An exceptionally rare Scottish work on fossil fish. Dura Den...

Hammer

£600

An exceptionally rare Scottish work on fossil fish.
Dura Den, A Monograph of the Yellow Sandstone and its Remarkable
Fossil Remains, with illustrations, by John Anderson D.D. F.G.S
E.P.S. etc. 96 pp. Illustrated with plates, some coloured (all present),

and woodcuts. Publisher, Thomas Constable, Edinburgh, Hamilton
Adams and Co. London. 1859. Original cloth decorated in blind. Gilt
title to spine. Slight wear at the top and bottom of the spine, but an
excellent copy of this rare title. A former ownership name to front free
endpaper 'A.P. Stevenson' in pencil, and underneath George West has
written a neat note in ink identifying Stevenson as a naturalist and a
'most excellent bookbinder of Dundee. I bought this book from him.'
West was a lecturer in Botany at the University of Dundee from c.
1906 to 1926. West has also tipped into the title page a pen and ink
sketch which he has signed of the area where Anderson found the
fossils. On p. 37 in response to the Reverend author's praise of 'wise
Providence' West has tipped in a poem of his own satirically
suggesting 'Providence' is not so wise as all that. West held some
strong anti-clerical views.
The first and only edition of this important monograph on the
fossilized fish specimens discovered by the Church of Scotland
minister, John Anderson of Newburgh at Dura Den, a wooded gorge
near the village of Cupar in North Eastern Fife.
Hand stamp of George West to the pastedown.
(1)

More Information

The following lots of books represent the library of George West.
West's biographical details are hard to pin down, his date of birth
unknown, (probably around the 1880's) and his death sometime after
1945. He is known to have worked as an assistant and then lecturer in
Botany at the University of Dundee from 1906. At that time the
university was a constituent college of St Andrews University. West
seems to have remained there until around 1926. In his publication
'Practical Principles of Plain Photo Micrography' (1916) he describes
himself as a lecturer in Botany. Most of the books in the sale bear the
handstamp, 'George West' to the front pastedowns. Many volumes bear
extracts from booksellers' catalogues with prices of the titles,
suggesting that West liked to keep up with the current values of his
library.
The books represent a working library and many are also
annotated in pencil in his hand, cross-referencing other works and
adding his comments. To the front of the first volume of Walker's
Diptera (see lot no.) he has inserted his handwritten poem, 'To the
Future Owners of this book'.

Geordie has now turned up his toes
And gone aloft to seek repose
From various varmints nips and stings,
Especially those base mankind brings...

.....

...He trusts the child who gets this book
Will on the various notes just look
And feel that every pencil stroke
Helps on the game dear Walker wrote...

Although a botanist by profession, his main interest, judging by
his library appears to have been entomology and amongst the books
are some rare titles in that field many dating from the nineteenth

century, a golden age for the natural sciences. Many of the giants in
the field of Entomology are represented in the books and there are

good sets of Curtis, Donovan and Stephens with many exquisite, hand-
coloured illustrations. Geology was another of his interests, as well as

microscopy.
What little is known of George West is largely gleaned from a
publication from Hereford Museum published in 2007. West had
donated a large collection of mineralogical specimens to the Museum
in 1945. His connection with Hereford, however, appears to be
tenuous and the man remains something of an enigma.