MILLER, Hugh (1802–1856)

The Old Red Sandstone; or New Walks in an Old Field

(Edinburgh: John Johnstone, 1842) [second edition]

8vo; iii (advertisement for the book and Miller’s other works, with instructions to the binder), [half-title], [frontispiece], [2], 10 leaves of plates [complete]

Miller’s classic popular geological work. An excellent association copy: from the library of Robert Bald (1776–1861), ‘the acknowledged father of mining engineering in Scotland’ and a noted advocate for the improvement of working conditions for miners.

Hugh Miller was a stonemason, journalist and self-taught geologist, and his Old Red Sandstone was one of the most celebrated works of popular science of the early Victorian period. It came hot on the heels of Roderick Murchison’s pathbreaking work on the Silurian Period, and draws heavily on Murchison’s work. The ‘Old Red Sandstone’ (often visible as a building material in Edinburgh) is the remnant of the ancient Caledonian Mountains, dating from the Devonian Period (350Ma).

This second edition is attractively illustrated with a hand-coloured folding frontispiece and 10 leaves of plates of fossils. All early editions are scarce.

Good condition: early leather binding with gilt decoration and raised bands; binding somewhat loose; frontispiece poorly folded but internally generally very good.