Old Annotations In Books

[zigzag_wanderer]

ZZW, this is proving to be a most entertaining diversion during these dark days! Many thanks for initiating this thread, and feel free to add further images from this delightful book.

The narrative is absolutely beautiful - did everyone write like that back in Victorian times? Again, it's fascinating (yet equally often depressing) to read about how common and widespread some species were back then which are now extremely rare (High Brown Fritillary) or even extinct (Large Copper).

I feel I will have to do a bit of research to see if I can get my own hands on a few historic gems such as this.

Hi David (and anyone interested in Coleman's book who doesn't own a copy).....try this:

https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/ ... frontcover

It lets me see the whole book, with the added bonus that they've done it from a version with colour plates !

I must have the "cheap edition" that's also available (as stated on one of the early pages)

[David M]

Thanks for the link, ZZW. I shall be doing some research into getting my hands on old books such as this such is my joy at reading the contents of the one you were given this Christmas.

[zigzag_wanderer]

If you look at the last few pages in that link there's a long list of natural history books available in the Routledge series ....I would love to have a copy of some of those.

Some of the descriptions are so randomly enticing.

[zigzag_wanderer]

Just to draw a line under this thread (unless anyone else finds an old book with marginalia of course), below are the comments the owner wrote down for the species I haven't shown earlier:

The Large Garden White: "Very common"
The Small Garden White: "Very common"
The Ringlet Butterfly: "Not rare"
The Scotch Argus Butterfly (Erebia Blandina): "Very rare"
The Mountain Ringlet Butterfly (Erebia Cassiope): "Very rare"
The Marsh Ringlet or Small Ringlet Butterfly (Coenonympha Davus): "Very rare"
The Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly: "Quite common"
The Brown Hair-streak: "Rare"
The Black Hair-streak: "Rare"
The White Letter Hair-streak: "Rare"
The Purple Hair-streak: "Not common, New Forest"
The Green Hair-streak: "Not common"
The Brown Argus: "Not rare, downs I of W"

The edition I have is one specifically sold at railway stations. So with the old Sherlock hat on I'll guess that the owner lived somewhere in the Portchester area. This would be reasonably close to Southwick and Widley which seem to be the more "local" comments but handily placed for trips to the IoW, New Forest, Bournmouth/Swanage and the Surrey Hills via the rail network.

I'm guessing that the "very rare" comments for the northern species were defaults because the owner wasn't looking too far afield.

[David M]

..I'm guessing that the "very rare" comments for the northern species were defaults because the owner wasn't looking too far afield.

Yes, it's all relative to where one lives, both then and now.

Marsh Fritillaries are common round my area but any Chalkhill Blues are 60 miles away!

People were far less mobile in those days so I guess precious few ever got to see all the UK residents of the time.

[Mark Tutton]

Few comments:
- I'm saying Hampshire based on the number of New Forest, IoW and Pompey (Fort Widley / Portsdown) related stuff. I think the "forts on the hill" for the Wall probably relates to the latter.
- The IoW gets quoted a lot and there is specific mention of Culver Down for Dingy Skippers - but interesting that the writer had never seen a Glanville fritillary.
- Slightly odd to mark the Peacock as specifically "Common IoW" (when Red Admiral is just "Common").
- I like the cheeky "Very" inserted into the Common Blue in the earlier ones.
- Never good to see "Extinct" written down on a page in a natural history book.

Just picked up on this thread and this is my neck of the woods - I can see one of the forts on Portsdown from my front window. Interesting comment about the Wall which I too remember being common in the early seventies, but Comma and DGF were uncommon on Portsdown but I would see one or two most years.
He (?) obviously travelled to the New Forest, which I too did as a kid thinking that this was THE place to see WA & PBF etc. However I now know that these species could have been seen much closer to home thanks to the wonder of the internet!
Thanks for posting
Mark

[Roger Gibbons]

I think as this thread seems to be nearing its natural conclusion, we would all like to say thanks to ZZW for posting it.

It's a very effective antidote to a cold lockdown January.

Roger

[David M]

Agreed. A pleasant diversion during a difficult period.