Harry is indeed correct on the date of Say's publication of Succinea
campestris (us usual).  However as to the title of the paper, the
reprint before me is titled.

Say, T.  1818.  Account of two new genera, and several new species,
of fresh water and land shells.  Journal of the Academy of Natural
Sciences of Philadelphia  1(2):276-284. (read 25 May 1818).

The page citing campestris is 281.

The paper may have had 1817 on the spine but my photocopy has June
1818 clearly printed at the top.



>Date:    Sat, 14 Jul 2007 13:43:23 -0400
>From:    "Harry G. Lee" <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Publication date 1817/1818
>
>
>Dear Aydin and Andrew,
>
>As for the correct date of publication of Succinea campestris Say,
>recall the posted passage from Say's description:
>
>"This shell is extremely common in many parts of the Southern States;
>it abounds in the sea islands of Georgia, in the low marshy grounds
>behind the sand-hills of the coast, where they are destroyed in great
>numbers by the annual conflagration of the old grass. On Amelia
>Island, East Florida, I found them in great plenty on the highest
>sandy ground of the island. On Cumberland Island, in Mr. Shaw's
>garden, I obtained several specimens from leaves of radishes."
>
>A letter Say sent to Jacob Gilliams, a fellow member of the Academy
>of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, while the former was on his
>fabled "Florida Expedition" (Weiss and Ziegler, 1931: 55) is dated
>Jan. 30, 1818 and includes adds detail on the fortuitous discovery of
>the type locality to my earlier posting: " ... upon this intelligent
>gentleman (Mr. Shaw who resides on the S. E. end of Cumberland Is.
>[GA]) [my brackets; Say's parentheses] we should not have called, had
>not our vessel struck & been detained on a bar within a mile of his
>mansion - we landed & were conducted by a negro along a winding road
>closely lined on each side by evergreen live oaks ... here we were
>received the utmost politeness & treated with truly southern
>hospitality ..." Since Say was in Washington D.C. on Dec. 12, 1817
>(Ibid: 54) before sailing to Savannah, GA on this unprecedented
>expedition, it seems extremely unlikely he could have gotten this
>description (even with anachronistic email) into print in the year
>1817. The chronicle of the Shaw house is another story; suffice it to
>say its foundation still supports the Carnegie mansion "Dungeness,"
>and the live oak colonnade still stands.
>
>A review of the publication dates for the Journal of the Academy of
>Natural Sciences of Philadelphia indicates that Volume 1 was begun in
>1817, but Say's paper, published very shortly after his homecoming,
>appeared in June, 1818 (W. G. Binney, 1859: v, vi). It may be that
>this issue, when later hard-bound, had (has) "1817" as the only date
>imprinted on the spine, a not uncommon custom. Pilsbry (1948: 826),
>who cited "1817" may have been victimized by this binder's gaffe, and
>almost all workers since him have followed suit. Interestingly, A.
>Binney (1851: 67), the father of the Say bibliographer, got it
>correct at "1818!"
>
>Binney, A., 1851 [ed. A. A. Gould]. The terrestrial air-breathing
>mollusks of the United States and the adjacent territories of North
>America vol. 2. Little Brown, Boston, pp. 1-362 incl. several vignettes.
>
>Binney, W. G.  1858.  The complete writings of Thomas Say on the
>conchology of the United States.  H. Bailliere Co., New York. vi +
>1-252 + 75 plates.
>
>Say, T., 1818. Descriptions of land and freshwater shells of the
>United States (cont'd). Journal of the Academy of Natural
>Sciences 1: 276. May. [not seen; see Binney]
>
>Weiss, H. B. and G. M. Ziegler, 1931. Thomas Say Early American
>naturalist. Charles Thomas, Baltimore. xiv + 1-260 + 26 pls.

--
Kevin S. Cummings
Illinois Natural History Survey
NEW ADDRESS
1816 S. Oak
Champaign, IL 61820
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http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/cbd/collections/mollusk.html

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