New Naturalist (Collins) (1 Viewer)

[Neil Hagley]

Does anyone know if Collins ever print additional editions in this series, or could they be persuaded to? The New Naturalist series is very collectible but when even recent titles sell out in no time at all and then immediately enter the NN secondary market for four or five times face value money something is wrong. It seems to fly in the face of the intentions of the quartet who envisioned the series. "James Fisher, Julian Huxley, publisher Billy Collins, and Wolfgang Foges, an expert in colour reproduction, proposed a simple plan: to publish a series of hardback books, costing a guinea apiece (approximately £20-25 at today's prices), to provide practical guidance for nature-lovers in their quest to discover Britain's wildlife." (Guardian on line).
The current trend for titles to fly off the shelves is no doubt fuelled by collectors who just want to admire them on their book shelves. For works which often contain excellent material for the genuine naturalist it seems crazy that low print runs apparently create this extortionate secondary market. Case in point, British Bats (I know this is not oritho' but this is the book I've been trying to find) was printed only three years ago in 2003 and was priced at £40 for the hardback, well they START at £160 on abebooks and are listed by many booksellers in excess of £200 where's the sense in that? I can understand old books having rarity value but come surely not something printed in 2003 and desired by so many who actually want to read and learn from them.

 

[David FG]

I think you are forgetting that publishers do not operate for the enlightenment and education of naturalists, but as profit-making organisations whose purpose is to make money.

 

[mountain man]

I'm slowly collecting them myself and keep coming across these:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-NATURALIS...ryZ29270QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting

I don't know the publishing history but they are a cheaper version (I think published by Bloomsbury?) and I've found them in Oxfam a few times.

Some NNs are now just laughably expensive (a fine hardback Orkney can sell for over £1500). There are cheaper softback versions of some titles but even they can be a small fortune, and if you are seriously collecting them then beware of people having their softback copies re-bound into hardback and then trying to sell them as original hardbacks.

The best place for New Naturalists is Birdnet in Buxton, Paul Flint has virtually all of the titles, ranging from mint copies to tatty ones missing dust jackets, and he knows everything there is to know about them.

http://www.birdnet.co.uk/newnat.html

 

[Neil Hagley]

I think you are forgetting that publishers do not operate for the enlightenment and education of naturalists, but as profit-making organisations whose purpose is to make money.

That may be true, but if that was their sole objective (and they certainly know the market for NN's) then they could list them at say £100 per volume when printed and still shift the lot. As it is, the secondry market is the real winner not HC. HC could easily print more but their failure to do so fuels the inflated re-sale market. I looked at Birdnet and at least one volume has had a second print run so perhaps their is some hope. Predictably the 1995 first edition is priced at £349 and the 2nd (2005) is £40.

 

[Oatcake]

I've been collecting New Naturalists for the last few years. I have some tips if you're interested in the content rather than the trophy value:

1. Buy Peter Marren's New Naturalist book "New Naturalist" (number 86 I think) get the 2004 reprint. This will give you loads on info on copies available.
2. Fontana produced a few of the NN as paperbacks - I have "Highlands and Islands" and "Dartmoor" in this format. They're readable and contain proper photos.
3. Bloomsbury reprinted some (the eBay link above is an example). These contain copied text from the orginals (scanned and printed?) so the photos aren't great but the content is readable.
4. Go to Hay On Wye. Many of the bookshops have some (ex library, poor cover condition). They'll also have the expensive copies (usually locked in a cabinet).
5. Some of the books have been reprinted (usually updated) as a normal book. One example is "Orkney" by RJ Berry:

Updated text reprinted:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Orkney-Natu...ef=sr_1_2/203-3880964-7061524?ie=UTF8&s=books

New Naturalist:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Natural-His...ef=sr_1_5/203-3880964-7061524?ie=UTF8&s=books

As for the British Bats book (one I would particularly like to own), you migth like to look at this:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bats-Behavi...ef=sr_1_1/203-3880964-7061524?ie=UTF8&s=books

 

[Oatcake]

Also, one of the problems is that there are an estimated 1500-2000 collectors who want a 1st edition hardback. At one stage Collins produced less than that number. Subtract copies to libraries and you are left with extremely fierce competition between collectors.

And I wouldn't hold your breath for a reprint. The only reason Peter Marren's book was reprinted is because it catalogues the series and therefore needed updating. Consider Reptiles and Amphibians : 1964, 1983, 2000. I wouldn't expect a new Bats NN for in the next 15 years :-(

 

[Neil Hagley]

Thanks for the tips. Is the Bats: Biology and Behaviour (Paperback)
by John D. Altringham similar in content to the New Naturalist?

 

[Oatcake]

I thought you might ask that

I'm afraid I don't know. I only found it yesterday by clicking on the author's name on amazon. From the summary (which stupidly I only read after posting) it sounds much more comprehensive than just UK bats and is probably a bit dry.

 

[Neil Hagley]

I thought you might ask that

I'm afraid I don't know. I only found it yesterday by clicking on the author's name on amazon. From the summary (which stupidly I only read after posting) it sounds much more comprehensive than just UK bats and is probably a bit dry.

much appreciated anyway. I've managed to buy the NN British Bats from the USA for £47 incl P&P.

 

[fullbreakfast]

I hope resurrecting very old threads isn't frowned on here...

Collins have recently said (very quietly) that they will be launching a Print On Demand service for OOP New Naturalist titles. The service is intended to launch by early 2009 and cover most or all of the series; reprints will be hardback and cost £45 each. The only disappointing aspect of what has been proposed is that all plates will be monochrome rather than full colour.

Collins now has a dedicated web site for the NN series (http://www.newnaturalists.com/home/default.aspx) with its own forum. Due to less than ideal implementation one cannot read the forum without registering (also posts made to the forum will show your e-mail address to the other forum members; Collins have said they will fix this eventually). It's still worth joining if you want to learn more about the series - there are some real experts posting there.

 

[Darrell Clegg]

I don't know if the very* recent titles have been printed in larger numbers but they seem to be much easier to get hold of. Amazon sell the hardback initially for £29.00 and even my local branch of Waterstones has copies of both hardback and paperback for sale

* Isles of Scilly
Wye Valley
History of Ornithology
Dragonflies


Darrell

 

[Marcus Conway - ebirder]

Thanks for the tips. Is the Bats: Biology and Behaviour (Paperback)
by John D. Altringham similar in content to the New Naturalist?

Is that J Altringham from Leeds Uni? I studied bat flight under him - I guess it could be the same guy. Nice fella.

 

[fullbreakfast]

Is that J Altringham from Leeds Uni? I studied bat flight under him - I guess it could be the same guy. Nice fella.

Yep:
http://www.newnaturalists.com/Pages/Author.aspx?AspXPage=g%5F3844D88A76274641A9100939A3051B83:%2540Author%255Fx0020%255FName%3DJohn%2520D%252E%2520Altringham

 

[quaint.macavity]

finding New Naturalist books

i have been colecting new naturalist books most of my life. They started the year I was born. I certainly treat them as art but i do find the content interesting and useful as well.
I found many of the older titles at book fairs run by provincial booksellers fairs association see http://www.pbfa.org/ . when I go to a fair I look at all the stalls before i purchase. This is because a particular book that i first see at x price I find cheaper at another stall.
Another source is www.abebooks.com/ and here you will find the cheapest and the dearestcopies.