First Edition, First Impression. Publisher's terracotta cloth with engraved illustrations, gilt titling and decoration to upper board and spine. Lightly soiled, edges rubbed, spine tips frayed, bottom corners bumped. An attractive copy though worn. Front hinge split but text block solid. Soiling and age-toning to page edges. Bookseller label and W. H. Smith Library blind stamp to front endpapers; 1952 date in ink to top edge of half-title. Light foxing to front and back matter, and to some top margins but contents o/w clean. xvi, 447 pp + 1 advertisement for author's other works. Illustrated with photographs, engravings and lithographed maps (1 folding). 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. Ralph Abercromby (1842-1897) was a noted meteorologist known for his reports in seas and skies in many latitudes, his work on the nomenclature of cloud formation, and his contribution to the development of Luke Howard's classification system.