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A prefatory note from Professor Alistair J. Wetherby, F.R.S., F.Z.S.
In the course of the Empire's great natural-philosophical enterprise — from the harbour mouths of Bombay to the wire-crossed plains of the Cape, from the hills of Assam to the furthest stations of the Sudan — Her Majesty's naturalists and men of science have brought to light wonders undreamt of in former ages. Among the most remarkable: a class of creature, hitherto unknown to European science, possessed of extraordinary temperament, singular loyalty to human companions, and faculties which would astonish even the most seasoned Fellow of this Society.
These are the Pocket Beasts of the Empire — so called on account of their marked affinity for human society, their compact form in early life, and their singular habit of devotion to a single keeper. They have been observed in engine sheds and boiler rooms, in naval harbours and telegraph stations, upon the heathered uplands of the British Isles and in the most distant provinces of the Crown.
The present series represents five years' painstaking classification under the auspices of the Royal Society of Natural Imperial Enquiry, executed by the finest natural history illustrators of the age. Each card presents one specimen in faithful illustration, together with its designation, order, natural province, and habits of development.
We commend this series to parents, schoolmasters, and guardians as an amusement both improving and entirely respectable — one in which geography shall be learned, the spirit of observation cultivated, and the instinct of the naturalist kindled in every young collector who opens these pages.
Plate I of IV — Eighteen Founding Specimens, Classified under Six Imperial Lines
Sovereign Specimens — one per Imperial Line — from Professor Wetherby's Pocket Beasts of the Empire, Plate I, Series the First.
Natural History Studio of the Wetherby Press, London, MDCCCXCIII.
Frequently observed in boiler rooms, smithies, and the stokeholds of steam packets. A soot-red salamander of impish disposition, loyal when kept warm, mischievous when neglected. It sneezes sparks when excited.
The intermediate form, distinguished by its proud military collar-frill and a tail that burns with the controlled steadiness of a good officer. Temperament: spirited, disciplined, loyal to its keeper above all others.
The fully matured form — a compact heraldic drake of surpassing nobility, with chest glowing like a furnace door. Associated with officers, engineers, and the farthest stations of the Crown. The companion beast of gentlemen.
Tidy, dependable, and entirely acceptable to Edwardian sensibility. Polished shell of lacquered naval aspect. Favours ship basins, harbour fountains, and the washtubs of naval stations from Gibraltar to Hong Kong.
Shell ridges resembling ironclad plating; fin-like cheek-flares; tail adopting the form of a rudder. Calm under pressure and entirely steadfast. The mariner's natural companion beast.
A creature of commanding dignity — dome-shell of deep naval blue, brass-bright markings, and shell vents capable of projecting water under considerable pressure. Master of tide, harbour, and storm.
A golden dormouse-hare of remarkable charm. Whiskers crackle in atmospheric disturbance. Most sensitive to electrical charge; found near telegraph houses, engine sheds, and storm-prone upland stations throughout the Empire.
Leaner, faster, more resolute. The tail assumes the shape of a lightning pennant; the fur stands in regimented angles. Associated with the great railway termini, storm-prone moors, and the wire stations of the colonial interior.
The fully matured electrical form — a creature of metropolitan-imperial bearing, with gold-and-cream coat, charged ears of remarkable length, and a tail that arcs like a sabre of lightning above the rooftops of the capital.
A mischievous but honest creature of the permanent way. Found among sleepers, signal huts, and ballast beds from Crewe to the Cape Government line. Senses the approach of locomotives through the ground long before the rail sings.
Tireless, exacting, and thoroughly territorial. Tracks movement through smoke and steam with unnerving accuracy. Best left undisturbed when it has taken a siding under its charge. Known to bite through loose coupling rope.
The stern matured form — paces the line in darkness and steadies frightened beasts and men alike through cuttings and tunnels. Associated with the great viaducts and the night expresses. Engine drivers salute it as they would an old inspector.
Snappish, diligent, and quietly indispensable. Cuts fouled rope and shifts small tackle with its hook-claws, primarily at the Malta Dockyard. No dock foreman readily admits how useful the creature can be.
Calm, strong, methodical. Drags loads of surprising weight and braces itself against cargo cranes and timber wharves like harbour tackle. Most obedient when labour is orderly and shouted commands are few. Observed at Singapore Roads.
The immovable final form — withstands gale and surf upon the breakwaters of Simon's Bay, claws anchored upon wet stone like grapnels. It is said no wave has yet persuaded one to give ground.
