John Van Voorst

Last updated

John Van Voorst (15 February 1804 1898) was an English publisher of natural history books. His publications were noted for their good quality, reasonable prices and the frequent inclusion of superior illustrations by notable artists.

Contents

Biography

John Van Voorst was born in Highgate on 15 February 1804, to a family of Dutch descent. [1] He served a six-year apprenticeship in Wakefield from the age of 16 before returning to London to work for publishers Longman, Green, Orme, Hurst & Co. [1] [2] He set up his own business in Paternoster Row in 1833. Initially, he published illustrated reprints, including Gray's Elegy in a Country Church-Yard and Goldsmith's Vicar of Wakefield, [1] [2] but he soon began to specialise in natural history books, often illustrated, and was appointed bookseller to the Zoological Society in 1837.

Some of his most noted publications were British Fishes (by Yarrell, 1835), British Quadrupeds (by Bell, 1836), British Birds (by Yarrell, 1837). [1] [2] With the exception of Darwin, Voorst worked with most of the noted naturalists of his day including Alfred Russel Wallace, Philip Henry Gosse, George Johnston, Edward Forbes, Edward Newman and Richard Owen. The illustrators he employed were equally notable, including such artists as John Constable, William Mulready, Richard Westall, Edwin Landseer, and Copley Fielding. In 1871 his list of current titles comprised 224 books or learned journals, the majority covering topics in natural history.

Van Voorst published the journal The Zoologist , for more than forty years, starting in January 1843, until 1886.

He also published several children's books, including the anonymously published works of author and sanitary reformer Anne Bullar. He retired in 1886, his assistants taking over as Gurney and Jackson. [1] [2]

He was a founder member of the Royal Microscopical Society in 1839, and became a Fellow of the Linnean Society in 1853. [2]

After retirement in 1886, Van Voorst remained active until his death in London on 24 July 1898. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Bowdler Sharpe</span> British ornithologist (1847–1909)

Richard Bowdler Sharpe was an English zoologist and ornithologist who worked as curator of the bird collection at the British Museum of natural history. In the course of his career he published several monographs on bird groups and produced a multi-volume catalogue of the specimens in the collection of the museum. He described many new species of bird and also has had species named in his honour by other ornithologists including Sharpe's longclaw and Sharpe's starling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Yarrell</span> English zoologist, writer and naturalist (1784–1867)

William Yarrell was an English zoologist, prolific writer, bookseller and naturalist admired by his contemporaries for his precise scientific work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Anthony Salisbury</span> British botanist and gardener (1761-1829)

Richard Anthony Salisbury, FRS was a British botanist. While he carried out valuable work in horticultural and botanical sciences, several bitter disputes caused him to be ostracised by his contemporaries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howard Saunders</span>

Howard Saunders was a British businessman, who later in life became a noted ornithologist, specialising in gulls and terns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Tibbats Stainton</span> British entomologist

Henry Tibbats Stainton was an English entomologist. He served as an editor for two popular entomology periodicals of his period, The Entomologist's Annual and The Entomologist's Weekly Intelligencer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Donovan</span> Anglo-Irish writer, natural history illustrator, and amateur zoologist

Edward Donovan was an Anglo-Irish writer, natural history illustrator, and amateur zoologist. He did not travel, but collected, described and illustrated many species based on the collections of other naturalists. His many books were successful in his time. He died penniless in 1837 leaving a large family destitute.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francis Walker (entomologist)</span> English entomologist (1809-1874)

Francis Walker was an English entomologist. He was born in Southgate, London, on 31 July 1809 and died at Wanstead, England on 5 October 1874. He was one of the most prolific authors in entomology, and stirred controversy during his later life as his publications resulted in a huge number of junior synonyms. However, his assiduous work on the collections of the British Museum had great significance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Thompson (naturalist)</span> Irish naturalist

William Thompson was an Irish naturalist celebrated for his founding studies of the natural history of Ireland, especially in ornithology and marine biology. Thompson published numerous notes on the distribution, breeding, eggs, habitat, song, plumage, behaviour, nesting and food of birds. These formed the basis of his four-volume The Natural History of Ireland, and were much used by contemporary and later authors such as Francis Orpen Morris.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Entomological Society</span> British scientific society

The Royal Entomological Society is devoted to the study of insects. Its aims are to disseminate information about insects and improving communication between entomologists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Chapman Hewitson</span> British naturalist (1806–1878)

William Chapman Hewitson was a British naturalist. A wealthy collector, Hewitson was particularly devoted to Coleoptera (beetles) and Lepidoptera and, also, to birds' nests and eggs. His collection of butterflies, collected by him as well as purchased from travellers throughout the world, was one of the largest and most important of his time. He contributed to and published many works on entomology and ornithology and was an accomplished scientific illustrator.

Robert McLachlan FRS was an English entomologist specializing in the study of lacewings (Neuroptera) and caddisflies (Trichoptera).

<i>The Zoologist</i>

The Zoologist was a monthly natural history magazine established in 1843 by Edward Newman and published in London. Newman acted as editor-in-chief until his death in 1876, when he was succeeded, first by James Edmund Harting (1876–1896), and later by William Lucas Distant (1897–1916).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Eustace Bagnall</span> English naturalist (1830–1918)

James Eustace Bagnall ALS was an English naturalist with a particular interest in botany, especially bryology. He was the author of the first Flora of Warwickshire (VC38) in 1891. A noted bryologist, he wrote the Handbook of Mosses in the Young Collector Series, various editions of which were published between 1886 and 1910.

<i>Illustrations of the Family of Psittacidae, or Parrots</i> 1832 book by Edward Lear

Illustrations of the Family of Psittacidae, or Parrots is an 1832 book containing 42 hand-coloured lithographs by Edward Lear. He produced 175 copies for sale to subscribers as a part-publication, which were later bound as a book. Lear started painting parrots in 1830 when he was 18 years old, and to get material for his book he studied live birds at the London Zoo and in private collections. The latter included those of Edward Smith Stanley, later 13th Earl of Derby, who had a large menagerie at Knowsley Hall, and Benjamin Leadbeater, a taxidermist and trader in specimens. Lear drew onto lithographic plates for printing by Charles Joseph Hullmandel, who was known for the quality of his reproductions of fine art.

<i>A History of British Birds</i> (Yarrell book) Book by William Yarrell

William Yarrell's A History of British Birds was first published as a whole in three volumes in 1843, having been serialised, three sheets every two months, over the previous six years. It is not a history of ornithology but a natural history, a handbook or field guide systematically describing every species of bird known to occur in Britain. A separate article of about six pages, containing an image, a description, and an account of worldwide distribution, together with reports of behaviour, is provided for each species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Fussell</span> English painter

Alexander Fussell or Fussel was an English artist and illustrator. He drew the bird illustrations for William Yarrell's 1843 History of British Birds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Thompson (engraver)</span>

John Thompson was a British wood-engraver. He is best known for his contribution to William Yarrell's 1843 History of British Birds. He was described as the most distinguished wood-engraver of his time.

George Luxford was an English botanist, printer and journalist.

<i>A History of British Fishes</i> 1835–1836 book by William Yarrell

A History of British Fishes is a natural history book by William Yarrell, serialised in nineteen parts from 1835, and then published bound in two volumes in 1836. It is a handbook or field guide systematically describing every type of fish found in the British Isles, with an article for each species.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Mr. Van Voorst". The Athenaeum (3692): 159. 1898.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "John Van Voorst". Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London . From November 1898 to June 1899 (111): 61. 1899.
  3. Gill 2020.

Sources