RICHARDSON, John

Icones Piscium or Plates of Rare Fishes.

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Richard and John E. Taylor, London, 1843. Folio, 5 beautiful handcoloured plates, the text unopened; some very faint marks, but a really handsome copy in the original printed paper wrappers, manuscript correction, as always, "five" to front wrapper, with the printed "four" struck through. Very rare: the first separately published work on Australian fishes, in exemplary original condition. The particularly beautiful plates are after 'drawings from the portfolio of James B. Emery, Esq., late first lieutenant of the Beagle surveying vessel employed on the western coasts of Australia'.

James Barker Emery (c.1794-1889) joined the Royal Navy in 1808 and was first lieutenant aboard the Beagle during her survey of the Australian coast from 1837 to 1841. Eleven of the species figured here were taken off the north-west coast, the other from Safety Bay in South Australia.

This work was produced by Sir John Richardson, who recognised the terrific amateur talent of Emery. Richardson achieved his fame as surgeon and naturalist on the two arctic land explorations led by John Franklin. He went on to a career as a great icthyologist, editing many mid-nineteenth century natural history works. In his later career (Richardson was still helping the third Franklin expedition at 60 years of age) he became the Chief Medical Officer at Haslar Hospital.
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