Perry’s Arcana, 1810–1811
An architect by training, George Perry, Jr. from England was a self-proclaimed naturalist, publishing two largely graphical collections of the natural world—the Conchology, a large book that depicts shells of various species, and the Arcana, one of the first serial magazines of natural history. Each month, subscribers to the Arcana would receive a “little paper package” of loose-leaf pages—one to four illustrations of animal (and occasionally plant) species with a few pages of text describing each one, says Paul Callomon, collections manager at The Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, which recently acquired this rare, complete set of the collection.
Interested in reading more?
Become a Member of
Receive full access to digital editions of The Scientist, as well as TS Digest, feature stories, more than 35 years of archives, and much more!
