A mysterious life
Though my cover shows some fraying which is a sure sign of being picked up and put down, and therefore perhaps read, I mostly keep my history to myself. Neither my pages, nor my endpapers, nor my edges, nor my bindings show any sign of institutional life. There are no library stamps, no marks. None of these things show any sign of belonging to a grand private collection, either. I lack any bookplates, not the heraldic ones showing the ownership by gentry, nor decorative ones. There is no marginalia, no thoughtful doodling, pencilled addendum of any kind. The only figures are the printed ones, with two exceptions. One is the inscription of a name in my front cover. A name inked in careful cursive, the untraceably plain first name John and the ambiguously slew of arcs in the surname suggesting Ns, Ms or Rs. I do not bear any other memory of this John C--, but we know he was not gentry and therefore was possibly merchant class. The bare name, inked along with the location and date "Brighton 1825", suggests he was the owner, as this was no dedication.
The second piece of writing is the lightly pencilled catalogue number inscribed by Pickering & Chatto booksellers, in the endpaper of my inside back cover. I was selected to move here from a Pickering & Chatto rare book catalogue by the Rare Books Librarian at Auckland Libraries. A carefully photocopied leaf from the bookseller catalogue accompanies me in my box, printed with the catalogue number and what the sellers knew about me. A recent follow-up email yielded no further information as to my provenance - it was said I came from a large high street bookseller, and that I had been brought in there from someone off the street.
In 2003, when I was purchased for Auckland Libraries, I can safely say that I embarked on my first trip overseas - me, a humble guide to the wildflowers of the English countryside!
The second piece of writing is the lightly pencilled catalogue number inscribed by Pickering & Chatto booksellers, in the endpaper of my inside back cover. I was selected to move here from a Pickering & Chatto rare book catalogue by the Rare Books Librarian at Auckland Libraries. A carefully photocopied leaf from the bookseller catalogue accompanies me in my box, printed with the catalogue number and what the sellers knew about me. A recent follow-up email yielded no further information as to my provenance - it was said I came from a large high street bookseller, and that I had been brought in there from someone off the street.
In 2003, when I was purchased for Auckland Libraries, I can safely say that I embarked on my first trip overseas - me, a humble guide to the wildflowers of the English countryside!