71 



Notice of William P. Turnbull, LL.D., Author of " the Birds 

 of East Lothian" &e. By Robert Gray, F.R.S.E., F.S.A., 



Scot. 



Dr Turnbull was born at Fala— a village lying on the south- 

 east verge of Mid Lothian— on 20th June, 1830, and died at 

 Philadelphia, on 5th July, 1871. He received part of his educa- 

 tion at the High School of Edinburgh, and left this country for 

 America, in 1850, when in his 21st year. His boyhood was 

 spent in the village of Gladsmuir, East Lothian, and his father's 

 residence being near the wood which bears the name of that 

 village, the young bird-hunter had favourable opportunities for 

 cultivating his taste for Natural History. He is described as 

 being at that period "always engaged in catching birds and 

 looking for their nests." 



Between the years 1845 and 1850 he appears to have made 

 many observations on bird life in his boyish rambles, the result 

 of which he published after he had been some time in America, 

 under the title of "Birds of East Lothian and a portion of the 

 surrounding Counties." This work, which is a simple catalogue, 

 bears no date, and was issued from the Caxton press of C. Sher- 

 man, Son, and Co., Philadelphia. In 1867, being in frequent 

 correspondence with Dr Turnbull, I undertook, at his suggestion, 

 the preparation of a new edition of this little work, which con- 

 tains information on the rarer birds collected since the first 

 edition was printed. It is illustrated by Mr William Sinclair, 

 and was printed for private circulation — the number of copies 

 being in 8vo., 150, and in 4to., 50. About a third of these having 

 been destroyed by fire in the premises of the Glasgow publishers, 

 copies of any kind must now be extremely rare. Two years 

 later, namely in 1869, Dr Turnbull published another work in a 

 similar style on the "Birds of East Pennsylvania and New 

 Jersey ;" which, though edited and printed in Glasgow, was 

 issued in Philadelphia. There are two issues of this work ; one, 

 printed for private circulation, with lithographic illustrations, by 

 Sinclair, Sheppard, and others ; the other plain, and published 

 by H. Grambo and Son.* It is now quoted by authors as a 

 reference in connection with the districts which it illustrates, and 



* Six copies of this issue have the name of C. J. Price, as publisher, on the 

 title page. 



