New Naturalist

Series of monograph books published 1945 on a variety of UK natural history topics

Cover of the first book in the series, E.B. Ford's famous Butterflies

The New Naturalist Library (also known as The New Naturalists) is a series of books published by Collins in the United Kingdom, on a variety of natural history topics relevant to the British Isles. The aim of the series at the start was: "To interest the general reader in the wild life of Britain by recapturing the inquiring spirit of the old naturalists."[1] An editors' preface to a 1952 monograph says: "An object of the New Naturalist series is the recognition of the many-sidedness of British natural history, and the encouragement of unusual and original developments of its forgotten or neglected facets."[2]

The first volume to appear was E.B. Ford's Butterflies in 1945. The authors of this series are usually eminent experts, often professional scientists. This gives the series authority, and many are or have been authoritative introductory textbooks on a subject for some years. The books are written in scientific style, but are intended to be readable by the non-specialist, and are an early example of popular science in the media.

The books of the series have had considerable influence on many students who later became professional biologists, such as W.D. Hamilton and Mike Majerus.[3] The latter was inspired by Ford's Butterflies and Moths,[4] and has since added two volumes of his own to the series.

A parallel series known as the New Naturalist Monograph Library (and often referred to as The New Naturalist Special Volumes) was also published. Its aim was to cover "in greater detail... a single species or group of species".[1] There have been no additions to the Monograph Library since 1971.

Volume 82 of the main series, The New Naturalists,[5] described the series to date, with authors' biographies and a guide to collecting the books.

The original editorial board consisted of Julian Huxley, James Fisher, Dudley Stamp, John Gilmour and Eric Hosking.[6] Until 1985, the highly characteristic dust jacket illustrations were by Rosemary and Clifford Ellis; since then they have been by Robert Gillmor.

Being a numbered series, with a very low print run for some volumes, the books are highly collectable. Second-hand copies of the rarer volumes, in good condition, can command high prices. The 100th volume, Woodlands by Oliver Rackham was published in 2006. Woodlands (volume 100) was also published in 2006 as a "leatherbound" edition, limited to 100 copies. In fact it was fake leather.[citation needed] The second "leatherbound" New Naturalist \- Dragonflies by Philip Corbet and Stephen Brooks \- was published in 2008. The (fake) leather edition of Dragonflies (volume 106) was initially limited to 400 copies, which was subsequently limited to 303, and finally to 250. According to the New Naturalist website[citation needed] only 217 were actually sold and the remaining unsold stock is being kept secure at HarperCollins's offices. HarperCollins continue to produce limited numbers of "leatherbound" editions of all volumes published since Dragonflies, but only from Islands (volume 109) was real leather actually used. All recent volumes have only 50 leatherbound copies.

The series won the 2007 British Book Design and Production Award for "brand or series identity",[7] and in 2008 the official website was launched, with features including the latest news, a members only area with access to exclusive content and downloads, and a forum.

In around 1990, Bloomsbury produced a series of facsimile editions, as hardbacks with new dustjacket designs, and with all plates in black and white, including those which were originally in colour.

## Main series

[edit]

