Other SHNH Publications

The Sherborn Fund of the Society for the Bibliography of Natural History commemorated the first President of the Society, Charles Davies Sherborn (1861-1942), the distinguished bibliographer and compiler of Index Animalium. The basis of the Fund was a sum of money bequeathed to the Society by Dr Sherborn, to be used for the publication of facsimile reproductions of rare works on natural history. The Sherborn Fund ceased to operate after the publication of the fourth facsimile.

• The first Sherborn Fund Facsimile, Alexander von Humboldt's Essai sur la geographie des plantes, was produced in 1959. This facsimile is still in print.

• John Vaughan Thompson's Zoological researches and illustrations (1828-1834), with an introduction by Alwyne Wheeler of the British Museum (Natural History), was produced in 1968 as the second facsimile. This is out of print.

• Charles Darwin's Questions about the breeding of animals [1840], with an introduction by Sir Gavin de Beer FRS, was published in 1968. Sir Gavin de Beer’s text and Darwin’s pamphlet have both been included in the Society’s most recent special publication: Darwin in the archives (2009).

• The fourth and last Sherborn Fund Facsimile, published in 1973, was John Woodward's Brief instructions for making observations in all parts of the world (1696), which has an introduction by V. A. EYLES, F.R.S.E. This facsimile is still in print.

Enquiries about the Sherborn Fund Facsimiles nos 1 and 4 should be sent to the Honorary Editor who will advise about availability and cost.

The Society also co-published John Thackray’s A guide to the official archives of The Natural History Museum, London.

The most recent publication is Darwin in the Archives, edited by Dr E. Charles Nelson and Professor Duncan M. Porter. A listing of its contents is available here. Orders for Darwin in the archives  should be sent to Edinburgh University Press.