My name is Dave Rayburn and I have been a member of this club for over five years, but have never written an article for our newsletter The Calquarium (for shame for shame). I am not a hermit even though you don’t see me at any of the meetings or most of the club functions. I reside in the dreaded city to the north called Edmonton, but most of the old timers from the club know me. You can usually find me at our annual fish show and auction in each September.

Having been in this hobby for over ten years, I got into the situation that I had sold too many fish and had some extra money. I couldn’t spend any more money on tanks or equipment for my fish room (which already has over fifty tanks), as I did not have any more space for more. So what I got myself into was book and magazine collecting. It all started when I became the Exchange Editor for the Aquarium Club of Edmonton. In some of these newsletters there are fantastic articles from other clubs.

Now after all these years my collection is up to 5000 magazines and over 300 books. And over the years I have found out how hard it is to find some books. Why can’t we find those books or magazines from the early 1900s? There are two basic answers that I think I have discovered: One is that most aquarists do not last more than five years in the hobby, and most of their books and magazines are then stored in the basement in boxes and forgotten. Some time later the former aquarist has passed into fish heaven and the kids clean up the basement. So these books or magazines usually end up in the garbage. That is sad even if they are damaged because we might lose the very last copy of a particular book or magazine in this way. The second reason is the way hobbyists take care of their reading material. When you first started in this hobby where did you put your first book or magazine? Of course, it was next to (or under) the aquarium stand. What is wrong with this is the next time you did a water change… well, I don’t have to tell you what happened next. The point is that books and magazines will not mix well with any kind of water, and to try it is to create a disaster in waiting. I try to never even have them on the same floor as the water. Exposing them to the humidity in the fish room is just as bad.

So a few years ago I decided to do something about this problem. Because I have access to more information that most hobbyists do, I made a list of the old books and magazines that I know about. Listed by: book or magazine, title, date, author, about the author, and about the book itself; they are:

1. Book: History of British Sponges, (1842), by Dr. Johnstone. Describes the first marine aquarium in a glass jar (England).
2. Book: The Aquarium: an Unveiling of the Wonders of the Deep Sea, (1854), by Philips H. Gosse (London: Van Voorst). The author of this book was one of the first persons to talk and write about aquaria. He is considered by some people to be the founder of our hobby.
3. Book: The Book Of The Aquarium (1856), by Shirley Hibberd, horticulturist, Fellow of the Royal Society of Horticulturists (England).
4. Book: The Family Aquarium, or Aqua Vivarium, (1858), by Henry D. Butler and was published by Dick & Fitzgerald Publishers in New York and had 121 pages. He wrote one of the first two books ever written on subject in America. He worked at P. T. Barnum’s American Museum in New York City in the early 1850s when this was published. There was two variants that have a 1858 copyright notice. One had hand-coloured plate, across from the title page and it size is about 20cm X 13cm. There are three different colour of bindings of this book (blue, brown and reddish). The second lacks the colour plate and was about 20cm X 11cm. You can see the cover of this book in Aquarium Fish Monthly, June 1999, pg. 62.
5. Book: Life Below the Waters or the Aquarium in America, (1858), by Arthur M. Edwards. One of the first two books ever written on subject in America. It was published by H. Boiler Publishers, New York and London, England and had 168 pages. This book has ten uncoloured lithographic plates and a number of text drawings.
6. Book: Fresh And Salt Aquarium, (1865) This is not a book but more of a long report of 25 pages for the US Government. Its author Robert A. West was one of the best author in the 1800s and did much to promote this hobby in newspapers and magazines of that time. This was a Report Of The Commissioner of Agriculture For The Year 1864, published in 1865, Washington, Pages 446-470. This paper had more text than the two books of 1858.
7. Book: The American Parlor Aquarium or Fluvial Aqua Vivarium, (1866) This book is one of the rarest of the aquarium books in the 1800s. John H. Collier was listed as the senior author, but the person who actually wrote the book is in question. John H. Collier was the publisher in New York, and it had 144 pages. This book was the first book to be only about freshwater fish in North America. This book also reported the first spawning of a catfish (the bullhead), and was the first for describing a new species of fish in aquarium literature.
