Antedated Books

Abstract

THE grievance pointed out by your correspondent “F.Z.S.” is a real one. Nevertheless I trust that the writer is himself free from the charge that he so glibly brings against a brother naturalist of endeavouring to obtain for his generic titles an “unjust priority of fifteen months over what they are entitled to.” I am sorry that there should be a Fellow of the Zoological Society who believes me capable of doing this, but, as the charge has been thus publicly made, I lose no time in flinging it back upon my anonymous accuser. The new edition of Layard's “Birds of South Africa” was announced to appear in six parts, and the first was published in May, 1875. The number of wrappers required for the six parts was printed off at the time, and “F.Z.S.” will find that Part 2, which was published last autumn has precisely the same wrapper as Part I, and this is the case with the part now issued. I admit that it would have been better to have altered the date on each wrapper in writing; but this, probably, did not occur to my publisher, who is doubtless not aware of the importance attached to the law of priority by “F.Z.S.,” your correspondent, who, apparently, in his hurry to attribute an unworthy motive, has scarcely taken the trouble to look beyond the cover of the book. Had he done so he might have been satisfied that the letterpress contained abundant evidence of having been written long after the date which he would have the scientific world believe I had endeavoured to claim for its publication. Such an attempt would be absurd when documents are quoted in the letterpress which were not in existence in the year 1875.