Number  | Title  | Author(s)  | Editions  | Bloomsbury Edition

|
|
|
|

1  | Butterflies | E. B. Ford | 1945, 1946, 1957, 1977  | 1990
2  | British Game | Brian Vesey-Fitzgerald | 1946  |
3  | London's Natural History | R. S. R. Fitter | 1945  | 1990
4  | Britain's Structure and Scenery | L. Dudley Stamp | 1946, 1947, 1949, 1955, 1960, 1967  |
5  | Wild Flowers | John Gilmour and Max Walters | 1954, 1955, 1962, 1969, 1973  | 1990
6a  | Natural History in the Highlands and Islands | F. Fraser Darling | 1947  |
6b  | The Highlands and Islands | F. Fraser Darling and J. M. Boyd | 1964, 1973  | 1989
7  | Mushrooms and Toadstools | John Ramsbottom | 1953  | 1989
8  | Insect Natural History | A. D. Imms | 1947, 1956, 1971  | 1990
9  | A Country Parish | A. W. Boyd | 1951  |
10  | British Plant Life | W. B. Turrill | 1948, 1958, 1962  | 1989
11  | Mountains and Moorlands | W. H. Pearsall | 1950  | 1989
12  | The Sea Shore | C. M. Yonge | 1949, 1966  | 1990
13  | Snowdonia | F. J. North, B. Campbell and R. Scott | 1949  |
14  | The Art of Botanical Illustration | Wilfrid Blunt | 1950  |
15  | Life in Lakes and Rivers[8] | T. T. Macan and E. B. Worthington | 1951, 1968, 1974  | 1990
16  | Wild Flowers of Chalk and Limestone | J. E. Lousley | 1950, 1969  | 1989
17  | Birds and Men | Max Nicholson | 1951  | 1990
18a  | A Nat. Hist. of Man in Britain | H. J. Fleure | 1951  |
18b  | A Natural History of Man in Britain | H. J. Fleure and Margaret Davies | 1970  | 1989
19  | Wild Orchids of Britain | V. S. Summerhayes | 1951, 1968  |
20  | The British Amphibians and Reptiles | Malcolm Smith | 1951, 1954, 1964, 1969, 1972  |
21  | British Mammals | L. Harrison Matthews | 1952, 1968  | 1989
22  | Climate and the British Scene | Gordon Manley | 1952  |
23  | An Angler's Entomology | J. R. Harris | 1952, 1956  | 1990
24  | Flowers of the Coast | Ian Hepburn | 1952  |
25  | The Sea Coast | J. A. Steers | 1953, 1954, 1962, 1969  |
26  | The Weald | S. W. Wooldridge and F. Goldring | 1953  |
27  | Dartmoor | L. A. Harvey and D. St Leger-Gordon | 1953, 1962  |
28  | Sea-Birds | James Fisher and R. M. Lockley | 1954  | 1989
29  | The World of the Honeybee | Colin G. Butler | 1954  |
30  | Moths | E.B. Ford | 1954, 1967, 1972  |
31  | Man and the Land | L. Dudley Stamp | 1955, 1964, 1969  |
32  | Trees, Woods and Man | H. L. Edlin | 1956, 1966, 1970  |
33  | Mountain Flowers | John Raven and Max Walters | 1956  |
34  | The Open Sea: The World of Plankton | Alister Hardy | 1956, 1970  |
35  | The World of the Soil | Sir E. John Russell | 1957, 1959, 1963, 1967, 1971  |
36  | Insect Migration | C.B. Williams | 1958, 1965  |
37  | The Open Sea: Fish & Fisheries | Alister Hardy | 1959, 1964, 1970  |
38  | The World of Spiders | W. S. Bristowe | 1958  |
39  | The Folklore of Birds | Edward A. Armstrong | 1958  |
40  | Bumblebees | John B. Free and C.G. Butler | 1959  |
41  | Dragonflies | Philip S. Corbet, Cynthia Longfield and N. W. Moore | 1960  |
42  | Fossils | H. H. Swinnerton | 1960  | 1989
43  | Weeds and Aliens | Sir Edward Salisbury | 1961, 1964  |
44  | The Peak District | K. C. Edwards | 1962, 1974  | 1990
45  | The Common Lands of England and Wales | W. G. Hoskins and L. Dudley Stamp | 1963  |
46  | The Broads | A.E. Ellis | 1965  |
47  | The Snowdonia National Park | W. M. Condry | 1966, 1967  |
48  | Grass and Grassland | Ian Moore | 1966  |
49  | Nature Conservation in Britain | L. Dudley Stamp | 1969, 1974  |
50  | Pesticides and Pollution | Kenneth Mellanby | 1967, 1970  |
51  | Man and Birds | R. K. Murton | 1971  |
52  | Woodland Birds | Eric Simms | 1971  | 1990
53  | The Lake District | W. H. Pearsall and W. Pennington | 1973  | 1989
54  | The Pollination of Flowers | Michael Proctor and Peter Yeo | 1973  |
55  | Finches | Ian Newton | 1972  |
56  | Pedigree: Words from Nature | Stephen Potter and Laurens Sargent | 1973  |
57  | British Seals | H. R. Hewer | 1974  |
58  | Hedges | E. Pollard, M. D. Hooper and Norman W. Moore | 1974  |
59  | Ants | M. V. Brian | 1977  |
60  | British Birds of Prey | Leslie H. Brown | 1976  | 1989
61  | Inheritance and Natural History | R. J. Berry | 1977  | 1990
62  | British Tits | Chris Perrins | 1979  |
63  | British Thrushes | Eric Simms | 1978  |
64  | The Natural History of Shetland | R. J. Berry | 1980  |
65  | Waders | W. G. Hale | 1980  |
66  | The Natural History of Wales | William M. Condry | 1982  | 1990
67  | Farming and Wildlife | Kenneth Mellanby | 1981  |
68  | Mammals in the British Isles | L. Harrison Matthews | 1982  |
69  | Reptiles and Amphibians in Britain | Deryk Frazer | 1983  | 1989
70  | The Natural History of Orkney | R. J. Berry | 1985  |
71  | British Warblers | Eric Simms | 1985  |
72  | Heathlands | Nigel Webb | 1986  |
73  | The New Forest | Colin R. Tubbs | 1986  |
74  | Ferns | Christopher N. Page | 1988  |
75  | Freshwater Fishes | P. S. Maitland and R. N. Campbell | 1992 ISBN 978-0-00-219379-5 (HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-219380-1 (PB)