8. Magazine: New York Aquarium Journal, first aquarium society newsletter published in America (and probably the world). Started semi-monthly and changed shortly afterward to monthly. The first issue was in October 1876 the last (issue No. 10) was in May 1877. Edited by W. S. Ward (naturalist).
9. Magazine: The Aquarium, First published in Cincinnati in the year 1878. Hugo Mulertt published two volumes of this magazine, suspending publication in 1881 or 1882 (exact year not known). Hugo Mulertt resumed publication in 1892 in Brooklyn, New York. Vol. III and after were published quarterly, with the last issue in 1897.
10. Book: Ocean Wonders, (1879), by William E. Damon, This book was published D. Appleton and Company, New York. This book has 229 pages. It is not an aquarium book but the last chapter of 43 pages is well-illustrated and has a chapter on salt & freshwater aquaria. Early copies were bound in cloth but the reprints (189’s) were bound with illustrated board. He was one of the first to maintain saltwater tanks and transport ocean fish from the tropics.
11. Book: The Goldfish and Its Culture, (1883), by Hugo Mulertt, 1883. This is first English edition of this book. There were six editions: two in German and 1883, 1896, 1902 and 1910 editions in English. Self-published in Cincinnati, Ohio, and later (1910) in Brooklyn, New York. The 1883 edition had 108 pg., with six pages of ads. Reprints were revised and expanded so that by 1910 this book had 152 pages and three of ads. This book was the standard for the hobby and ranks in the top three aquarium books ever published in America. A picture of front cover can be seen in Aquarium Fish Monthly, June 1999, pg. 58.
12. Book: The Aquarium As An Aid To Biological Research, (1883), by William P. Seal. The author invented the use of Daphnia as fish food. He also has articles in the magazine The Aquarium.
13. Book: The Amateur Aquarist, (1894, 3rd edition), by Mark Samuel, had 114 pages. It was a hardcover book, published by Baker & Taylor Co., N.Y. The author owned an aquarium store and was a consultant to Columbia University. He was one of the first to advocate for self-sustaining aquaria. This book is about goldfish and plants and has 29 pages on them. It also has the first to mention paradise fish. This book also has three charts for problems you might encounter, just like you see in many of the books of today. A picture of the front cover can be seen in Aquarium Fish Monthly, June 1999, pg. 57.
14. Book: Aquaria, (1898), by Chas. N. Page, 62 pages plus index & ads. Self published by Homestead Press, Des Moines, Iowa. A soft cover book. This book was reprinted many times, and well into the 20th century. This book might be one of the first mass-market books as pet stores carried it. Also one copy even has the interior photo of a Philadelphia pet store printed on the rear cover. A picture of the front cover can be seen in Aquarium Fish Monthly, June 1999, pg. 64.
15. Book: Author Dr. Emil Bade came to the US in early 1900s, and was well known in Germany. He produced books in German in 1896, 1897, 1898, 1899, and two books in 1890. They are not listed here because all published in Germany and in German. But information can be found in The Aquarium, 7/68, p55.
16. Book: The Home Aquarium . . . How To Care For It, (1902), by Eugene Smith. This book had 213 pages, line drawings, and was a hard cover. It was published by E.P. Dutton & Co., N.Y. The author was the instigator of organised aquarium activity in America, In Dec. 1896 he was one of the founders of "The Aquarium Society", located in Jersey City, New Jersey. He was also was the first editor of The Aquarium in April 1912 and unexpectedly died in Dec. 1912. He was one of the first people to call an aquarium a "tank" in his book. It lists several cold water native fish such as minnows, sticklebacks, killifish, sunfish and bullheads. It also covers some exotic fish such as the labyrinth fishes and some goldfish.
