A History of the Fishes of the British Islands.

The first british fish book in colour. A handsomely bound reissued set of this 'major contribution to ichthyology... the earliest work on British fishes to be illustrated in colour' (ODNB), originally published between 1860 and 1865.

Jonathan Couch (1789-1870) spent most of his life in Polperro, Cornwall, where 'for sixty years he was the doctor and trusted adviser of the village and neighbourhood' as well as a respected naturalist. Working principally in ichythology, he investigated rare and unusual marine specimens brought ashore by local fishermen and contributed prolifically to both professional and popular science periodicals. Couch 'corresponded with Thomas Bewick about the latter's projected book on British fishes, which was never published, and helped William Yarrell to complete his History of British Fishes (1836) by lending him coloured illustrations and notes' (ODNB).

Couch's History of British Fishes 'was illustrated by hand-coloured engravings based on his own watercolours drawn from freshly caught specimens... The accuracy of the artwork enabled later workers correctly to identify some of the species which Couch, in common with his contemporaries, had misidentified. The text on the natural history of many of the sea fishes contained many original observations. Although he was knowledgeable about the faunistically rich western English Channel, his knowledge of the fishes of the northern fauna and particularly freshwaters was less certain. However, despite being resident in this distant Cornish village he was in correspondence with many of the leading scientists of the day both in Britain and in Europe and thus received help with the less familiar species' (ODNB).

Reissue; 4 vols, 8vo (25 x 16.5 cm); colour frontispiece to each volume and 248 plates, a few engravings within the text, titles and frontispiece spotted, and just occasional light spotting to the contents; brown half morocco, spines elaborately gilt in compartments with fish vignette tools, marbled sides and endpapers, all edges gilt, a few minor scuffs and rubbed areas, excellent condition.

Freeman (British Natural History Books), 828.