Lee Finley
How Much is that Doggie in the Window – 1880s Style
Article by Lee Finley, which talks about Alfred W. Roberts and some of his work, such as selling plants to Barnum’s American Museum, becoming Director of Fisheries at Coup and ...
On Some Early Publications of The Boston Aquarium Society. Part One: The January, 1920 “The Daphnian”
The title of “The Daphnian” has long been attached to some publications of The Boston Aquarium Society [hereafter BAS]. Pictured above are copies of the covers of two such early ...
On the Interesting History of an Early Aquarium Article
In the November 3rd, 2023, issue of this web publication I presented an article under the title “DIY – Building your own Aquarium in 1862.” This was based on an ...
On the Track of What Might Well Be America’s First Aquarium Book
As I write this, the publication of the first two aquarium books in the United States has been documented (Finley, 2008). Both were published in 1858, and they are, in ...
William Alford Lloyd and His Connections to American Aquariums
In an obituary for U.K. master aquarist William Alford Lloyd the British journal Nature (July 29, 1880, Page 299) noted that he had been connected with the establishment of public ...
Follow-up on: Notes on a Supplement to C.H. Peters’ “Life and Love in the Aquarium”
In the May 2024 MOAPH release, issue number 21 (December 1987) of the Collectors of Aquarium Literature [CAL] was presented. This magazine, edited by Dave Hopp and Paul Harvey, is ...
Franklin Barrett – Between the Pages
As far back as I can remember I have always been a “book person”. The earliest memories of my things included a collection of Little Golden Books (mainly Disney titles) ...
Barnum’s Sticklebacks
When P.T. Barnum’s American Museum, at the corner of Broadway and Ann Street in Manhattan (New York City), opened America’s first public aquarium (“The Grand Aquaria”) in September 1857, it ...
William Alford Lloyd, the Aquarist, and His Cat, Mim
William Alford Lloyd is one of the greats of 19th Century aquarists – in many ways possibly the greatest of them all. It feels a bit strange doing a piece ...
DIY – Building your own Aquarium in 1862
As I believe I’ve noted before in this forum my main interest in the history of aquariums is firmly rooted in the 19th century. In the early stages of aquarium use ...
Goldfish – A Written and Visual Overview from the 1700s and Early 1800s
Almost four decades ago, I purchased, at a book and picture/plate dealer in Maine, two hand-colored plates of catfishes, which were accompanied by a single printed sheet of corresponding text ...
HAPPY VALENTINE!
In that it is February, a few Valentine cards came to mind, and I would like to use them herein to wish you and MOAPH a happy Valentine month. And ...
Little Things Mean A Lot: Notes on the William T. Innes Bookmark
When my long time friend Wayne Leibel passed away he, in his will, bequeathed to me his collection of aquarium books. Notable among these was a complete set of the ...
Living History from The Departed – Mervin F. Roberts
I had the initial pleasure of contacting Mervin Roberts (1922 – 2020) following a suggestion from Jim Atz, an old “fish friend” of his. This contact, via a long telephone ...
Book Review
A lot is known about Jeanne Villepreux-Power. But there is also a lot of uncertainty in some areas of her life. Consequently, the author wisely notes that “…you’ll come across ...
Coup’s Aquarium Is Coming To Town!! Redux
In the beginning stages of my interest in 19th century public aquaria I found the following quote from James G. Bertram’s book “The Harvest Of The Sea” (London, Third Edition, ...
“The Aquarium News”
The various publications produced by 19th Century public aquaria offer a good source of historical information relating to various aspects of their management and the variety of aquatic creatures under ...
Henry Bishop’s Columbus Aquarium
Photo of Henry Bishop featured in 1893 "Bishop the Bird Man's Book on the Care of Birds & Aquaria".Photo of Henry Bishop featured in 1886 "Bishop the Bird Man's Book ...
Victorian Trade Cards and the Pet Trade, an Initial Overview
Printed advertising of businesses has over its long history taken on many forms and it is a continually evolving process. Some forms of this have been long lasting (e.g., in ...