The Naturalist's Library. Vol. XV: Mammalia - Introduction to Mammalia

First edition variant. Small octavo (approx. 6.5" x 4.25"). Complete collation: pp. 313, [1], featuring a black and white frontispiece portrait of Dru Drury, a black and white engraved half-title vignette page, and the primary title page. Contains the complete complement of 31 striking hand-coloured steel-engraved plates by Lizars, all retaining their original tissue guards. Features the scarce additional plate numbered '20b' (20*) which completes the total sequence. Binder’s placement anomalies present as standard for this early issue: Plate 15 is bound out of sequence after Plate 6, and Plates 22 and 23 are transposed. Bound in the publisher's original red cloth, boasting blind-stamped decorative boards, a bright gilt device to the front board, and a gilt title to the spine. The binding is solid and in Good condition, showing minor tearing to the head of a slightly faded spine alongside small, faint surface marks to the boards. Internally, the front hinge is slightly tender, and a clean split to the gutter is present between pages 176 and 177; however, the text block remains entirely secure with all pages firmly attached. The binding is slightly cocked. Remarkably, the text pages and hand-coloured plates themselves bypass the usual heavy foxing of this era and remain in Very Good, clean, and bright condition. A nice, structurally sound copy of a notoriously fragile volume.…