Collecting the New Naturalists

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The Collins New Naturalist series is the longest-running and arguably the most influential natural history series in the world with over 120 volumes published in nearly 70 years.

Being a numbered series, with a very low print run for some volumes, New Naturalist publications have been and continue to be highly collectable. Second-hand copies of the rarer volumes, in very good condition, can command high prices. As such, there is considerable interest in a detailed bibliography and history of the series.

Collecting the New Naturalists offers a detailed insight into the fascinating phenomenon that has gripped Britain since just after World War II and which reflects the country’s continued enthusiasm for wildlife and nature publishing generally.

With previously unpublished in-depth insight into the workings of the series and its collectors, the book will comprehensively cover every aspect of the New Naturalists, from rare editions produced for Bloomsbury and the Reader’s Union to foreign editions, interviews with the iconic cover artists and well-known naturalists such as Nick Baker and Alan Titchmarsh telling the story of their own fascination with the series.

Reviews

Praise for the New Naturalist series:

‘Taken either individually or as a whole, they are one of the proudest achievements of modern publishing’ The Sunday Times

‘The series is an amazing achievement’ The Times Literary Supplement

‘The books are glorious to own’ Independent

About the author

Tim Bernhard has worked as a graphic designer for film and television in Bristol, Southampton and London and now works as a freelance natural history illustrator. He runs the New Naturalist Collectors Club in his spare time and has had a profound interest in all aspects of natural history since childhood. He has co-led a number of wildlife tours in Europe, Morocco and the Caucasus Mountains.

Timothy Loe spent his childhood in Africa and it was here that he developed a passion for natural history. Always an avid book collector, he gave up his career in landscape architecture to become a fulltime bookseller in 2002. Loe lives on the edge of Bodmin Moor in Cornwall with his wife, two children and a large collection of iris species.