Ray, John

8vo (7 1/4 x 4 1/4 in.; 184 x 108 mm). Imprimatur leaf facing title; a few marginal spots. Contemporary red morocco, gilt-tooled in a panel design with roll-tooled flowers around central panel, scroll-work tools outside outer panel, and royal cipher of William and Mary stamped at four corners, spine gilt with repeated royal cipher in compartments, edges gilt; extremities rubbed.

August Maitland (signature on front flyleaf verso dated 7 January 1795) — A.C. Stirling (signature on title dated 1855) — Helen M. Everard (gift of her mother, inscribed 1865). acquisition: Quaritch & Edwards, 2003

 

 

Wing R397; ESTC R14542; Keynes 81

a few marginal spots. Contemporary red morocco, gilt-tooled in a panel design with roll-tooled flowers around central panel, scroll-work tools outside outer panel, and royal cipher of William and Mary stamped at four corners, spine gilt with repeated royal cipher in compartments, edges gilt; extremities rubbed.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

First edition of Ray's most comprehensive treatment of fossils. "During much of the 1690s Ray was engaged in correspondence with Edward Lhwyd and others about the nature of fossils. In general he was inclined to accept that they were the remains of once-living creatures, and he also suggested that their current distribution might owe something to observable changes in the nature of the surface of the earth. He qualified these opinions, however, by stressing that the fossils which had so far been discovered were not unlike known plants and animals, and that their burial might owe something to the action of the biblical flood, as well as to natural effects. He argued that those remains which seemed to be unfamiliar might represent species of which the surviving representatives had not yet been discovered" (ONDB).