London, Edward Bull, 1834. 4to (30.7 x 24.8 cm). Title page; 30 splendidly hand-coloured engraved plates, all heightened with gum arabic and tissue-guarded; each with a descriptive leaf of text. Contemporary pebbled half morocco over green pebbled linen boards; spine with five raised, flat-toppedgilt ornamented bands; compartments with gilt floral bordes and gilt title. Brown endpapers. Top edge gilt.

Second, unaltered edition of probably the most spectacular publication on tropical fish, renowned for its accuracy and beauty. Dedicated to King George IV. All plates are vividly coloured and belong to the very best ever made on the subject. '[C]ontains 30 hand-coloured plates which are so lovely that it is one of my favourite old natural history books on any subject' (Buchanan). Many species were new to science. Bennett included the local names, even in the local script. The work was twice reprinted. All editions are rare. The author, John Whitchurch Bennett (1790-1853) was a British army surgeon, posted in Ceylon, and a Fellow of the Linnean Society. Among his other published works are: The Coco-nut Palm, Its Uses and Cultivation (1836), and Ceylon and Its Capabilities: An Account of Its Natural Resources, Indigenous Productions, and Commercial Facilities (1843). Provenance: pictorial bookplate of the Swiss naturalist Christian Sigrist mounted on the front pastedown. Spine ends, joints and corers rather seriously abraded and dry. The half-title, and text leaves (preface and dedication) are absent, as more often; otherwise, a fine, near spotless copy, with the fabulous colouring accurate and very bright. Buchanan, Nature into Art, p. 147; Nissen, Schöne Fischbücher, 15; Nissen ZBI, 316; Dean I, p. 100.