Herbert Boucher Dobbie

• New Zealand ferns (1880), 1st edition (five versions, referred to as the "blue books")
• New Zealand ferns (1921), 2nd edition[2]
• New Zealand ferns (1931), 3rd edition[3]
• New Zealand ferns (1951), 4th edition, revised by Marguerite Crookes[4]
• New Zealand ferns (1952), 5th edition, reprinted, revised by Marguerite Crookes[5]
• New Zealand ferns (1963), 6th edition, rewritten by Marguerite Crookes[6]

Five versions of the first edition of New Zealand ferns were produced by Herbert Dobbie and Eric Craig in the late nineteenth century.[7][8] These are often referred to as the “blue books” because the pages have full-sized, white silhouettes of ferns on a blue background. The five versions are:[7]

A: Dobbie, H. B. "145 Varieties of New Zealand ferns" In two parts. Part 1. (1880) pp. 1–48.[9]

B: Dobbie, H. B. "New Zealand ferns. 148 Varieties." In two parts. Part 2, (1880) pp. 49–104.[9]

C: Dobbie, H. B. "New Zealand ferns. 148 Varieties." (1880) 104p.[10]

D: Craig, E. "New Zealand ferns, 167 Varieties." (c. 1888) 104p.

E: Craig, E. "New Zealand ferns, 172 Varieties." Ed 2. (1892) 100p.

They were made by a process similar to blueprinting. A fern specimen was placed on chemically treated paper, which was then exposed to light for a set period of time. The paper was then washed in water which caused the exposed paper to turn blue while the paper under the fern remained white.[11]

Herbert B. Dobbie produced three hand-made book versions of fern illustrations (versions A-C). A few years later Dobbie sold the plates for this book to Eric Craig in Auckland who re-issued the books in c. 1888 and c.1892 (D-E).[12][13]

There are very few fern specimens collected or identified by Dobbie in New Zealand's herbarium collections. Dobbie's books, and particularly their images, are therefore the principal means of authenticating the identifications and names that he, as the New Zealand expert of that period, used for New Zealand ferns. The blue books are an important early window into Dobbie's understanding and interpretation of New Zealand fern taxonomy and diversity. They are also striking representations of New Zealand's ferns.[8]

Dobbie went on to produce the second and later editions of New Zealand ferns from 1921 onwards. With its fine photographs of fern specimens, hints on collection and cultivation and delightful essays on fern-collecting expeditions it was an entirely different book from that of 1880. Unfortunately, in his effort to cater to the general reader Dobbie deliberately used popular but inaccurate terminology in his fern descriptions. This was remedied in the fourth edition of 1951, revised by Marguerite Crookes. She then rewrote the book for the final edition of 1963, 'incorporating illustrations and original work by H. B. Dobbie'. For 70 years, in one or other of its editions, it was the most popular book on New Zealand ferns.[1]