Tring, The Zoological Museum, 1894-1896. 4to (28.5 x 19.8 cm). I: 723 pp., 15 lithographed plates (13 hand-coloured); II: 542 pp., ten lithographed plates (five hand-coloured, heightened with gum arabic and - one - with gold, four in chromolithography, one plain), for a total of 25 plates. All issues in uniform original wrappers.

Very rare start of this very rare journal, financed by Walter Rothschild (1868-1937), founder of the Zoological Museum,and one of contributors of scientific papers. "His interest in natural history began when he was a child, collecting butterflies, and as a child, Walter knew exactly what he wanted to do when he grew up, announcing at the age of seven, 'Mama, Papa, I am going to make a museum...'. By the time he was ten, Walter had enough natural history objects to start his first museum, in a garden shed. Before long, Walter's insect and bird collections were so large they had to be stored in rented rooms and sheds around Tring. Then in 1889, his father gave him some land on the outskirts of Tring Park as a 21st birthday present. Two small cottages were built, one to house his books and insect collection, the other for a caretaker. Behind these was a much larger building, which would contain Lord Rothschild's collection of mounted specimens. This was the beginning of his Zoological Museum, which opened to the public in 1892. Walter accumulated new research material so rapidly that he and his professional zoologist curators, Ernst Hartert and Karl Jordan, began to issue the Museum's own scientific journal, ' Novitates Zoologicae' launched in 1894. Over the course of 45 years, they published more than 1,700 scientific books and papers, and described more than 5,000 new species of animals." (the Rothschild Archive). The journal dealt mainly with birds and butterflies, many described as new. Mammals and beetles are strongly represented as well. One paper is on turtles. The illustrations, many by the great Dutch - later British - bird painter John Gerrard Keulemans (1842-1912), are among the best ever published. The last four plates (volume II, plates VII-X) were issued later, but present here in a separate envelope. Some very small chips and light wear to spines or wrappers, one wrapper with a crease and backwrapper and upper part of spine of volume II, No. 3 a little stained. Generally this set is in a near mint condition. Nissen IVB, 683.