76  | The Hebrides | J. M. Boyd and I. L. Boyd | 1990  |
77  | The Soil | B. Davis, N. Walker, D. F. Ball and A. Fitter | 1992  |
78  | British Larks, Pipits and Wagtails | Eric Simms | 1992  |
79  | Caves and Cave Life | Philip Chapman | 1993  |
80  | Wild and Garden Plants | Max Walters | 1993  |
81  | Ladybirds | Mike Majerus | 1994  |
82  | The New Naturalists | Peter Marren | 1995 (2nd ed. 2005)  |
83  | The Natural History of Pollination | Michael Proctor, Peter Yeo and Andrew Lack | 1996  |
84  | Ireland | David Cabot | 1999  |
85  | Plant Disease | David Ingram and Noel Robertson | 1999  |
86  | Lichens | Oliver Gilbert | 2000  |
87  | Amphibians & Reptiles | Trevor Beebee and Richard Griffiths | 2000  |
88  | Loch Lomondside | John Mitchell | 05/03/2001 ISBN 978-0-00-220145-2 (HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-220146-9 (PB)

89  | The Broads | Brian Moss | 05/11/2001 ISBN 978-0-00-220163-6 (HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-712410-7 (PB)

90  | Moths | Mike Majerus | 04/02/2002 ISBN 978-0-00-220141-4 (HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-220142-1 (PB)

91  | Nature Conservation | Peter Marren | 07-05-2002 ISBN 0-00-711305-6 (HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-711306-4 (PB)

92  | Lakeland | Derek Ratcliffe | 07/10/2002 ISBN 978-0-00-711303-3 (HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-711304-0 (PB)

93  | British Bats | John Altringham | 03/03/2003 ISBN 978-0-00-220140-7 (HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-220147-6 (PB)

94  | A Natural History of the Seashore | Peter Hayward | 05/03/2004 ISBN 978-0-00-220030-1 (HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-220031-8 (PB)

95  | Northumberland | Angus Lunn | 04/10/2004 ISBN 978-0-00-718484-2 (HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-718483-5 (PB)

96  | Fungi | Brian Spooner and Peter Roberts | 06/06/2005 ISBN 978-0-00-220152-0 (HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-220153-7 (PB)

97  | Mosses and Liverworts | Ron Porley and Nick Hodgetts | 05/09/2005 ISBN 978-0-00-220212-1 (HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-717400-3 (PB)

98  | Bumblebees | Ted Benton | 06/03/2006 ISBN 978-0-00-717450-8 (HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-717451-5 (PB)

99  | Gower | Jonathan Mullard | 02/05/2006 ISBN 978-0-00-716067-9 (HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-716066-2 (PB)

100  | Woodlands | Oliver Rackham | 04/09/2006 ISBN 0-00-720243-1 (HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-720244-7 (PB)

101  | Galloway and the Borders | Derek Ratcliffe | 03/01/2007 ISBN 0-00-717401-2 (HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-717402-7 (PB)

102  | Garden Natural History | Stefan Buczacki | 01/05/2007 ISBN 0-00-713993-4 (HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-713994-1 (PB)

103  | The Isles of Scilly | Rosemary Parslow | 06/08/2007 ISBN 978-0-00-220150-6(HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-220151-3 (PB)

104  | A History of Ornithology | Peter Bircham | 04/10/2007 ISBN 978-0-00-719969-3 (HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-719970-9 (PB)

105  | Wye Valley | George Peterken | 04/02/2008 ISBN 978-0-00-716069-3 (HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-716069-3 (PB)

106  | Dragonflies | Philip Corbet and Stephen Brooks | 1 May 2008

ISBN 978-0-00-715168-4 (HB)
ISBN 978-0-00-715169-1 (PB)

