On Some Early Publications of the Boston Aquarium Society. Part Two: The 1931/1932 Show Publication “The Balanced Aquarium and Its Inhabitants.”
In their history of the Boston (Massachusetts) Aquarium Society George and Frieda Meserve (Circa 1964) noted that the society for some time published some pamphlets for their annual shows to help with expenses. These publications sold for 10 cents each and were also supported by some paid advertisements. Three such publications were noted to have been produced between 1931 and 1934. There are indications that copies of the last of these publications were also available in 1935. This will be discussed in Part Four which will be the wrap up of this series.
The first of these publications, which was available in 1931 and 1932, was titled “The Balanced Aquarium and Its Inhabitants” which was written by Walter H. Chute. It was published in a nine by six and a quarter inch stapled spine format. The cover is of a heavier grade of paper than that of the text. The color of the copy at hand, which is marked “Second Printing”, is green. There are three pages of advertisements (not including those on the covers) and five pages of text. For completeness, there are two small ads on the bottom of the last text page, one of which is for the club. Chute when he was the secretary of the club had published an article of the same name in the January 1921 issue of the club publication “The Daphnian” (Finley, 2025). So, it is presumed that the 1931/1932 publication is a reprint of that original article. No copy of this earlier publication is currently available so there is no way to check this. But the “newer” publication does present at least one slight clue in that Chute does reference his earlier 1920 article on live foods which appeared in the 1920 issue of “The Daphnian.” The person in charge of producing this new publication was Eugenia Shorrock, the club’s Corresponding Secretary, a very talented aquarist and publicist. She also took charge of later producing two additional similar publications. These will be covered in parts three and four of this series of articles. It should also be noted that at the time of this 1931/1932 publication Chute was in Chicago (Illinois) serving as the Director of the John G. Shedd Aquarium. Shorrock noted this on the cover of the publication.
As to the year of publication of the 1931 pamphlet, it can be noted that in the Home Aquarium Bulletin (HAB) on page 17 of its premier issue (March 1931) stated that “A very interesting pamphlet has just been brought to our attention.” The club show where this book was offered for sale took place from February seventh to the fourteenth, 1931. This publication was noted in HAB to be “The Balanced Aquarium and Its Inhabitants” which was stated to be “…very well written…”. This Chute piece would have been the first of the series of publications that the club produced up through 1935. This brings us to the hard copy at hand, mentioned above, which is noted to be a “Second Printing.” The club’s 1932 annual show was held again in February 1932 (the sixth through the thirteenth) and a pamphlet of the same title was again available for sale but now noted on the cover to be a “Second Printing”. Not only was it available at the show but the club was also advertising it for general sales to the hobby (at the same 10 cent price) in various aquarium publications. For example, see the April 1932 issue of Aquatic Life, page 346. For additional assistance on dating this volume the advertisement inside the front cover makes the following statement: “After March 1st,1932 see us in our new store at 761 Center Street”. Such secondary information can always be useful as a dating tool. This specific kind of information, in my opinion, is not something that would have been written in the February of 1931 available publication.
With the above in place what follows for your reading pleasure, and the historical record, is a full copy of the 1932 publication. The original copy of this will shortly reside in the MOAPH library.
Finley, L. 2025. On Some Early Publications of the Boston Aquarium Society. Part One: The January 1920 “The Daphnian.” Museum of Aquarium and Pet History (Web: https//moaph.org) August. 10 pages.
Meserve, George and Frieda. No date but apparently finished in 1964. History of the Boston Aquarium Society, Inc. Published monthly in 19 chapters in the Boston Aquarium News beginning in January 1973. (Available at https://bostonaquariumsociety.org)
Sausaman, Jare A. 1994. Aquatic Societies and Periodicals of the New World (A Check List). Privately published; limited to 15 copies. 234 pages.
