Index Testaceologicus: An Illustrated Catalogue of British and Foreign Shells
Containing About 2800 Figures Accurately Coloured After Nature
by W. Wood
A New and Entirely Revised Edition
with Ancient and Modern Appellations, Synonyms, Localities, etc., etc.
By Sylvanus Hanley
Published in 1856 by Wills and Sotheran, London, England, originally bound in marbled boards with a leather spine with 5 raised hubs and leather tabbed corners, see notes below for further description, the book contains 234 pages of text and an additional 20 pages of introductory material and text, it contains a total of 46 page-size lithographed, hand-colored plates, the page size is 5.75 by 9.5 inches (15 by 24.5 cm.),
This book was written by William Wood and published in 1825. Later, in 1856 the book was revised and updated by Sylvanus Hanley published 1856. There is also a reprint of Hanley's work ten years later. This book originally was beautifully bound with green leather corner tabs and a matching spine over marbled boards, and marbled flyleaves and inner covers. The numbering of the plates in the book are 38 which I assume were part of Wood's early edition and 8 plates at bear supplemental notation which I assume were made for this edition of the book. The figures are small, but they are beautifully colored by hand with great detail. At some point in its' past, something happened to the leather bindings and the leather has been covered with green tape leaving the boards of the front cover and back cover exposed but covering the insides of the covers with the tape. The binding is also separating from the inside of the front cover but it is well secured and should not separate any further. As much as I hate to see what has been done with the tape to the binding, the text and the plates that make up the body of the book are in nice condition. The paper has toned but is not brittle and there is some "bleed" of color from the plates onto the blank pages that face them. The 1856 edition seems to be the rarer of the two printings. This copy, because of the issues with the binding is offered at a price much lower than I found for the few other copies of the book I was able to find offered for sale.
