358 



THE CONCHOLOGICAL WRITINGS OF CAPTAIN THOMAS BROWN. 



By C. Davies Sheeboen, F.Z.S. 



Read 16th June, 1905. 



Captain Thomas Brown is credited with the following works on 

 conch ology : — 



1. "The Elements of Conchology." London, 1816. 8vo ; pp. viii, 



168, 9 pis. 



(Also advertised as "speedily will appear" in 1845, but un- 

 known to me.) 



2. " Illustrations of the Conchology of Great Britain and Ireland." 



Edinburgh, 1827. 4to ; text of fly-leaves between the 52 plates. 



In the British Museum (press -mark 443 i 16) are No. 1 

 (pis. xviii, xxiii, xxiv, xxxix), No. 2 (pis. iii, iv, vi, viii). No. 3 

 (pis. X, xiii, xxi, xxvii), each with accompanying fly-leaves. 

 A note in the catalogue says " all published," but perfect copies 

 are to be seen in the Bodleian, the British Museum (Nat. Hist.), 

 and the Sykcs Libraries. There has never been any question of 

 the date of this book, so far as I am aware, and we can take it as 

 it is dated, 1827. 

 2a. Idem, ed. 2. London, 1844. 4to ; pp. xiii, 144, 59 pis. Printed 

 in double columns. Manj-^ figures were added upon the old plates. 



This book presents many difficulties ; at pp. 14 and 21 the 

 setting of the type alters. It was published in parts, of which 

 nothing is known but the following information kindly supplied 

 by Messrs, Smith, Elder, & Co., the publishers: "We find that 

 15 parts of ' Becent Conchology,' numbered 1 to 11 and 16 to 19, 

 appear to have been issued, and that parts 1 to 4 were received 

 by us for sale in 1837 and part 5 in 1839." In the "Elem. 

 Foss. Conch." the advertisement says — " to be completed in 16 

 parts (62 pis.), of which 14 are out. 1843." 



3. " The Conchologist's Text Book." Glasgow, 1833. 12mo;pp. x, 



11-180, 19 pis. 

 3a. Idem, ed. 2. 

 3^. Idem, ed. 3. 

 3c. Idem, ed. 4 (called 5th on the boards). Glasgow, 1839. 12mo; 



pp. X, 11-180, 19 pis. 

 3d. Idem, ed. 5 (called 4th on title-page). Glasgow, 1839. 12mo; 



pp. X, 11-180, 19 pis. 

 3e. Idem, ed. 6. Edinburgh, 1845. 12mo; pp. 232, 21 pis. Edited 



by W. Macgillivray, and often called his ' Text Book.' 



In eds. 1, 3, and 5 (4) the word ' striae ' is misprinted ' strae ' 



on p. 167, line 8; the editions are identical with the exception 



of ed. 6. 



