volumes on Canines from Sir William Jardine's ambitious Victorian series The Naturalist's Library

With all 71 steel engravings (62 handcoloured plates, 5 b/w plates, 2 b/w title vignettes and 2 b/w portraits) engraved by Scottish engraver William Lizars after illustrations by Lt.-Col. Charles Hamilton Smith and James Stewart

Includes the Falkland Island aguara-dog, Dusicyon australis, that was described as extinct around 1870, as well as the endangered Sumatran dhole, Canadian eskimo dog, and African wild dog, and the critically endangered Darwin's fox. With many species of wolf, fox, hyaena, and wild dog, as well as domesticated breeds such as greyhound, sheepdog, Dalmatian coach dog, setter, spaniel, cocker, poodle, mastiff, bull dog, etc.

Mammalia Vol. IX, Dogs, Canidae or Genus Canis of the Authors, Vol. I, Charles Hamilton Smith, 33 steel engraved plates by Charles Hamilton Smith, portrait of Pallas, 1839 (Volume XXV of the whole series)

Mammalia Vol. X, Dogs, Canidae or Genus Canis of the Authors, Vol. II, Charles Hamilton Smith, 38 steel engraved plates by Charles Hamilton Smith and James Stewart, portrait of Don Felix d'Azara, 1840 (Volume XXVIII of the whole series)

Sir William Jardine (1800-1874) was a Scottish naturalist. He is best known for writing and editing the 40-volume series of natural history books, The Naturalist's Library from 1833 to 1866. "In addition to the description and depiction (mostly finely coloured plates) by various well-known contributors to almost the whole range of the subject, the series is supplemented by biographies of famous naturalists of all times and all countries. It is well described as a remarkable little library of early nineteenth zoology, as well as a brief account of the lives of the chief zoologists of all time." (Casey Wood)

Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Hamilton Smith (1776-1859) was an English artist, naturalist, antiquary, illustrator, soldier, and spy. He wrote and illustrated many books on various subjects including Selections of Ancient Costume of Great Britain and Ireland 1814, Costume of the Army of the British Empire 1815, Costume of the Original Inhabitants of the British Isles 1821, volumes on Mammals and Birds for Griffith's Animal Kingdom, and various volumes on Humans, Mammals, Whales, Amphibious Carnivora, Dogs, Horses, Fish, Monkeys, etc. for Sir William Jardine's Naturalist's Library (1830s-50s).

In original publisher's brown cloth, gilt title on spine, green endpapers. (Cloth stained and frayed, book block coming loose on Volume 2.) Interior clean and fresh with little spotting, all steel plates under tissue guards with delicate handcolour. List of all previous volumes to the series I to XXVIII bound at front.

Very good set of the canine section of the series.