Trevor James was a bit of a natural history legend. He was Hertfordshire's long-time recorder for flora and beetles and an outstanding all-round naturalist. He produced the epic book Beetles of Hertfordshire which is the county account against which all others are and will be measured, all so far falling well short.
I never had the pleasure of meeting Trevor and he sadly died last year. You can read an obituary here. Whilst browsing Pemberley books recently I discovered that some of Trevor's beetle library was being sold off. I managed to pick up a couple of out of print books that I had been looking for, these particular ones having the added bonus of having been Trevor's and containing his book plates.
I quite like the idea that books pass between people with similar interests and through them a connection of sorts is made. If looked after, I could conceivably pass them on again when I shuffle off this mortal coil, which is both a reassuring thing and also an alarming one, as there are still bloody loads of beetles still to see!
The post title comes from this absolutely belter from Maximo Park. Very few people capture a story in a pop song the way Paul Smith does.
I was recommended an old book for identifying bivalve molluscs, out of print of course, but the recommender kindly sent an eBay link. I think the author was a bit of a mollusc legend as his illustrations from the 60s have apparently not been bettered. Looking forward to it arriving and if it has history. I like the idea of passing, or selling, books and equipment on to other interested folk, I sold two microscopes this week, they were snapped up via the local insect FB group. And when new editions of ID books are purchased the same group or our Field Club have been very good for finding homes for the earlier editions. Hopefully these things will enable and nurture others' interests rather than just sitting in a shelf or a cupboard. Louise would suggest there's more that could go tho...
ReplyDeleteSigh. I have Atlas of Leaf and Seed Beetles, and that too is inherited from a local legend! All we can do in their hour is to keep the faith alive and pass it on.
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