Gilbert White and His Records: A Scientific Biography

London: Christopher Helm, 1988. xv, 240, b/w photos. . HB. Vg in d/w (slight fading to spine). From the library of Keith Hyatt (d. 2021), acarologist at the Natural History Museum, London, and prominent member of the London Natural History Society, with his name to the front pastedown.. Gilbert White (1720-1793) is famous for his only book: "The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne" which was first published late in 1788 and has subsequently been issued in over 200 editions. This biography, based mainly on White's own records, seeks primarily to examine the scientific activities of White's life, but White the academic, White the antiquarian and White the clergyman are explored in so far as they have a bearing on his study of nature. The opening chapters examine the scientific context of the first half of the 18th century and show the beginnings of White's future interests. The work goes on to examine the developments of White's methods of working and the contributions made by these methods and their practice, both in terms of discoveries and also in terms of their influence on his own and later times. White's writings include the "Garden-Kalendar" which he began in 1751 and kept for nearly 20 years; the "Flora" of Selborne a record of one year - 1766; letters to a brother in Gibraltar from 1769 to 1772; and the "Journals" recording meteorological and other natural events which he kept almost daily from 1st January 1768 up to the final days of his life in 1793 .. [9780747010036]