Gilbert white s house, the wakes, now a museum, viewed from the. The natural history and antiquities of selborne, with observations on various parts of nature and the naturalists calendar. Daines barrington, an english barrister and another fellow of the royal society, though a number of the letters such as the first nine were never posted, and were written especially for. Gilbert white was born in 1720 in selborne in hampshire and went to oriel college, oxford, where he became a fellow in 1743. First collected edition, comprising primarily of the second edition of the natural history of selborne. Go to the editions section to read or download ebooks. The quality of reproduction of illustrations and text is excellent. He had written many books before the date of the publication of whites selborne. Pennants british zoology, his history of quadrupeds and arctic zoology. Anne secord is an affiliated research scholar in the department of history and philosophy of science, university of cambridge.
The letters of the eminent naturalist gilbert white are full of precise, unaffected and delightful observations of the wildlife of his beloved village of selborne, describing the habits, colours and songs of birds from lapwings to barnowls, wrens to housemartins. The natural history of selborne gilbert white edited by anne secord. Gilbert whites natural history and antiquities of selborne, goes online one of the most enduringly popular books in the english language, the natural history and antiquities of selborne, rev. The natural history and antiquities of selborne, or just the natural history of selborne is a book by english naturalist and ornithologist gilbert white.
The natural history of selborne gutenberg text help with reading books report a bad link suggest a new. Extraillustrated with a series of wonderful illustrations. The natural history of selborne is based on his correspondence with two distinguished naturalists, thomas pennant and daines barrington. If you wish to see the entries for a particular day, use the search box in the upper right corner of this page. With numerous intext black and white illustrations. Pdf the natural history of selborne download full pdf. Classic it was, so some things i found fascinating, and there was a surprisingly great deal that surprised me immensely though i know it shouldnt have. An attractive illustrated edition of gilbert whites classic work of natural history that has delighted readers for more than 200 years.
It was first published in 1789 by his brother benjamin. Explore the original magic of gilbert whites natural. The original manuscript for the fourth most published book in the english language, rev. The natural history of selborne by white, gilbert and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. This venerable tree, surrounded with stone steps, and seats above them, was the delight of old and young, and a place of much resort in summer evenings. This is presented as a compilation of his letters to thomas pennant, the leading british zoologist of the day, and the hon. The natural history of selborne by gilbert white waterstones. A timeless classic of nature writing that has been enhanced by the skillful editing of cambridge university research scholar, anne. The natural history and antiquities of selborne gilbert.
The natural history of selborne by gilbert white, 1912. In the same year a natural history more in line with the heroic ambitions of the. Pisces conservation are delighted to release the natural history of selborne on cd, for windows pcs and macs, with fully searchable text and hyperlinks for ease of navigation. Manuscript of the natural history of selbourne by gilbert white. Whites natural history, a founding classic of its genre, is deemed the fourth mostpublished book in the english language, after the bible, shakespeare and bunyan, and has certainly been in print since first publication, while the benign white himself is now recognised equally as a great stylist and pioneer ecologist.
The historic house was the home of the eighteenth century pioneering naturalist gilbert white. Editions of the natural history of selborne by gilbert white. The natural history of selborne by white, rev gilbert and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. In these letters, white details the natural history of the area around his family home at the vicarage of selborne in hampshire.
Proposed alterations to the wakes, high street, selborne, alton, hants gu34 3jh. Over a period of twenty years white describes in minute detail the behaviour of animals through the changing seasons in the rural hampshire parish of selborne. His letters to interested and informed friends detailing his observations of the natural world were published as the natural history of selborne in 1789. The author of the following letters takes the liberty, with all proper deference, of laying before the public his idea of parochial history, which, he thinks, ought to consist of natural productions and occurrences as well as antiquities. Buy the natural history of selborne by gilbert white from waterstones today. A very good set with wear to the edges of the boards. Acquisition at auction of manuscript of account of the natural history of whites village, which was first published in 1789. Two volumes, uncut in original publishers grey boards, with paper spines and spine labels. The works, in natural history, by white, gilbert jonkers. In this awardwinning biography, richard mabey tells the wonderful story of the clergyman englands first. The natural history of selborne volume 1 gilbert white.
The reverend gilbert white was the curate of the village of selborne, a village in hampshire, from 1784 to his death in 1793, living most of. The natural history and antiquities of selborne by white. A hundred years before darwin, white realised the crucial role of worms in the formation of soil and understood the significance of territory and song in birds. Besides seeing the extraordinary aims and actions of the revolution in france, 1789 was the year in which britain marked the publication of whites quiet and local text. It has gone through over 200 editions and is translated into several languages martin 1934, prance 1968. The natural history of selborne by rev gilbert white. Gilbert whites the natural history and antiquities of selborne was published without fanfare in 1789, a year otherwise famous for event. Gilbert white is now considered englands first ecologist. The natural history and antiquities of selborne, in the county of. If you enjoy them, be sure to read his book, the natural history of selborne you can download it for free from project gutenberg. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. This project is now finished, and contains a fairly complete transcription of forty years of the personal journals of gilbert white.