17. Book: The Aquarium, (1904), by Taylor. I have not found any additional information on this book.
18. Book: Goldfish Breeds and other Aquarium Fishes: A Guide to Freshwater and Marine Aquaria, Their Fauna, Flora and Management, (1908 ), by Herman T. Wolf. This book had 385 pages, 15 chapters, and 280 beautifully illustrated drawing. Only 1000 copies were printed. This book was written from detailed notes written at meetings of The Aquarium Society of Philadelphia (founded in 1898) in 1900. Published by Innes & Sons, Philadelphia, PA. This book was handset and printed by the famous Innes Jr.. It covers most of the aspects of this hobby that was known at that time. It also to formed the basis for Innes’ books, published at a later date.
19. Book: Goldfish Aquaria and Ferneries (1908), by Chester Reed of Worcester Massachusetts. Who was a naturalist and taxidermist that had written other books on birds and flowers. It was published by Doubleday & Page, Co., N.Y., and had 185 pages, with 49 original drawings. It size was 13cm X 32cm, on the cover it had green fibercloth with stamped gilded impressions of the title and goldfish. The cover can be seen on page 68, Aquarium Fish Monthly, 8/99. It has 168 pages in part 1 (on the aquarium) and it has a second part of 16 pages called "the fernery". This book is very rare.
20. Book: Fresh Water And Its Inhabitants, (1908), by Otto Eggeling and Frederick Ehrenberg. This book was published by Henry Holt Pub., N.Y. It has 352 pages. The book is considered my some to be a catalogue of the fish that were kept at this time. This book was one of the first on how to use aeration for aquaria with air pressure and steam generators.
21. Book: Japanese Goldfish: Their Varieties and Cultivation, (1909) by Dr. Hugh M. Smith, Published by W.F. Roberts Co. It had 112 pages. This book had ten coloured plates of Japanese goldfish that were taken from original watercolours painted by J. Urata. The author travelled two times to Japan to get information on goldfish companies and get first hand information from their owners. This book covers goldfish history in Japan and the US, types, breeding, feeding, disease and even judging standards. The author was the US Deputy commissioner of Fisheries and at a later date (1923 to 1935) he was to become Commissioner, an Adviser in Fisheries to the Siamese Government and associate curator in zoology at the US National Museum. He was a trained and practising ichthyologist. He also wrote The Freshwater Fishes of Siam, or Thailand, which was published four years after his death in 1945.
22. Book: Aquaria Fish, (1911), by Frank L. Tappen. It had 96 pages and was a soft cover book or booklet, and was self-published in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The author was a breeder and dealer of aquarium fish. This was one of the last American booklets to have hand coloured plates. The first 40 pages were devoted to care and breeding of the paradise fish, and were very detailed. The last 56 pages were about maintenance and sections on goldfish, native fish, and plants. This book was one of the first to advocate water changes. A picture of the front cover can be seen in Aquarium Fish Monthly, August 1999 on pg. 67.
23. Magazine: The Bulletin, published by Brooklyn Aquarium Society, The third aquarium magazine in America. First issue appeared in May 1911, originally planned as monthly, but the second issue appeared in Sept. 1911. It did appear monthly until the spring of 1912. It was 9x12 in. and frequently only four pages long. De Voe was its first editor, but in Sept. 1911 Dr. Rudolph Lienau became the second. The Nov. 1911 issue was about the first article on the guppy in America. In August 1915 the society resumed publication (monthly) until Aug. 1919, when the editor was E. J. Wilco.
