1872.]. 4to, with four large folding charts, each 247 x 685mm, mounted on guards and with linen backed folds, each partially coloured; some occasional light soiling and staining, and with some minor creasing; in contemporary blue wrappers, with blue cloth back-strip, with printed paste downs, white printed label on upper cover, with a couple of small nicks to lower and outer margins, covers lightly soiled; with ownership signatures at head of upper wrapper; a good copy. A striking example of Victorian ‘infographics’. A later issue of this striking series of four engraved folding plates illustrating a chronology of British fossils: the tertiary division - pleistocene; the secondary division - cretaceous; Mesozoic; and palæozoic - permian. The final plates is the only one with an imprint, noting ‘Drawn by C. R. Bone, Compiled & Engraved by J. W. Lowry, London: Published by Edward Stanford, 12, 13, 14 Long Acre, W.C.’
According to the British Museum catalogue, the work first appeared in 1853 and was issued at that time by the CSPK, and were also available for purchase mounted on canvas and roller, varnished.
At some point, the noted map maker and seller Edward Stanford took over publication, possibly in 1872 based upon an advertisement from ‘The Teachers List’: ‘These diagrams, compiled by the eminent Scientific Men whose names are appended, and hitherto issued by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, will in future be published by Edward Stanford, 6 and 6 Charing Cross, London’ (advert from 1872 ‘The Teacher’s List’ p. 59). Growing in prominence, Stanford's moved to their print works to Long Acre in 1873. According to a list on the inside rear pastedown, this was the first in a series of published ‘Diagrams of Natural History’ published by Stanford.