Description
Autograph Letter in the third person, “Mr. Yarrell presents compts. to Mr Tayleure …”, providing the dates of publication of the parts of the History of British Fishes, the date of the Supplement and second edition, the number of woodcuts and other illustrations, adding a similar paragraph on the publication of the History of British Birds. 2 pp. 8 x 5 inches, in good condition. Ryder Street, St. James, 9 September 1844. William Yarrell (1784-1856), bookseller and naturalist, best known as the author of The History of British Fishes (2 vols., 1836) and The History of British Birds (2 vols., 1843). The latter went into several editions and was the standard reference work for a generation of British ornithologists. He was also the first person to describe the Bewick’s Swan in 1830, distinguishing it from the larger Whooper Swan.