On display today at the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium was an amazing collection of antiquarian books on coral and coral reefs, all part of the professional library of Dr. James W. Porter. Some of the books and prints stretched back 500 years. Five-hundred years!I stopped by to catch a glimpse of the holy grail of coral reef tomes (at least for me), Charles Darwin's The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs. And there it was--under a protective cover--a second edition copy with original fold-out illustrations of the formation of atolls. Last time I did a search for one of these on a rare books website it was listed at US$12,000.
A bit rich for my blood. But for today, looking was free.
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