Restless and attentive, this creature grows visibly agitated at a failing lamp and will circle weakening flame in warning. Found at Fastnet Rock and the lamp rooms of exposed coastal stations. Lighthouse keepers indulge it, for it dislikes negligence more than they do.
Silent, vigilant, and patient beyond reckoning. Sees through fog and turns its face toward dangerous weather hours before instruments record any change. Its cry before dawn is taken seriously along the headlands of the Longships station.
The austere final form, breast glowing like a lamp through glass upon the sea stacks of Cape Wrath. Appears before the harshest storms and has never once been observed to abandon its post in foul weather. The lighthouse keeper's most solemn companion.
Known Provinces of Observation — Further Sightings Reported in the Farthest Stations of the Crown
Eighteen Founding Specimens, Issued by Serial Subscription in the Victorian Tradition
Pocket Beasts of the Empire is issued in Plates, after the manner of Victorian serial natural history publications. Plate I — eighteen Founding Specimens across Six Imperial Lines — is the first of four planned Plates. Each subsequent Plate shall be opened for circulation only when sufficient patronage justifies a proper print run.
Subscribers entered in the First Register shall have precedence in all future issues and receive first notice when Plate II is opened for circulation. The Register closes when the inaugural print run is subscribed.
Certain specimens — designated Sovereign Plates in the Imperial Registry — present with a peculiar iridescent quality attributed by the Institute to each creature's natural electrostatic discharge. Six Sovereign Plates are issued per Plate, one per Imperial Line, and are available exclusively within the Imperial Subscriber's Dispatch.
"An instructive amusement for the nursery and schoolroom alike. Encourages geographical curiosity, habits of observation, and the spirit of imperial enquiry in the young collector."
Selected Letters Received at the Wetherby Press, Paternoster Row
"My sons are entirely consumed with the Fire Line. The eldest has declared Drakeshire the finest creature in all natural history, and the younger refuses to be parted from his Cindersnap even at table. Their geography has improved beyond all expectation."
"I have served at stations from Aden to Rangoon and I find the Admiralon to be a most faithful likeness of a creature I myself encountered in the harbour at Colombo in eighty-eight. The scientific notation is admirably precise."
"The Sparkit card has become a fixture of my schoolroom. Three of my pupils have set about corresponding with cousins at other schools simply in order to acquire duplicate cards for trading. I can think of no finer proof of an educational amusement's success."
"The cards are of fine manufacture and the illustrations altogether superior to anything I have seen in the cigarette series. Professor Wetherby is to be congratulated upon a most worthy contribution to natural science."
It is my considerable honour to announce the publication of Pocket Beasts of the Empire — Plate I of Four, the inaugural fascicle of what I trust shall prove the most celebrated series of natural history cards yet issued under a British imprint. Five years in the making; five years of correspondence with surveyors, naval officers, telegraph engineers, and station-masters from Aden to Hong Kong; five years of the most painstaking illustration, classification, and annotation — and all is now brought to completion. The first eighteen specimens are prepared for distribution.
The series is designed upon the model of the great Victorian natural history journals: issued in Plates, by subscription, to those who have placed their names in the Register. Plate I contains the Founding Eighteen. Plates II, III, and IV shall follow at quarterly intervals, each introducing a further tranche of specimens and, for those in the Subscriber's Register, exclusive materials available by no other means. Four Plates complete the set — a compendium worthy of the finest schoolroom or gentleman's library.
The inaugural print run is strictly limited to five hundred sets. Those who enter the Register first shall hold precedence in the allocation of subsequent Plates, and shall be recorded by name in the First Edition colophon — a distinction which shall not diminish in interest as the years advance. The Register closes when the run is subscribed.
I commend these creatures to your household without reservation. The young collector who makes their acquaintance shall find geography, natural science, and the habits of patient observation all considerably improved in the most diverting manner that art and science have yet contrived.
Enter the Register, receive Plate I, and secure precedence when the Professor's subsequent Plates are opened for circulation.
Plate I of IV — Inaugural Print Run — Strictly Limited to 500 Sets
Your Name is Entered in the Register
Payment received. Your dispatch shall be prepared upon completion of the inaugural print run and conveyed to you thereafter. You shall receive advance notice by telegraphic address before your set departs.
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Not entering the Register today?
Enter your telegraphic address and you shall receive word the moment Plate II is opened for circulation — with first precedence reserved for those already in the Register.
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You shall be among the first to receive word when Plate II opens for circulation.
