MACGILLIVRAY, William. ~ The Natural History of Dee Side and Braemar.
First edition. Two folding maps, frontispiece and several illustrations throughout. Rare special issue in presentation binding of red pebble grain morocco, gilt royal arms on the upper cover, all edges gilt, a superb copy.
There is an elaborate printed presentation note pasted to the front free endpaper ‘This work, printed by command of the Queen, is presented to The Revd. C. Kingsley by H.R.H. Prince Albert’. (There is also a later inscription on the title page to ‘Maurice Kingsley from Mother. 1879’.
Prince Albert was an enthusiast for Charles Kingsley’s idealized view of manly, Germanic Christianity and he was appointed chaplain to the Queen in 1859, the year this was published. The theme of the present book, Scottish rivers, seems certain to have appealed to the famous author of The Water Babies.
His son, Maurice Kingsley, emigrated to the US and died young in 1910. In the book is a loose newspaper clipping which records the highlights of the ensuing sale of his father’s books. The present volume made $7.50 - somewhat better than the inscribed first of Darwin’s ‘Origin of the Species’ which sold for $5.