Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Tropical fish authors TFH publications

Tropical Fish Book Collection

Tropical Fish Hobbyist 
T.F.H. publications is Tropical Fish Hobbyist magazine, founded by Herbert R. Axelrod in the early 1950s.
How it started when Herbert Axelrod, very inteligent in his college in New York wrote his first Tropical Fish book and was published by McGraw Hill publishing.
The TFH mail order in back of the booklets was very successful. TFH publishing had its own printing press in New Jersey. 
These books booklets made its way to pet shops and book stores across the world. Ive had booklets shipped to me from Canada to Europe, South Africa to Australia. All displayed here.
TFH Books booklets on fish and also on pets dogs, cats, birds, amphibians, reptiles, animals and more. All fish booklet cover pictures on display here.


Herbert R Axelrod


In a time before the internet, shopping online, and google search. If you wanted to know anything about the tropical fish hobby, you went to the petshop petland or aquastock aquarium supplies store to get information books booklets on types of fish, tanks, aquarium setup, equipment, selection breeding, pet books and supplies.


Petland New York City

Aqua Stock NYC aquarium stock co.

Since the early 70s as a child my father took me to petland and aquastock in NYC city hall area.  Aqua Stock was a block long walk through fish store. You entered one side and can walk through and exit out the other side to the next street. All the many fish tanks, Stainless Steel Metaframe and slate bottom tanks were beautiful,

Aqua Stock NYC block long super store

Mid 20th century Metaframe brand fish tank
Stainless Metal Frame and slate bottom 6 feet long
Herbert Axelrod owned The 6 feet stainless tank that has 3 stainless covers and iron stand with center iron brace.

My 55 gallon 4 feet long Metaframe stainless slate bottom tank growing up
My father had every type one time, Cichlids, Livebearers(pike livebearer), Oscars, Arowana(black, silver, asian), Piranha(red belly I bought at Johns bike shop on houston st.) snakehead, moray, baracuda, stingray, large community fish, small community fish.
Joey Pagan nyc


This original 55 gallon Metaframe brand Stainless Steel and slate bottom complete with 2 stainless covers and original iron stand.
4 ft long and can fit a 30 under it.


Airmaster Supreme Piston Air Pump 




 Ive been going to the chain petshop buying fishbooks and supplies as part of life. To see all of them closed as it never existed because the founder of Petland shops passed away. I felt I almost took for granted the fish books are always available and the near fish and supplies. But I dont have regrets. I have all the fishbooks (love that word)
- Joey Pagan nyc

Dragon Betta
Sold at Petland 

Enjoy Betta fish with family



Oscar fish with babies (fry)


Authors of TFH publications, titles
Herbert Axelrod worked with many other authors aquarist and ichologists in the 1950s and 60s. Explorers pioneers discovering and collecting lake and river tropical fish across the worlds jungles from the Amazon to the Great Lakes of Africa.

How it started when Herbert Axelrod, very inteligent in his college in New York wrote his first Tropical Fish book and was published by McGraw Hill publishing.

Axelrod wrote his first book called -
Tropical Fish as a hobby in 1952.



In 1953 Axelrod started -
Tropical fish Hobbyist Magazine.

Tropical Fish Hobbyist 1953

Herbert Axelrod co-authored - Handbook of Tropical Aquarium Fishes. 1955
Sterling publishing
In 1956 - Tropical Fish in Your Home.
In 1958 - Goldfish in Your Home.
Arco publishing also published - Axelrods Tropical Fish Book. In 1954.
Booklet - Tropical Fish as pets 25c 1953

First booklet 1953
Tropical fish guide c 1952


Authors ichologists explorers 1950s-70s
T.F.H. publications authors Books,
Herbert R. Axelrod (tropical fish as a hobby 1952)
Leonard P. Shultz (handbook of tropical aquarium fishes 1955
Myron Gordon (siamese fighting fish 1956)
C. W. