1882. 8vo, pp. viii, 614; with two hand-coloured steel engraved full-page plates (including frontispiece), together with numerous text engravings; some occasional light marginal foxing and soiling, but otherwise clean and crisp; in contemporary half calf over marbled boards, all edges marbled, spine in compartments with raised bands, ruled and tooled in gilt, with blue morocco lettering label, head and tail of spine and joints lightly rubbed, with some minor rubbing to extremities; small ex-libris label on front paste-down; an attractive copy. First edition of this what is considered by herpetologists to be the first popular work on snakes in the English language, by Catherine Cooper Hopley (1817-1911), the English travel writer, artist and naturalist. The work is notable for her detailed research, and was an early advocacy of snake conservation, emphasizing the importance of a better understanding of the species. It was one of a number of important herpetological works published by Hopley, at a time when the field was predominantly male-dominated.
In addition to her scientific works, Hopley is also known for her works on the American Civil War under the pen name Sarah L. Jones, and based upon her own experiences having spent several years in the US prior to and during the war, her brother John (1821-1904) having emigrated to Ohio where he was a noted publisher and political figure. During her travels in the US Catherine met several Confederate leaders, including Jefferson Davies, Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. A personal friend of Mrs Lucretia Garfield, the widow of President James A. Garfield, and a governess to the children of Florida governor John Milton, she was clearly a determined character. Her frequent correspondence back home to the London press recounting her experiences, led some Virginians to accuse her of being a spy for the North. Whilst she opposed slavery, and was in theory neutral, her books relating to her experiences at the time do reflect racist attitudes towards slavery.
Hopley returned home to England in 1863, and having already undertaken some herpetological field work whilst in Ohio, became increasingly interested in reptiles and amphibians, working for a time in the Gardens of the London Zoological Society. The British Quarterly Review described the present work as ‘the most thorough, the most complete, and the most popularly readable that has been published in English on the subject.’ Snakes includes detailed observation of feeding behaviour in snakes, including the mechanism by which Xenodon snakes erect their teeth in a viper-like fashion, an observation that predates those by E. G. Boulenger (generally credited with the description) by over 30 years’ (see Kraig Adler, Kraig "Hopley, Catherine C. (1817–1911)" in Contributions to the History of Herpetology. Vol. 2. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles (2007), pp. 110–111). The work provides a comprehensive exploration of the natural history and cultural perceptions of snakes, and offers detailed descriptions of various species, their behaviours, and environments. It is notable for its thorough research and accessible presentation. She subsequently published a survey of British amphibians and reptiles in 1888.
Catherine had two other brothers: Edward Hopley (1816-1869) the noted painter and entomologist, and Thomas who was convicted of the manslaughter of a student.