Author Description

-Newly Illustrated. Robinson's "Fishes of Fancy" is a compilation of aquatic folklore, mostly related to fishes (in the biological sense) as religious symbols, fixtures of heraldry, and such, although marine creatures such as the turtle and whale (not fishes strictly speaking) are also mentioned. Most religions and spiritual systems have contained tales involving fish- from the Zodiacal symbol of Pisces or Jesus as a fisherman, through Arabic and Hindu legend. The use of fish in medicine is spoken of extensively- especially their bones and scales. The work culminates with a strange "dream" in which the writer finds himself confronted by a group of fish assembled like a parliament to discuss the creation of an underwater exhibit regarding their own various