Country Walks of a Naturalist with His Children By Rev. W. Houghton
 
First Edition, 1869 • Eight Hand‑Coloured Plates • Full Calf, All Edges Gilt
 
✧ Bibliographic Details
Author: Rev. William Houghton, M.A., F.L.S. (1828 – 1895), Rector of Preston‑on‑the‑Weald‑Moors, Shropshire; noted natural historian and author of British Fresh‑Water Fishes (1879).
Title: Country Walks of a Naturalist with His Children.
Publisher: Groombridge & Sons, 5 Paternoster Row, London, 1869.
Printer: J. E. Adlard, Bartholomew Close, London.
Edition: First edition, uncommon in commerce; later printings are more frequently encountered.
Illustrations: 8 fine chromolithographic plates (including frontispiece) + numerous wood‑engraved text vignettes; all plates with tissue guards.
Collation: vi, 154 pp. Complete.
Binding: Contemporary full green calf over boards, elaborately panelled in gilt; spine with five raised bands and non‑floral gilt‑tooled compartments; all edges gilt; marbled endpapers.
Dimensions: 18.5 × 12.6 × 2.3 cm. • Weight: 363 g.
 
✧ Provenance
Early presentation inscription on front blank:
“Clara Elizabeth Hershaw, from her affecate Father, January 9th 1871.”
While further details on Clara Elizabeth Kershaw remain limited, the careful inscription suggests this was a cherished gift within an educated Victorian household,  although not a public figure, such contemporary family inscriptions enhance provenance and charm.
 
✧ Condition Report
Binding: Sound and attractive; moderate wear to extremities, shallow loss to leather at head & tail, small splits to joints; majority of gilt still bright. Boards scuffed, corners bruised.
Text Block: Tight; inner hinges cracked but holding. Marbled endpapers fresh.
Plates & Leaves: Plates bright; light creasing on tissue‑guard. Light, even toning throughout; scattered foxing to prelims and terminal leaves, occasional faint spots elsewhere. Small rip on inner edge of frontispiece. Illustration unaffected. Pages otherwise clean, unmarked, and uncreased.
Overall a good copy, complete with all coloured plates and retaining strong shelf appeal.
 
✧ Literary & Collecting Note
Houghton wrote Country Walks to encourage children (from about age nine) to observe nature firsthand,  a progressive, field‑based approach for the period. First editions in decorative calf, with all plates intact, are scarce. The engaging chromolithographs by an unnamed artist (typical of Groombridge’s natural‑history titles) remain a visual highlight.