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Sir William Jackson Hooker, the eminent British botanist, is perhaps best known as a visionary director of Kew Gardens. His account of his first overseas expedition, made to Iceland in 1809, was written from memory after his notes and specimens were destroyed by fire on the return voyage.

First published in Germany in 1855 by the mineralogist Georg Landgrebe (1802-1872), this two-volume work presented the natural history of volcanoes for educated general readers. It reflects the lively scientific debates of its day as it describes the world's volcanoes, their activity, and rocks and minerals occurring around them.

An 1896 life, by his collaborator Jules Marcou, of Swiss-born palaeontologist, glaciologist and zoologist Louis Agassiz (1807-1873). Volume 1 traces his childhood, early scientific and professional success, ending with his arrival in America and his first attempts at forging a university career there.

Sir Charles Lyell (1797-1875) was one of the most renowned geologists of the nineteenth century. This biography, first published in 1881 provides an intimate view of Lyell's personal and professional life through the inclusion of his letters and extracts from his journal. Volume 1 covers Lyell's life until 1836.

Robert Jameson (1774-1854) was professor of natural history at Edinburgh for fifty years. A follower of Werner's influential theory of the formation of the Earth, he later accepted the idea that the Earth was formed by natural processes over geological time. His System of Mineralogy was first published in 1808.

This selection from the correspondence of Leonard Horner (1785-1864), a prominent geologist, educator and factory inspector, was published by his daughter in 1890. It provides a vivid picture of this eminent reformer. Volume 1 covers Horner's life to 1838 including his election to the Royal Society.

A. C. Seward (1863-1941) was an eminent English botanist and geologist. In these volumes, published between 1898 and 1919, Seward synthesised and revised the existing research on palaeobotany and included new material. Volume 1 contains an overview of palaeobotany with systematic descriptions of fossil plants.

Sir Charles Lyell (1797-1875) was one of the most renowned geologists of the nineteenth century. These volumes, first published in 1845, are the result of his 1841 tour across the United States and Canada, and contain detailed descriptions of North American geology. Volume 1 contains his travels from Boston across North Carolina

Mary Somerville (1780-1872) was a leading mathematician and astronomer at a time when the education of most women was restricted. Physical Geography (1848) was a synthesis of the natural sciences, drawing on the most recent discoveries to present an overview of current understanding of the natural world.

William Phillips was a founding member of the Geological Society of London, and published many technical works including the highly influential Outlines of the Geology of England and Wales. This 1816 work collects observations on a wide range of minerals, and became a standard textbook for nineteenth-century students of mineralogy.

Written principally for farmers, this 1812 work by the naturalist Joseph Taylor (c.1761-1844) trawls the English countryside for meteorological clues. From the barometrical qualities of chickweed to the activities of bats, ants and oxen, the natural world is transformed into one great forecasting system for the sufficiently observant.

Published in 1842, Darwin's monograph is a groundbreaking and elegantly constructed study of coral reefs and atolls, based upon his observations during the voyage of the Beagle. Darwin carefully explains and illustrates his theory that subsidence of the ocean floor can account for the formation of these remarkable natural features.

The scientific investigations undertaken in the wake of the Lisbon earthquake of 1755 formed the basis of the science of seismology. Published in 1757, this work collects many of the contemporary theories, and this reissue also includes John Michell's 1760 work linking tsunamis with undersea earthquakes for the first time.

Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) was one of the first champions of the multidisciplinary approach to science. Volume 1 of this biography, first published in English in 1873, provides an account of the first part of his remarkable life, translated from the German edition of 1872.

The 'student of clouds' Luke Howard (1772-1864) published this work of statistics on weather conditions in London in two volumes, in 1818 and 1820. Volume 1 begins with an introduction to the work, followed by tables of observations taken at Plaistow, near London, in the years 1806-9.

In 1853, Darwin's German contemporary, Wolfgang Sartorius von Waltershausen (1809-76) published this study of palagonite, a mineral commonly occurring in rocks produced by submarine eruptions. Analysing palagonite and other minerals, he proposes a detailed model of metamorphic processes, taking into account factors including pressure, temperature and presence of water.

This book, first published in 1805, of which the 1816 second edition is reissued here, gives physical descriptions of the minerals discussed in Jameson's three-volume System of Mineralogy. Dividing minerals into solid, friable and fluid types, he describes and gives the English, German, French and Latin names of each.

De la Beche, founding Director of the British Geological Survey, pioneered new survey methods and had a particular interest in economic geology. This 1824 work presents translations of selected studies of sites across Europe, including three mining districts, and notes on the production of an early geological map of France.

Influential geologist, historian and President of the Royal Society, Sir Archibald Geikie published numerous technical and popular science books, as well as biographical works including Founders of Geology (1897). This autobiography, published in 1924, provides a personal and highly readable account of his remarkably successful career.

Published in 1863, La Terre avant le deluge became a classic of popular science and introduced palaeontology to a wider readership. This English translation appeared only two years later. More than 200 illustrations helped to make this one of the most successful works of popular science of its time.

In 1830-33, Charles Lyell laid the foundations of evolutionary biology with Principles of Geology, a pioneering book that Charles Darwin took with him on the Beagle. The three volumes are generously illustrated and thoroughly indexed and remain of interest to geologists and historians of science alike.

This illustrated 1752 publication brings together two seventeenth-century works that paved the way for the study of palaeontology. Sicilian artist Agostino Scilla (1629-1700) and Neapolitan botanist Fabio Colonna (1567-1640) both argued that fossils were the remains of living organisms rather than extraordinary mineral phenomena with magical properties.

In this 1904 study, American geologist and explorer Angelo Heilprin (1853-1907) documents the temporary formation of a 'tower' of lava that resulted from the devastating eruptions of Mount Pelee in 1902. This account of his third visit to Martinique is complemented by unique photographs depicting volcanic activity and its aftermath.

Richard Dixon Oldham (1858-1936) made major contributions to the field of seismology and played a key role in the development of geological research in India. Originally published in 1888, this was the first bibliography of its kind and remains an important reference tool in earth sciences.

Richard Owen (1804-92), the palaeontologist and anatomist, published this analysis of the comparative anatomy of the fossils of British birds and mammals in 1846. It compares living species with extinct ones, and explains the characteristics that help identification, using 237 illustrations to show the traits of different species.

John Tyndall (1820-93) was an Irish physicist who was fascinated by glaciers. He was also well-known for his accessible scientific books, and in this 1872 work, written for a non-specialist audience, he gives a clear and concise explanation of the major features of the earth's water system.

This 1840 study of the Island of Arran led to the author's successful career with the Geological Survey. Designed as a practical visitor's guide for both amateur and professional geologists, it is organised by district, and Ramsay provides full explanations, diagrams and engravings to make his work accessible to non-specialists.

The second edition of Geology of India (1892), compiled by Oldham for the Geological Survey of India, is a revision of the first edition by Medlicott and Blanford (1879). It is a key work of nineteenth-century geology, containing some of the earliest and most important geological descriptions of India.

The Life and Letters of Hugh Miller (1871) tells the fascinating story of a Victorian geologist whose life was marked by a passionate commitment to both science and religion and the ongoing attempt to reconcile the two. Volume 1 covers Miller's early life, family, education and apprenticeship as a stonemason.

Sir Roderick Impey Murchison (1792-1871) was an influential Scottish geologist best known for his classification of the Silurian system of rock strata. These volumes, first published in 1875, contain a detailed biography, providing a fascinating insight into his life and work. Volume 1 describes his life until 1842.