Yarrell's History Of British Birds to go under hammer at Louth auction house

You go years and not hear Yarrell mentioned and then his name comes up twice in a week. I was looking up Black-winged Stilt in Smith and Cornwallis's Birds of Lincolnshire and one obtained in the London market in July 1824 and said to have been sent from Lincolnshire is figured Yarrell's British Birds (4th. edition). It was a dodgy record and was only put in brackets, along with 2 other equally dodgy museum specimens.

Regards Pete

 

At today’s sale, the hammer came down at £70.

That gives me an idea regarding the 40 books I've been given to sell or giveaway.

THE 1856 edition of the three volumes of A History of British Birds by William Yarrell is up for grabs next month at a Lincolnshire auction. 

Lot 436 also includes three other books:

* Edward Wilson of the Antarctic by George Seaver (1936)

 * Edward Wilson Nature Lover by George Seaver (1937)

* Tales of the Birds by W Warde Fowler (1889))

The sale is on August 2 - ironically the day before (in 1856) Yarrell fell ill after attending church. His symptoms included giddiness  and "wooliness in the brain".

He recovered but suffered a relapse and, despite medical assistance, died on the first day of the following month after encountering breathing difficulties in the Royal Hotel at Great Yarmouth while on a sea trip from London to Norfolk.

No post mortem was conducted, but it was reported that he suffered from 'ossification of the heart' - heart failure.  

The sale is being held by John Taylors at The Old Wool Mart  in Kidgate, Louth, with bidding on the  premises or online (pre-registration required).

A opening bid of £40 has been submitted for the lot but the pre-sale estimate is that a price of £70 and £100 will be achieved.

More details at www.johntaylors.com