RaySocietyBooks

The natural history of British fishes: London: Printed for the author, and for F. and C. Rivington, 1802-08. https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/5897320

The natural history of British fishes: London: Printed for the author, and for F. and C. Rivington, 1802-08. (source: https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/5897320) #nature #illustration #art

The zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle, under the command of Captain Fitzroy, R.N., during the years 1832 to 1836 London: Published by Smith, Elder and Co., 65 Cornhill, 1839-1843. https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/48899190

The zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle, under the command of Captain Fitzroy, R.N., during the years 1832 to 1836 London: Published by Smith, Elder and Co., 65 Cornhill, 1839-1843. (source: https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/48899190) #nature #illustration #art

It’s #WorldBookDay so botany friends, what is your favourite book? For me it’s Sell & Murrell’s epic Flora of GB&I. I came to it late, with the publication of the final vol (vol 1) in 2018. I was already into Rubus but elucidated critical botany for me & enabled recording fine scale diversity.

The spitting spider Scytodes thoracica at the bottom of this plate from John Blackwall's Spiders of Great Britain & Ireland (Ray Society, 1861)

And a drawing of the spitting spider in action from W S Bristowe's 'The World of Spiders' in the New Naturalist series (1958)

Geastrum, or Earthstar mushroom, from Anna Maria Hussey’s ‘Illustrations of British mycology’ Published in London: Reeve, Benham and Reeve, 1849-55.

I saw this at UW-Madison Special Collections.

#hernaturalhistory #Geastrum #earthstar

Large Tortoiseshell (see last 3 reposts) was once resident in Britain & in recent years has started to return. Life history plate from the Complete British Butterflies in Colour (1967)

Amazing illustrations of oribatid or beetle mites (see last 2 reposts) from Albert D Michael's Ray Society monograph 'British Oribatidae' (1883-87)

A D Michael produced a second monograph on mites, 'British Tyroglyphidae' (Ray Society, 1901-03)

But he did. His earthworm book was published the year before he died. From @darwin-online.bsky.social: darwin-online.org.uk/EditorialInt...

Eleven books displayed on a shelving unit.

What a great day to welcome new additions to our book collection!
#WorldBookDay #WBD26 📚

⬆️Learn more about our collections and how to visit us via the link in our bio.

#NaturalHistoryMuseum #BookSky

Arthur Adams's (1820-1878) drawings range from pen and ink scientific sketches to charismatic watercolours of fish species observed during his voyage to the Malay Archipelago. Angling to see more? ⬆️ Use the link in our bio to explore this collection and many others.

Another fish plate from “Tableau Encyclopédique et Méthodique des Trois Regnes de la Nature. Ichthyologie” published in 1788. 🦑 🐟 #sciart

Birds of Great Britain and Ireland. Hull ;Brumby & Clarke, [1907?-1908?]. https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/8993723

Birds of Great Britain and Ireland. Hull ;Brumby & Clarke, [1907?-1908?]. (source: https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/8993723) #nature #illustration #art

Fantastical fishes from the 1700s, Leslie Overstreet, Curator of Natural History Rare Books YouTube video by Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History

While the French were establishing a settlement in New Orleans and Blackbeard was killed off the Outer Banks of NC in 1718, a printer and bookseller in Amsterdam was producing a wondrous book on Indonesian fishes of which only 16 known copies survive today. 🐠 #SciArt

Illustrations of grasshopper, cricket and earwig on the front cover of a book called Field Guide to the Grasshoppers and Allies of Great Britain and Ireland

🦗 This #WorldWildlifeDay, discover Britain's grasshoppers, crickets & allied species in a brilliant new field guide!

It's co-written by our former colleague Björn Beckmann with recording scheme coordinator Peter Sutton.

Allied species are earwigs, stick insects, mantids and cockroaches 🪳

🧪 1/

Bats of the World Newly published in the U.S. as of March 2026, "Bats of the World: A Guide to Every Family" by Winifred Frick and M. Teague O'Mara offers a richly illustrated profile of every family of the Order Chiro...

Newly published in the U.S. by @princetonupress.bsky.social as of March 2026, “Bats of the World: A Guide to Every Family” by Winifred Frick and M. Teague O’Mara offers a richly illustrated profile of every family of the Order Chiroptera.