24. Magazine: The Aquarium, On Jan. 21, 1912 Innes and a member of the Philadelphia Society went to the Brooklyn Aquarium Society and proposed to jointly publish this magazine between four aquarium clubs in the eastern US in the cities of New York, Brooklyn, Chicago, and Philadelphia. The Brooklyn Aquarium Society agreed to merge its newsletter with this magazine. In April 1912 the first issue was produced with Eugene Smith as editor-in-chief. This magazine was published monthly (except July and August). It was also the first to have an "exchange" column. Eugene Smith died Dec. 1912 and William T. Innes became acting editor for its last seven issues. In Feb. 1914 it ran into financial difficulty and that was the last issue. The price was 10 cents and it had a veiltail goldfish on its cover
25. Magazine: Aquarium News and Views, Published by the Aquarium Society of Philadelphia, from Jan., 1914 to 1918.
26. Book: The Care of Home Aquarium, (1914) by Raymond Osburn. Was published as a hard and soft cover with 63 pages. It was published by New York Zoological Society. The hardcover had the New York Aquarium seahorse logo stamped on the cover as part of their nature series. It first appeared as a New York Zoological Society bulletin as The Balanced Aquarium of which only 1000 copies were made in 1912. This bulletin was sold at the New York Aquarium, and sold out very quickly. Then in 1914 Osburn republished the book that had been rewritten and extended by him. This book has much to say about how this hobby was evolving. Discussed were aeration, electrical technology, the fish that were kept, and aquarium societies.
27. Magazine: Aquatic Life, The first really important national magazine lasted for 35 years. Sept. 1915 was the first issue with William A. Poyser as editor (he was the former editor of The Aquarium, 1913). Published by Joseph E. Bausman (a well-known Philadelphia aquarist), it was a monthly. It was not published in 1921, 1922 or 1941. Also some odd months were not missed. The last issue was Jan. 1942. In Oct. 1915 was the first published account of breeding angelfish in America. The Feb. 1916 issue had the first colour photo of aquarium fish ever to appear in a US magazine. In Jan. 1921 George S. Myers of Hudson Country Aquarium Society of Jersey City (a distinguished ichthyologists). wrote an article for this magazine called The Labyrinth Fishes.
28. Magazine: The Aquatic World, published by August M. Roth, who owned a printing and publishing firm in Baltimore, Maryland. He also published Pet Shop News and The Pet Stock World. In the latter magazine there was a regular column called The Aquatic World that evolved into this publication. The editor was S. Chichester Lloyd of St. Louis. Only three magazines were ever published.
29. Book: Goldfish Varieties and Tropical Aquarium, (1917 first edition), (1921), by William T. Innes. Published by Innes & Sons, Philadelphia, PA in hard cover. It had 270 pages and size was 16x24 cm. Illustrations were black and white with two colour plates. By 1932 it was to reach its 32nd edition. Innes bought the rights from Wolf, paying for copyright plus royalty. He then rewrote and re-illustrated portions of Wolf’s book Goldfish Breeds and Other Aquarium Fishes. The 3rd edition in 1926, George Myers collaborated in the tropical fish part of this book.
30. Magazine: The Pennsylvania Fish Culturist (1920s). J. Louis Troemner of Philadelphia established this newsletter, which was published by The Pennsylvania Fish Culturists’ Society. This person specialised in rare characins.
31. Magazine: The Daphnian, Published by the Boston Aquarium Society. Although started as a periodical, it was published annually. Only three issues were published: 1919, 1920, and 1921. The president at the time was C. L. Hauthaway. This magazine was the work of its secretary, Walter H. Chute, who later became the Director of the famous Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. Many of the articles in this magazine were written by Chute. He advertised as a fish breeder, sold white worms, ground shrimp, and ran a set-up and maintenance service.
32. Magazine: Aquarium News, published by the Ridgewood Aquarium of Ridgewood, Long Island, N.Y. The first issue was Sept. 1921. Its editor was Christof H. Berneburg. This magazine did not last long.
33. Magazine: Aquatic News, published by the Toronto Goldfish Society of Canada. This eight-page magazine appeared regularly between 1925 to 1926. Innes and E. Calver Bayliss were contributors in articles to this magazine. Articles were on all subjects, not just goldfish. It did not last long.
34. Magazine: Aquarium Bulletin published by the Aquarium Society of St. Louis in 1926. It was edited by D. Millar, and did not last long.