107  | Grouse | Adam Watson and Robert Moss | 01/09/2008 ISBN 978-0-00-715097-7 (HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-715098-4 (PB)

108  | Southern England | Peter Friend | 03/11/2008 ISBN 978-0-00-724742-4 (HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-724743-1 (PB)

109  | Islands | R. J. Berry | 02/02/2009 ISBN 978-0-00-726737-8 (HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-726738-5 (PB)

110  | Wildfowl | David Cabot | 28/05/2009 ISBN 978-0-00-714658-1 (HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-714659-8 (PB)

111  | Dartmoor | Ian Mercer | 17/09/2009 ISBN 978-0-00-718499-6 (HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-718500-9 (PB)

112  | Books and Naturalists | David Elliston Allen | 04/02/2010 ISBN 978-0-00-724084-5 (HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-730017-4 (PB)

113  | Bird Migration | Ian Newton | 01/04/2010 ISBN 978-0-00-730731-9 (HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-730732-6 (PB)

114  | Badger | Timothy J. Roper | 27/05/2010 ISBN 978-0-00-732041-7(HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-733977-8 (PB)

115  | Climate and Weather | John Kington | 02/09/2010 ISBN 978-0-00-718501-6(HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-718502-3 (PB)

116  | Plant Pests | David V. Alford | 06/01/2011 ISBN 978-0-00-733849-8(HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-733848-1(PB)

117  | Plant Galls | Margaret Redfern | 28/04/2011 ISBN 978-0-00-220143-8(HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-220144-5(PB)

118  | Marches | Andrew Allott | 01/09/2011 ISBN 978-0-00-724816-2(HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-724817-9 (PB)

119  | Scotland | Peter Friend | 05/01/2012 ISBN 978-0-00-730956-6(HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-735906-6 (PB)

120  | Grasshoppers and Crickets | Ted Benton | 05/06/2012 ISBN 978-0-00-727723-0(HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-727724-7(PB)

121  | Partridges: Countryside Barometer | G. R. Potts | 27/09/2012 ISBN 978-0-00-741870-1(HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-741871-8(PB)

122  | Vegetation of Britain and Ireland | Michael Proctor | 14/03/2013 ISBN 978-0-00-220148-3(HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-220149-0(PB)

123  | Terns | David Cabot and Ian Nisbet | 06/06/2013 ISBN 978-0-00-741247-1(HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-741248-8 (PB)

124  | Bird Populations | Ian Newton | 29/08/2013 ISBN 978-0-00-742953-0(HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-752798-4(PB)

125  | Owls | Mike Toms | 02/01/2014 ISBN 978-0-00-742555-6 (HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-742557-0(PB)

126  | Brecon Beacons | Jonathan Mullard | 08/05/2014 ISBN 978-0-00-736770-2(HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-736769-6(PB)

127  | Nature in Towns and Cities | David Goode | 09/10/2014 ISBN 978-0-00-724239-9(HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-724240-5(PB)

128  | Lakes, Loughs and Lochs | Brian Moss | 04/06/2015 ISBN 978-0-00-751138-9(HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-751139-6(PB)

129  | Alien Plants | Clive A. Stace and Michael J. Crawley | 22/10/2015 ISBN 978-0-00-750215-8(HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-750214-1(PB)

130  | Yorkshire Dales | John Lee | 05/11/2015 ISBN 978-0-00-750369-8(HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-7503704(PB)

131  | Shallow Seas | Peter Hayward | 07/04/2016 ISBN 978-0-00-730729-6(HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-730730-2(PB)

132  | Falcons | Richard Sale | 30/06/2016 ISBN 978-0-00-751141-9(HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-751142-6(PB)

133  | Slugs and Snails | Robert Cameron | 15/12/2016 ISBN 978-0-00-711300-2(HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-711301-9(PB)

134  | Early Humans | Nicholas Ashton  | 18/05/2017 ISBN 978-0-00-815033-4(HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-815035-8(PB)

135  | Farming and Birds | Ian Newton | 27/07/2017 ISBN 978-0-00-814789-1(HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-814790-7(PB)

136  | Beetles | Richard Jones | 25/01/2018 ISBN 978-0-00-814952-9(HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-814950-5(PB)

137  | Hedgehog | Pat Morris | 28/06/2018 ISBN 978-0-00-823570-3(HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-823573-4(PB)