I highly recommend browsing this catalogue.

A detailed illustration of a red squirrel standing on a gray rock. The squirrel is depicted with a bushy tail and is surrounded by small plants. There is handwriting beneath the image.

Illustration of a heron standing on one leg near a pond. The bird has a long neck and pointed beak, with detailed feathers in shades of brown and black. Reeds are visible in the background.

Illustration of a hedgehog standing on a patch of mossy ground. The hedgehog is depicted in detail, showcasing its spiky coat and pointed snout. The background is plain and neutral.

Today is #WorldWildlifeDay!

Celebrating familiar wildlife from the archives, illustrated by Ferdinand Bauer (1760–1826):

🐿️ Sciurus vulgaris (MS Sherard 238, Pl. 8)
🪶 Ardea purpurea (MS Sherard 240, Pl. 79)
🦔 Erinaceus europaeus (MS Sherard 238, Pl. 6)

A colour illustration of life in a rock pool. A velvet swimming crab, with a brown body an red eyes has its claws up. There are two brightly coloured (one orange, one pink) anemones on the wall of the rock pool, and two common prawns are swimming around above.

Sharing this because it's Wednesday and why not. One of the many vibrant illustrations from L.R. Brightwell's 'Sea-shore life of Britain', 1947 📖BE.30/B
#rockpool #tidepool

A colour illustration of the European lobster, showing the deep blue colouration of the shell. The illustration is large enough that the page is trifold to fit within the book

Today is #WorldWildlifeDay. We could find many images of wildlife in our collections @thembauk.bsky.social but this one of the European lobster caught our eye. We hope you like as much as we do
📖BL.42/L - Malacostraca podophthalmata Britanniae. W.E Leach, 1815-1875. Illustrations by James Sowerby

Bookplate of daffodils by Anne Pratt

🌼 Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Hapus!🌼Happy St. David's Day!🌼

Daffodils have been a national symbol of Wales since the 19th century.

This bookplate of daffodils is from ‘Flowering Plants, Grasses, Sedges and Ferns of Great Britain’ by the botanical illustrator Anne Pratt (1806-1893).

A history of the fishes of the British Islands London: G. Bell, 1877-1878. https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/52687646

A history of the fishes of the British Islands London: G. Bell, 1877-1878. (source: https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/52687646) #nature #illustration #art

Cover of Manias's book The Age of Mammals.

Back cover, showing endorsements.

Book interior, showing text and illustrations.

Met up with Chris Manias at the most recent Popularising Palaeontology event and now very happy to own a copy of Chris's book The Age of Mammals: Nature, Development and Paleontology in the Long Nineteenth Century. A substantial and impressive work that I look forward to reading. #books

Pre-order Geoffrey Kibby's latest 🍄 book!
tr.ee/YUhAwKWeRX

#forthcoming #newmushroombook #mushroomsandtoadstools #FungiFriday #Fungi

From Victorian voyages to vanishing maps: Books in brief Andrew Robinson reviews five of the best science picks.

Just spotted in @nature.com: a brilliant roundup of fascinating science books, including The Wake of HMS Challenger by Gillen D’Arcy Wood! This book is out now. Read the full review here:

The stalk-eyed Crustacea Cambridge, Printed for the Museum, 1895. https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/13885357

The stalk-eyed Crustacea Cambridge, Printed for the Museum, 1895. (source: https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/13885357) #nature #illustration #art

The stalk-eyed Crustacea Cambridge, Printed for the Museum, 1895. https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/13885365

The stalk-eyed Crustacea Cambridge, Printed for the Museum, 1895. (source: https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/13885365) #nature #illustration #art

A history of British birds. London, Groombridge and Sons, [1862?-1867?] https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/13551776

A history of British birds. London, Groombridge and Sons, [1862?-1867?] (source: https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/13551776) #nature #illustration #art

The natural history of British fishes: London: Printed for the author, and for F. and C. Rivington, 1802-08. https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/5897274

The natural history of British fishes: London: Printed for the author, and for F. and C. Rivington, 1802-08. (source: https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/5897274) #nature #illustration #art