35. Book: The Modern Aquarium, (1926), by William T. Innes, and published by the Innes Publ. Co. in Philadelphia., PA. A 72 page booklet under a soft cover.
36. Book: Fishes in the Home, (1927, 1931) by Ida Mellen, New York Zoological Society, New York. It was published by Dodd, Mead & Co., Inc. of New York. This book was a hardcover with 173 pages and the size was 13x10 cm with illustrations in black and white. The author was the Secretary of the New York Aquarium, and later rose to the position of Chief Aquarist of the New York Aquarium. She was one of the great aquarists during this time. She wrote the article The Fresh-water Shrimp for the N.Y. Zoological Society Bulletin in 1919, Effects of Captivity on a Sex Character for Science in 1922, and Goldfish Mortality for the Pet Dealer in 1928.
37. Book: Young Folks’ Book of Fishes, (1927) by Ida Mellen. Was published by Dodd, Mead & Co., Inc. of New York. It had 160 printed pages in the 1932 edition.
38. Magazine: The Aquarium or Aquarium Journal. The first and second editions were published by San Francisco Aquarium Society. The Aquarium was first published on Sept. 1928, and on Sept. 1929 was renamed Aquarium Journal. The Society maintained a close relationship with the California Academy of Sciences and the Steinhart Aquarium. George S. Myers was an outstanding ichthyologist and was the president in 1929. This magazine was published until Dec. 1943, resumed (after W.W.II) in Jan. 1946 and survived to Dec. 1965. Normally ten issues were published per year.
39. Magazine: Home Aquarium Bulletin, (1931). A club publication of the Newark Aquarium Society, started in March, 1931. It was so popular that after twelve issues it became a commercially printed magazine. The managing editor was George C. Hindenlang. It was a monthly magazine with editor Charles H. Peters, the president of the club. Many people of this time thought of this magazine as the finest aquarium magazine ever published. Some of the writers were Dr. Carl L. Hubbs (a renowned ichthyologist), Dr. Myron Gordon (an eminent ichthyologist and geneticist that studied under Hubbs), and also one Milton Schoenfeld was a prolific contributor. He was an instructor in biology at a New York University and did experimental work with tropical fish. As a side note in his spare time manufactured fish food under the name Longlife that is still produced to this day. Henry Uhlig (a professional illustrator) designed the covers for the magazine. During 1936 the magazine was in financial trouble and its editor Charles H. Peters had personal problems that resulted in his suicide. Then in 1936 George C. Hindenlang decided to have the magazine absorbed into All-pets Magazine instead of publishing it alone. Hindenlang joined the staff and became aquaria editor. Once he had started the name of the magazine changed to All-Pets and Home Aquarium Bulletin. The fish section in this magazine usually had 21 pages. When Hindenlang retired some years later, the aquarium section lost its identity.
40. Magazine: The Aquarium, (1932), The first issue was May, 1932 and it ran to Jan. 1967. It was edited by William T. Innes. It was also published by him and his brother Edward K. Innes at Innes Publishing Co. Edward was the person behind the scenes that helped launch the magazine and was instrumental in its publishing success. He also negotiated the distribution of the magazine through the American News Company in June 1932. In June 1932, the second issue sold 5,500 copies, unheard of figure for the times and type of magazine. One year later they printed 15,000 copies! It was of the first to use colour plates of fish on its on the cover. The editorial staff of this magazine included Dr. Myron Gordon a outstanding ichthyologist and geneticist that helped in identifying new and old fish. Professor John A. Timm a teacher and aquarist. Allen S. Moody, whose job it was to check reports, material, and travel for new information. He could write well and contributed much to this magazine. Frederick H. Stoye was an associate editor, wrote major articles, edited a monthly column, and translated material from German for the magazine.
41. Magazine: Aquariana (1930s). In June of 1932 this magazine was started and was edited by Elbert A. Dulfer. This commercial magazine was the first for the West Coast and was published in San Francisco. It was printed by the Dulfer Publishing Co. and had colour plates on the cover. In September 1933 it changed hands and its editor was then Stuart B. Tinsley. It disappeared soon after.
