author
Wilfred Mark Webb
1868–1952
Best known for blending natural history, museum work, and popular science writing, this British author wrote with the curiosity of a field naturalist and the eye of a careful observer. His books range from woodlice and microscopy to the history of clothing, making him an unexpectedly wide-ranging guide to the world around him.
2 Audiobooks
The Heritage of Dress: Being Notes on the History and Evolution of Clothes
by Wilfred Mark Webb
The British Woodlice Being a Monograph of the Terrestrial Isopod Crustacea Occurring in the British Islands
by Wilfred Mark Webb, Charles Sillem
About the author
Born in 1868, Wilfred Mark Webb was a British naturalist, editor, and nonfiction writer whose work moved easily between science, education, and everyday culture. He was a Fellow of the Linnean Society, served as curator of Eton College Museum, and was closely involved with the Selborne Society, a major nature-study and conservation organization of his day.
Webb wrote and edited books intended to make specialist subjects approachable for general readers. His works include The British Woodlice and The Heritage of Dress, showing how comfortably he could shift from close observation of small creatures to the long history of human clothing. He also edited natural history material, including Gilbert White's A Nature Calendar, and contributed to the wider culture of amateur science and observation in Britain.
He died in 1952, leaving behind a body of writing that still feels distinctive for its mixture of patience, practicality, and enthusiasm. For listeners today, Webb is especially interesting because he represents an older style of popular nonfiction: learned without being stiff, and always eager to help readers notice more about the world.