276 



NOTES ON SWAINSON'S EXOTIC CONCHOLOGY. 

 I5y C. Davies Shkrbokn ' and Ai.kxandeu 1{eynkll.- 

 Eead 12th March, 1915. 

 For many years Swainsou's Exotic Conchologij lias been a biblio- 

 graphical puzzle. No oue seemed to have seen what he could feel 

 sure was a complete copy of the first edition, or knew what the first 

 edition really contained. Three copies have come under our notice, 

 those belonging to the Radcliffe Library, Oxford, Mr. Keynell, and 

 Mr. E. 11. S5'kes ; the first and second in four original parts as 

 published. We have been waiting patiently for years for two more 

 parts believed to be required to com|)lete the work. All the evidence, 

 however, now points to the fact that Edition 1 was published and 

 completed (as fur as it got) in four parts, each part containing 

 8 lithographed plates, coloured or uncoloured according to the price 

 the subscriber could pay. The colouring is particularly good in 

 most cases. With Part 1 were issued sixteen ^ pages of letterpress, 

 consisting of a Title Page with the back as usual blank, except that 

 the Printer's name is inscribed thereon, two pages of advertisement, 

 and the succeeding pages occupied with descriptions of the species 

 illustrated. No furtlier text appears to have been issued. 



Besides the lleynell copy, a second, with tlie front covers preserved, 

 exists in the Radcliffe Library, Oxford, and we are much indebted 

 to Sir HenryMiers for an exhaustive examination and very complete 

 notes made for Mr. Sherborn in 1906. This copy appears to have 

 two pages of the letterpress in duplicate, while four pages which 

 should be there are missing. It also wants two plates from Part IL 

 namely, Murex regius, Swn., and Anodon simiatus (or siniiosa), Lamk. 



A third copy, of which Mr. E. R. Sykes kindly sent particulars, 

 is without covers, and complete with the exception that the four 

 pages of text missing in the Radcliffe Library copy are here also 

 missing. Our notes are based on the lleynell copy. 



During 1834 and 1835 the book was reissued with an Engraved Title 

 Page, and two other parts, each containing eight plates, Avere added. 

 Of this reissue the British Museum, Bloomsbury, possesses 5 Parts 

 in the original covers, once belonging to Major- General Thomas 

 Hardwicke, who died on the 3rd of March, 1835, and therefore could 

 not have received the sixth part. On the covers he fortunately noted 

 the dates on which he received each part. Mr. lleynell has a complete 

 copy in six parts with covers, but there are no manuscript dates on 

 them. Apparently this set originally belonged to W. J. Broderip, 

 as his mime is written on one of the covers. 



' By permission of the Trustees of the British Museum. 



- Mr. E. E. Sykes, who contemplated a paper on this book, kindly -withdrew in 

 our favour, and handed over his copy for examination. Mr. Reynell has, 

 very generously, allowed the British Museum (Nat. Hist.) to acquire his 

 splendid copies of the first and second issues. — C. D. S. 



•' We do not know with which parts the text really appeared : in all probabihty 

 pp. i-iv, 1-8 with part 1, and 9-16 with either part 3 or part 4. 



