The Lizards Of Australia And New Zealand In The Collection Of The British Museum Gray, John Edward

(With 18 plates of the new species, by Mr. Ford). London : Bernard Quaritch, 1867. Quarto, marbled paper wrappers, pp. 8; 18 lithographed plates by Ford, printed by Hullmandel (from a projected series of 20, two of the lithographs destroyed at the printers, as stated in the Explanation of Plates), a few plates toned, else a clean, sharp copy. A fine copy of the rarest illustrated book on Australian reptiles. The specimens in Gray'sLizards of Australia and New Zealand were collected on the voyage of the H.M.S. Erebus and H.M.S. Terror between 1839 ? 1843. The printed account of the voyage, titled Zoology of the Voyage of HMS of Erebus and Terror, was published in parts between 1845 and 1875, with the 1845 issue containing part of the work The lizards of Australia and New Zealand, being eight pages of text and plates 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14 and 20. In 1867, Quaritch published the work in its present form, as a standalone edition with new title page, and the full complement of 18 plates (minus plates 5 and 6, which were ?destroyed at the lithographers?) and thus no longer extant. As such, The lizards of Australia and New Zealand is considered the first major book printed on Australian reptiles, as well as arguably the rarest. A single copy, with defects, is recorded sold at auction in the past 50 years (source: RareBookHub). In 1875, the concluding part on Lizards was issued as part of the Zoology of the Voyage of HMS of Erebus and Terror,the second eight pages of text written by Albert Gunther, and containing the ten plates not included in the first part of 1845, including plates 5 and 6, newly drawn for publication. Bagnall, 2270; Nissen 1695; Casey Wood, p. 368