The stout yeoman and (among others) the father-lasher and the coney-fish

A History of British Fishes, by William Yarrell; the third edition, edited by Sir John Richardson. 2 vols, 1859.

Mr Yarrell having died in 1856, this edition includes a memoir of him, in which he is described thus: "His aspect was that of a stout yeoman ... his mild but fearless eye, and his open forehead, showed, even to a stranger, a man at peace with himself and with his fellow men." His portrait does indeed show a man with an open countenance, and an intent gaze, as if he is considering what the species and characteristics of the portrait-maker might be. He was a great collector and student of natural history specimens, and his History of British Fishes was first published serially in 1835-36; according to the Oxford DNB, in this work "he paid particular attention to species that were a source of food, and he would often eat the specimens he collected to test whether they might be added to those known to be fit for the table." He also seems to have been a careful collector of vernacular fish-names -- my eye was caught by the long-spined sea bullhead, also known as the father-lasher, rock dolphin or lucky proach; the ocellated blenny, or butterfly fish; the great pipe-fish or needle-fish, known in Scotland as the tangle-fish; the twaite-shad; and the burbot or eelpout, "sometimes called the Coney-fish, from its habit of lurking and hiding itself in holes like a rabbit."

A linguistic pioneer

In a series of reprints of French historical documents comes L'éclaircissement de la langue française, by Jean Palsgrave, published in Paris in 1852. That's interesting, I thought - a Frenchman with what looks like an English surname. Then I came to a facsimile of the title page of the original (published in 1530), where he is described as "maistre Jehan Palsgraue Angloys natyf de Londres" and to the main text, which is in English (albeit Tudor English - "The true soundynge of the french tonge resteth in gyvyng to every frenche worde by hymselfe his naturall frenche sounde, and in soundynge frenche wordes, as they come to gether in sentences, lyke as the frenchmen use to do" - and some of it somewhat technical - "In the thyrde accident, that is to say, circumlocutynge of the preter tenses they differ moche from verbes actives"). So I looked up Palsgrave in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography and found John Palsgrave, died 1554 - an interesting man, who was tutor to Henry VIII's sister Mary prior to her marriage to King Louis XII of France, and later to Henry's illegitimate son Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond. His great work on the French language was a pioneering endeavour to enable speakers of English to converse fluently in French as it was spoken at the time, which he did by means of in-depth linguistic analysis of the vernacular of both languages, making him a fascinating source for the history of both languages.

Another distinctive name

Two dialogues in English, between a doctor of divinity, and a student in the laws of England, of the grounds of the said laws, and of conscience (London, 1687) has an ownership signature of Lupton Topham -- whose name reminds me irresistibly of Lipton's Tea! Do a Google search, and the first result which comes up is the online version of the Victoria County History, for vol. 1 of the history of the North Riding of Yorkshire, entry for the parish of Coverham, from which I learn the following:

"The Fitz Hughs retained Bellerby, and in 1518 Sir Thomas Parr was said to have died seised of the manor of Coverham, although his title was disputed by Lord Scrope of Bolton. The manor probably escheated on the attainder of William Parr, Marquess of Northampton, in 1553. From this time its descent is obscure, but it was probably, like the demesne lands of Middleham (q.v.), mortgaged by the Crown and ultimately sold to the freeholders. From the freeholders it has probably been purchased in recent times by the Tophams, Thomas Topham being lord in 1879 and Mr. Lupton Topham Topham of Lutterworth, Leicestershire ... being the present lord."

I am learning miscellaneous heraldic terms, in pursuit of the identification of owners of heraldic bookplates, but I think mastering the technicalities of land tenure terms is probably beyond the call of duty!

The next Google result takes me to ancestry.com, which has records for three Lupton Tophams, the first of whom (born 1702, died 1769) was born to parents named Christopher Topham and Barbara Lupton, but the other two of whom had fathers named William and William Watkinson -- plus a Lupton Topham Topham whose father was Edward Charles Topham. So the name doesn't seem to have passed directly from father to son. There is probably an extremely tedious thesis to be written on the subject of the use of surnames as forenames ... !

More and more Moriers

(or possibly - those of a sensitive disposition may wish to look away now - The More The Morier)

An Enquiry into the Foundation and History of the Law of Nations in Europe (2 vols, 1795), by Robert Ward, has the signature D. R. Morier on the title page. Looking this up on OLIS, the University library catalogue, I found: Morier, David R. (David Richard), 1784-1877. Looking up David Richard Morier in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, I found I'd already looked up his son, Sir Robert Morier, while researching Sir Robert's grand-daughter, who became the Hon. Mrs Cunnack (see entry for 24 May 2012). But the bookplates in Ward's Enquiry state clearly "d.d. The Hon. Mrs Cunnock, 1955" -- given that title and date are the same, and the surname differs in only one letter, I think this must be a lapse in concentration on the part of a predecessing librarian. Next on the shelf is The Law of Natiions, Founded on the Treaties and Customs of the Modern Nations of Europe, translated from the German of Prof. G. F. von Martens and published in 1803. On the title page are three signatures: in the middle, below the title, is that of D. R. Morier; below it, above the imprint, is that of R. B. D. Morier, with the date March 1855 -- that must be D.R.'s son, Robert Burnet David -- and at the top of the title page is another Morier signature, with initials J. P., and in the ODNB is an entry for D.R.'s eldest brother, John Philip. All three Moriers were diplomats, who would have had an interest in international law. Given the coincidence of initials, I think it's certain that the Morier family who owned these books and the Moriers in the ODNB are the same, and that the Hon. Mrs Cunnack (not Cunnock) is the former Hon. Alice Elizabeth Millicent Erskine-Wemyss (although I still don't know her connection to Somerville).

Another exotic-looking name

Bound with the Manuel des consuls de commerce is a copy, published in 1826, of De la juridiction des consuls de France a l'étranger, by the Chevalier Laget de Podio -- about whom I can find nothing, save that a M. Laget de Podio was among those on board the Carlo Alberto arrested during the Duchesse de Berri's failed attempt to restore the Bourbon monarchy in 1832.

This is War

Manuel des consuls de commerce, des négocians maritimes et des armateurs en course, by Louis Lareynie-Labruyere (whose full name, apparently, was Jean-Baptiste-Marie-Louis La Reynie de La Bruyère), published in Paris in 1809 --

Included at the beginning are various decrees issued by the Emperor Napoleon relating to a trade blockade of the British Isles. Any ship, of whatever nation and whatever her cargo, setting sail from an English port, or from an English colony, or from land occupied by English troops, is a legitimate prize, and liable to capture by French warships or privateers.

More royals

The supporters on my mystery coat of arms (I discovered after a bit of investigation of heraldic beasts, where it was sorely tempting to be sidetracked!) are yales, and the arms are those of Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII, who founded, and whose arms are used by, both St John's and Christ's Colleges, Cambridge (as are her Tudor rose and portcullis badges). So how does a Cambridge college binding come to be in Somerville? The donor of the book was Mrs Octavia Adler, whose address is given in an old copy of the college register as "Kings and Princes, West Chiltington, Sussex". And there is indeed an 18th century farmhouse called Kings and Princes in West Chiltington - although not even Google can satisfy my curiosity as to how it came by that name! Google can, however, supply the information that her husband Herbert Marcus Adler was an alumnus of St John's College, Cambridge - so I assume he either had his own book bound in a college binding, or acquired the book from the college by some (I hope legitimate!) means.