The Family Aquarium; or, Aqua Vivarium.

one of the first books on aquariums

First edition, with the charming hand-coloured frontispiece. The Family Aquarium was one of the first two popular aquarium manuals published in the United States, appearing in the same year as Life Beneath the Waters by Arthur M. Edwards, both following close on the heels of the 1854 British work The Aquarium by P.H. Gosse.

Henry Butler was an important promoter of aquaria in the United States. Together with John Greenwood Jr., he was co-owner of Barnum's American Museum in New York, and was responsible for the development of its aquarium in 1857. He went on to open other public aquariums on the east coast, and was part of the first successful attempt to collect salt water tropical fish for display in aquariums (Finley, 'Barnum and the American Museum - VARIA', The Museum of Aquarium & Pet History, May 11, 2026). This volume was likely produced at least in part as an advertisement for the Barnum aquarium, which is mentioned several times within.

First edition; 8vo; hand-coloured frontispiece, frontispiece tanned, engravings within the text,8-page publisher's ads at rear, spotting to contents, minor creasing to corners of a few leaves; original blue cloth blocked in gilt and blind, cloth rubbed and dulled, a very good copy; 121pp.