Happy International Innes Day!

[Innesfan]

William T. Innes, was born today in 1874. Enjoy your day off from water changes, filter media rinses, and glass wiping. And if you have Neon Tetras, P. innesi, keep an eye on them. They like to spawn on this day.

A colleague whom I met in the now defunct Collectors of Aquarium Literature group (1980-1994) sent several of us Innes-fans this. It's real. Don't know where WTI's ancestors came from but there are evidently a whole lot of Inneses in Dufftown, Scotland and they put on quite a show once a year. Don't know the occasion but it seems fitting today. Dufftown is in the Speyside region of Scotland notable for its many distilleries of fine single malt Scotch whiskey. Dufftown itself is home to the renowned Glenfiddich distillery and, coincidentally, my favorite potent potable, the lesser known but sublime Mortlach, which is IMO the finest single malt ever concocted by humankind.

So I raise a glass of the stuff to Wm. T. Innes who, for many of us, got us excited about the hobby through his brilliant writing, compelling and artful photographs, and enthusiasm for all things aquatic that you can keep in a glass box. Well, back then it was a metal-framed glass box.

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[GaryE]

I disagree on the single malts (I like a little peat in the taste), but Innes' writing was a big part of what got me into this when I was younger. I've tried to analyze how he did it, but looking at his prose, he just wrote honestly. He was a grown man unafraid of showing his delight in little tropical fishes.
It's still something I'd suggest any young aquarist read. Sure, many things are dated, especially the tech. But sharp minds are eternal.

There's an immature joke to be made about "dufftown" and I usually can't avoid those.

 

[fishorama]

I like this better than ground hog day! Somehow I was expecting Clan Innes to be in fish costumes. Maybe at the after parade party & some whisky?

 

[Back in the fold]

Three Cheers for Dr. William T. Innes ! Without the legendary Dr. Innes I’d have never learned Latin pronunciation or tropical fish world geography . His masterpiece book “ Exotic Aquarium Fishes “ has stood the test of time and is as pertinent and relevant as it has been since 1935 .

 

[Innesfan]

Three Cheers for Dr. William T. Innes ! Without the legendary Dr. Innes I’d have never learned Latin pronunciation or tropical fish world geography . His masterpiece book “ Exotic Aquarium Fishes “ has stood the test of time and is as pertinent and relevant as it has been since 1935 .

Amen to all of that. And as a young boy I learned what good writing was from studying that book long before I read any of the masterworks in school.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

My last name is said to be a Sept of Clan Innes (or possibly Gunn, depending on which part of Scotland they came from; I haven't figured that out yet). So it is possible that me and the Good Doctor are distantly related. Whatever the case, it's as good an excuse as any to listen to some bagpipes.

 

[GaryE]

We really should celebrate this. We need some sort of shared ritual. @Innesfan , living in New York and keeping pencilfish with that avatar brings Innes' work to mind often.
International Innes Day is now on my calendar and should be a paid holiday to break up the dreary run of this part of winter.

 

[Back in the fold]

My last name is said to be a Sept of Clan Innes (or possibly Gunn, depending on which part of Scotland they came from; I haven't figured that out yet). So it is possible that me and the Good Doctor are distantly related. Whatever the case, it's as good an excuse as any to listen to some bagpipes.

If you are indeed related to the legendary Dr. William Thornton Innes then I want you to come to my fishroom and bless it personally .

 

[WhistlingBadger]

If you are indeed related to the legendary Dr. William Thornton Innes then I want you to come to my fishroom and bless it personally .

BWESSSINGS. BWESSINGS ON YAWR FESHWOOM.

 

[Innesfan]

We really should celebrate this. We need some sort of shared ritual. @Innesfan , living in New York and keeping pencilfish with that avatar brings Innes' work to mind often.
International Innes Day is now on my calendar and should be a paid holiday to break up the dreary run of this part of winter.

I'm in. I seem to recall that last year @Mr Limpet suggested going out and buying a bag of neons.

 

[GaryE]

If you knew how many dull grey fish I have kept simply because they were in Innes. I tried to see the whole set.

 

[Innesfan]

Speaking to the "International" component of our holiday, this lovely thing was named in his honor years ago and is still being cultivated and sold around the world. We tend to know him for "Exotic Aquarium Fishes," but it was preceded by a beautiful volume, "Goldfish Varieties and Water Gardens" which went through 15 editions. He wrote enthusiastically about water lilies. This one is available from a grower in Japan:

 

[Back in the fold]

@Innesfan I did not know that the esteemed Dr. Innes was also an authority on and fancier of water lilies . I knew of his credentials on Goldfish but I did not know about his expertise with water lilies . Years ago I had a small , 250 gallon , preformed plastic pond in my yard and I kept water lilies , water lettuce , water hyacinths and goldfish in it . The flowers on the water lilies were so beautiful ! I almost want to do it again one more time .

 

[Innesfan]

@Innesfan I did not know that the esteemed Dr. Innes was also an authority on and fancier of water lilies . I knew of his credentials on Goldfish but I did not know about his expertise with water lilies .

The book is of the same artisanal quality as Exotic Aquarium Fishes--the heavy stock, the fine printing and photography, the exceptional binding with a 14k gold-stamped image on the cover (as does EAF) and, of course, his incomparable prose when writing of things he loved and knew well. From the introduction to the water lilies chapters:

"...where else can one secure so much satisfaction at so little effort, and such independence from the uncertainties of rainfall?"

 

[Back in the fold]

Welp , I guess that there is one more book that I must seek out . “ Goldfish Varieties and Water Gardens “ by the legendary Dr. William T. Innes . I look forward to reading his book .