Denizens of the Deep (1887) – Dr. G. Hartwig – Illustrated Marine Natural History – Striking Bright Pictorial Binding
 
Author: Dr. Georg Hartwig
Full Title: Denizens of the Deep: An Account of the Fishes, Molluscs, Crustacea, &c., from the Sea and Its Living Wonders
Date: First Edition – 1887
Publisher: Longmans, Green, & Co., London
Printer: Ballantyne Press – Ballantyne, Hanson & Co., Edinburgh and London
Format / Binding: Decorative turquise cloth over bevelled boards, gilt titles to spine, coloured and gilt pictorial titles to the front board, blind-stamped publisher’s emblem to rear.
Pagination: 160 pages (all present and checked)
Dimensions: approx. 18.8 × 12.8 × 2.2 cm
Weight: approx. 439 g
 
An exceptional example of the rare 1887 first edition of Dr. Georg Hartwig’s Denizens of the Deep, presented in a vivid turquoise pictorial cloth binding with bright gilt, blue, and red decorative details, over bevelled boards. This volume is part of Hartwig’s celebrated natural history series, bringing the wonders of marine life to a Victorian audience through engaging prose and fine illustrations.
 
The striking cover design, featuring vibrant coral and marine fauna, is remarkably well preserved compared to most surviving copies, which are often faded. This copy retains its colour richness, making it highly collectible.
 
The text covers Dr. G. Hartwig’s vivid descriptions of fishes, molluscs, crustaceans, echinoderms, and coelenterates, supported by 117 illustrations, including a striking illustrated title page depicting a Portuguese man o’ war, and a full-page frontispiece plate. Part of Hartwig’s celebrated “Sea and Its Living Wonders” series, the book blends scientific accuracy with a narrative style accessible to the 19th-century general reader.
 
Contents
 
The Marine Fishes
Flat-Fishes
Crustacea
Molluscs
Echinodermata
Coelenterata
 
Condition:
 
Very good for age. Boards retain exceptional brightness with only light rubbing to extremities, and soft bumping to the corners, and light and minor marks on boards. Spine gilt bright and clear. Binding secure and square.
 
There is light foxing to the preliminaries and occasional small or light marks within, but overall pages are clean, neat, and predominantly uncreased. Small tear to the inner margin of the front free endpaper; no further tears.

Very small circular illustrated plate to front free endpaper bearing the word FIRMA, and an embossed stamp for Doidge, bookseller. All 160 pages present and checked. All pages secure in binding. There is a very light crack to side of half-title page and a barely visible minimal crack in gutter between pages 48–49, not affecting stability.