Gilbert White Around the World
Gilbert White’s The Natural History of Selborne is often quoted to be the fourth most published book in the English language, based on the remarkable fact that it has never been out of print since its publication in 1789.
The museum houses hundreds of different editions spanning 231 years. There are different editors, different impressions, different covers, and different illustrations, it has also been published in many languages other than English.
The Natural History of Selborne is seen by many as being quintessentially English, but White’s work was first published internationally in 1792, ten years before Britain would see a second edition. Subsequent international publications and translations have reached not only Europe but North America, Australasia and Asia. Readers across the world have read and been inspired by Gilbert White’s words about the natural world and a little village in the south of England that changed the face of natural history for ever.