In the original dustsheet. Green cloth binding with gilt title on the spine.

F.B.A. provides an in-depth photographic presentation of this item to stimulate your feel and touch. More traditional book descriptions are immediately available.

William ‘Strata’ Smith was an English geologist, credited with creating the first detailed, nationwide geological map of any country. At the time his map was first published he was overlooked by the scientific community; his relatively humble education and family connections prevented him from mixing easily in learned society. Financially ruined, Smith spent time in debtors’ prison. It was only late in his life that Smith received recognition for his accomplishments, and became known as the “Father of English Geology”.

160 pages. From an early date, Smith recognized that many of the strata which he showed on his map were characterized by the fossils they contained. In 1816 he started a book called Strata Identified by Organized Fossils which, although unfinished, was a fundamental work in establishing the science of stratigraphy. In this book Smith figured fossils from each stratum. The fossil plates were exquisitely engraved by the renowned illustrator, naturalist and mineralogist, James Sowerby, from fossils provided by Smith.