The natural history and antiquities of selborne, in the. Gilbert whites the natural history and antiquities of selborne, for which he is best known. The natural history of selborne is one the most published books in the english language. More than any other writer, gilbert white 172093 has shaped the relationship between man and nature. Miscellaneous observations, by gilbert white, category. He took ordination and held a number of curacies in the vicinity of selborne before finally becoming permanent curate of his birthplace in 1784, a position he held until his death in 1793. It has been continuously in print since then, with nearly 300 editions up to 2007. The reverend gilbert white was the curate of the village of selborne, a village in hampshire, from 1784 to his death in 1793, living most of his life in the village. The natural history of selborne by white gilbert, first. His father was a gentleman of good means, with a house at selborne and some acres of land. Gilbert white 1720 1793 was a pioneering naturalist and ornithologist.
The natural history of selborne gilbert white payot. The natural history of selborne gilbert white 1720 1793 the reverend gilbert white was the curate of the village of selborne, a village in hampshire, from 1784 to his death in 1793, living. Page 238 there is a peculiarity belonging to ravens that must draw the attention even of the most incurious they spend all their leisure time in striking and cuffing each other on the wing in a kind of playful skirmish. Gilbert whites natural history of selborne 1789 reveals a world of wonders in nature. The natural history of selborne gilbert white oxford. Page 5 in the midst of this spot stood, in old times, a vast oak, with a short squat body, and huge horizontal arms extending almost to the extremity of the area. The natural history and antiquities of selborne by rev. When the pioneering naturalist gilbert white 172093 wrote the natural history of selborne 1789, he created one of the greatest and most influential natural history works of all time, his detailed observations about birds and animals providing the cornerstones of modern ecology. Gilbert white, naturalist extraordinaire few british books have been as popular as gilbert whites the natural history and antiquities of selborne 1789, 1970. A double foreedge book, the works in natural history, comprising the natural history of selborne. Gilbert whites 1789 paean to the natural history of a quiet. He notes everything from the habits of an eccentric tortoise to the mysteries of bird migration. The main part of the book, the natural history, is presented as a compilation of 44 letters nominally to thomas pennant, a leading british zoologist of the day, and 66 letters to daines barrington, an english barrister and fellow of the royal society.
A double foreedge book, the works in natural history. Buy the natural history of selborne penguin english library reprinted ed by gilbert white, richard mabey isbn. The natural history of selborne by gilbert white world. The natural history of selborne full audiobook by gilbert. Bound in original cloth binding with gilt lettering and decoration. Gilbert white was born in the village of selborne on the 18th of july, in the year 1720. The natural history and antiquities of selborne wikipedia.
Manuscript of the natural history of selbourne by gilbert. Gilbert white s famous natural history of selborne was published in 1789 and hasnt been out of print since. Buy the natural history of selborne on free shipping on qualified orders. Four plates, two of which are hand coloured including a pullout frontispiece to volume ii. And the naturalists calendar every thing relating to the family of gilbert white must be interesting. White is best known for his the natural history and antiquities of selborne 1789. Gilbert white the natural history of selborne slightly. The natural history and antiquities of selborne by gilbert. The natural history of selborne nature classics library.
This year sees the 300 th anniversary of the birth of gilbert white, one of the greatest british naturalists, often credited with being the first ecologist. For further inquiries or to order direct from its creator, the editor of the illustrated natural history of selborne, ronald davidsonhouston, contact him. The book is in adobe acrobat pdf format, allowing highquality printing of the text and plates. The natural history of selborne by gilbert white book. Download pdf the natural history of selborne book full free. The focus of her research and writing is on popular natural history in nineteenth. I have been meaning to read the natural history of selborne by gilbert white for ages as a classic of natural history. The natural history of selborne penguin english library. The book is in the form of a collection of letters to two friends, discussing the natural history of the areas that he knew, and natural history in general. Commentary contributions a history of the ecological sciences, part 26. Yet the most enduring quality of his writing is the spirit of curiosity that bounds across every page, inspiring us to explore the abundance of life at our doorsteps and around our parishes. Darwins voyage of the beagle sailed towards the close of the georgian era in 1831. He is best known for his natural history and antiquities of selborne. The natural history of selborne by gilbert white free ebook.
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