138  | The Burren | David Cabot & Roger Goodwillie | 29/11/2018 ISBN 978-0-00-818378-3(HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-818379-0(PB)

139  | Gulls | John Coulson  | 07/03/2019 ISBN 978-0-00-820142-5(HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-820143-2(PB)

140  | Garden Birds | Mike Toms  | 25/07/2019 ISBN 978-0-00-816474-4(HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-816475-1(PB)

141  | Pembrokeshire | Jonathan Mullard  | 30/04/2020 ISBN 978-0-00-811280-6(HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-811282-0(PB)

142  | Uplands and Birds | Ian Newton | 09/07/2020 ISBN 978-0-00-829850-0(HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-829852-4(PB)

143  | Ecology and Natural History | David M. Wilkinson  | 24/06/2021 ISBN 978-0-00-829363-5(HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-829365-9(PB)

144  | Peak District | Penny Anderson  | 23/12/2021 ISBN 978-0-00-825737-8(HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-825739-2(PB)

145  | Trees | Peter A Thomas  | 28/04/2022 ISBN 978-0-00-830451-5(HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-830453-9(PB)

146  | Solitary Bees | Ted Benton, Nick Owens  | 11/05/2023 ISBN 978-0-00-830455-3(HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-830457-7(PB)

147  | Shieldbugs | Richard Jones | 06/07/2023 ISBN 978-0-00-833489-5(HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-833491-8(PB)

148  | Ponds, Pools and Puddles | Jeremy Biggs & Penny Williams  | 28/03/2024 ISBN 978-0-00-220085-1(HB)

ISBN 978-0-00-870300-4(PB)

149  | Stoats, Weasels, Martens and Polecats | Jenny MacPherson  | 04/07/2024 ISBN 978-0-00-833493-2(HB)

## Monographs

[edit]

Number  | Title  | Author  | Editions

|
|
|

M01  | The Badger | Ernest Neal (biologist) | 1948
M02  | The Redstart | John Buxton | 1950
M03  | The Wren | Edward A. Armstrong | 1955
M04  | The Yellow Wagtail | Stuart Smith | 1950
M05  | The Greenshank | Desmond Nethersole-Thompson | 1951
M06  | The Fulmar | James Fisher | 1952
M07  | Fleas, Flukes and Cuckoos  | Miriam Rothschild and Theresa Clay | 1952
M08  | Ants | Derek Wragge Morley | 1953
M09  | The Herring Gull's World | Niko Tinbergen | 1953
M10  | Mumps, Measles and Mosaics | Kenneth M. Smith and Roy Markham | 1954
M11  | The Heron | Frank A. Lowe | 1954
M12  | Squirrels | Monica Shorten | 1954
M13  | The Rabbit | Harry V. Thompson and Alastair N. Worden | 1956
M14  | The Birds of the London Area | London Natural History Society | 1957
M15  | The Hawfinch | Guy Mountfort | 1957
M16  | The Salmon | J. W. Jones (naturalist) | 1959
M17  | Lords and Ladies | Cecil T. Prime | 1960
M18  | Oysters | C. M. Yonge | 1960
M19  | The House Sparrow | J. D. Summers-Smith | 1963, 1967
M20  | The Wood Pigeon | R. K. Murton | 1965
M21  | The Trout | W. E. Frost and M. E. Brown | 1967
M22  | The Mole | Kenneth Mellanby | 1971

## See also

[edit]

* Category:New Naturalist writers

## Notes and references

[edit]

1. ^ a b Guy Mountfort, The Hawfinch. Collins, 1957.
2. ^ Miriam Rothschild and Theresa Clay, Fleas, Flukes and Cuckoos. Collins, 1952.
3. ^ "Series History, New Naturalists Online". Retrieved 2015-08-24.
4. ^ Berry, R. J. (1990). "Industrial melanism and peppered moths (Biston betularia)". Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 39 (4): 301–322. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8312.1990.tb00518.x.
5. ^ Peter Marren, The New Naturalists. Collins, 1995. 2nd edition 2005.
6. ^ Richard Mabey. "News of birds and blossoming, The Guardian 14 March 2009". TheGuardian.com. Retrieved 2015-08-24.
7. ^ "British Book Design and Production Awards 2007: Winners". Archived from the original on 2008-07-04. Retrieved 2008-04-22.
8. ^ An edition of Life in Lakes and Rivers was published by Readers Union in 1959.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website for the series
* List of monographs with jacket illustrations