Books in Review 
— 
Commissioners of Her Majesty’s Trea- 
sury. The Zoology of the Voyage of 
. H.M.S. Beagle appeared in nineteen 
1 fascicles (reprinted as three volumes) 
between 1838 and 1843. England’s fin- 
est taxonomists described Darwin's 
I specimens — Richard Owen for the fos- 
sil mammals, G.R. Waterhouse for the 
living mammals, John Gould (no rela- 
i tion) for the birds, the Reverend Mr. 
Jenyns for the fishes, and Thomas Bell 
for amphibians and reptiles (inverte- 
brates, apparently, didn’t count and 
were described in periodicals or merely 
allocated to collections). The mammals 
and birds are illustrated with beautiful 
color plates, but Her Majesty’s munifi- 
cence must not have extended to “low- 
er” creatures, for the reptiles, amphi- 
bians, and fishes appear in dull black- 
and-white. 
The three-volume Zoology of the 
Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle is by far the 
rarest of all Darwiniana. Its initial 
printing was small, and it was never re- 
issued. It occupies the stratosphere of 
antiquarian book catalogs; the last time 
I looked wistfully at a price, it had just 
I entered five figures — yes, Virginia, for 
a book! We must therefore rejoice that 
New Zealand's Nova Pacifica Publish- 
ing Company has issued the first fac- 
simile of this precious work — even 
though joy will remain abstract for all 
but a few, as a high three-digit price will 
not generate queues in local bookstores. 
Still, in a world awash in mediocrity, 
one can only praise a job so beautifully 
and lovingly done. The clarity of repro- 
duction, including the rich color of the 
plates, is stunning, and the volumes are 
bound in cloth and leather “to a stan- 
dard almost certainly higher than that 
of the original” (to quote from the ap- 
propriately immodest publisher’s note). 
Thus, we can touch, smell, and feel in 
this reprint a bit of the finest workman- 
ship from the great age of publication in 
descriptive natural history. 
But the Beagle Zoology holds far 
more than a mere antiquarian or aes- 
thetic interest. First of all, it contains 
descriptions of formidable specimens 
A limited number only available 
CHARLES DARWIN 
THE ZOOLOGY OF THE VOYAGE 
OF H.M.S. BEAGLE 
A three volume, facsimile reprint in a limited 
world edition of 750 copies. 
Described here are the very animals Darwin encountered on 
his epic voyage. These volumes contain the foundation 
for his later thinking on evolution, 
tong the many superb illustrations are 50 colour plates of 
birds by the renowned John Gould. 
A unique combination 
of artistic, scientific 
and collectable value. 
Sumptuously produced in 3 volumes. 
Bound in genuine leather and linen. 
1096 pages, (12*4” x 9 } A”)> containing 
numerous B/W and colour plates. 
Marbled endpapers. 
PRICE US $795.00 
Price includes packaging, airfreight 
and insurance. 
American Express, Diners Club 
and Visa welcome. 
Send for a FREE illustrated color brochure 
or order from the publisher using the order form below 
To: NOVA PACIFICA Publishing Co. Ltd. 
P.O. Box 11 -106, Wellington, New Zealand. 
Please send me a 3 volume set of 'The Zoology of the Voyage of H.M .S. Beagle' at US$795.00 
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93 