42. Book: Tropical Fishes for the Home, Their Care and Propagation, was published in 1932 (1st ed.) by Empire Tropical Fish Import Co. in a hard cover book. It had 215 pages of text plus 163 illustration pages with sketches in black and white and 40 colour plates. It was approximately 13cm X 18cm in size. The 2nd ed. was in 1935 revised and enlarged to 283 pages of text and with 167 illustrations. The author Frederick H. Stoye was born in Saxony, Germany and came to the U.S. in 1911 as a telegraph operator. This book was first printed in Germany but the second edition was in the U.S. He contributed to most American aquarium magazines on a frequent basis and was on the staff of The Aquarium as an associate editor. The number of articles from this person was truly astounding. This book also described over 400 species of fish.
43. Magazine: Fish Fancier (1930s). This was published in Los Angeles and was a commercial magazine. But it did not last very long.
44. Magazine: Aquarium News (1930s). Published by The Rochester (New York) Aquarium Society. Ten issues a year (monthly, but July and August were not published). January 1934 was the first issue and was edited by George H. Sly, Jr. Their advertising manager was Howard C. Damond, a distant nephew William Emerson Damon, one of the pioneer aquarists. Its writers included Myron Gordon, Gilbert P. Whitley of Australia, Paul B. Tolle, and even C. H. Peters. The writers carried the publication until 1938 when it finally quit publishing after four years after the start of the magazine.
45. Book: Tropical Fishes For A Private Aquarium. Published in 1933, authored by Christopher W. Coats of the New York Aquarium. What is unusual about this book is the title on the outside of this book is Tropical Fishes as Pets. It was published by Liveright Publication in New York and is a hard cover book. It has 226 pages and approximately 13cm x 18cm in size. It has mostly black and white illustrations and one colour plate. This book is not a reference work but in each chapter it discusses specific groups or families of fish, which makes it easy reading.
46. Book: Life and Love in the Aquarium, Published in 1934, authored by Charles H. Peters who was the editor of the magazine Home Aquarium Bulletin. Published by Empire Tropical Fish Co. from New York. It was a hardcover book with 399 pages and approximately 13cm X 18cm in size. It has black and white and colour drawings by Henry Uhlig. This book was mainly a catalogue of fish drawing that were sometime copied from old German works. Sometimes the scientific names and identifications were not always correct. The reason for this presumably was to have this book published before Innes’ Exotic Aquarium Fishes that was known to be in preparation. However this was a very good book for its time.
47. Book: 1001 Questions Answered About Your Aquarium (1935), by Ida Mellen (former Chief Aquarist of the New York Aquarium) and Robert J. Lanier (former Superintendent of the Steinhart Aquarium in San Francisco, Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, and foreman of the New York Aquarium). Published by Dodd, Mead & Co., NY in hardcover with 450 pp. (15cm X 20cm). Illustrated in black and white. Sometimes the question and answer arrangement could be frustrating, but this was Ida’s monumental masterpiece that she was best known for in her time. As a footnote it actually has 1074 questions.
48. Book: Exotic Aquarium Fishes. This most famous book first appeared in May 1935, and was authored by William T. Innes who went on to published 19 editions. Published by Innes Publishing Co., Philadelphia it was a hardcover book. It had black and white and colour photos and drawings. Its approximate size is 16cm X 23cm. It took approximately three years to complete this book, with all illustrations by Innes. This book is the bible of the aquarium hobby to this day. There were four more revisions published by TFH after the original nineteen Innes’ publishing editions.
49. Magazine: Home Aquarium News, In 1936, The Aquatic Life Society of Cleveland started this bulletin. Its editor was William J. Connelly. It had one page and circulation of twenty. In early 1937 it expanded into a twenty-page bulletin prepared with the spirit duplication (Ditto) process and on April 1937 it went "commercial" and was professionally printed. It did not last long.