The Great Stone Book of Nature

The Great Stone Book of Nature. David Thomas Ansted, M.A. Philadelphia, George W. Childs, 1863.

The Great Stone Book of Nature. David Thomas Ansted, M.A. Philadelphia, George W. Childs, 1863. Possibly first American edition. Blue pebbled cloth octavo with blind stamped vignette on front and rear boards. Top and bottom of spine rubbed and cloth fraying. Corners bumped. Mustard colored end papers, front fep missing. Frontispiece of dinosaurs facing title page, followed by table of contents. Book is written in five parts and each part has its own frontispiece and sub title page, except at part four there is no frontispiece. Several woodcut illustrations throughout. Several back pages dampstained along outer edges. Occasional age spotting and light foxing. 335pp. David Thomas Ansted (5 February 1814 – 13 May 1880) was an English geologist and author. He was a respected geologist by age 30. In 1840, he was elected professor of geology in King's College London, a post which he held until 1853. He was one of the earlier geologists to identify the rich bituminous coal seams which lay In Southern Virginia. His work set the stage for a mining boom in the area, where he invested in land along the Midland Trail in Fayette County in what became the new state of West Virginia in 1863 during the American Civil War (1861–1865). He first published The Great Stone Book of Nature in 1853. PLEASE NOTE: **If you are ordering from outside of the USA or Canada you must email lisrose@ararefindbooks.com for shipping charges prior to ordering**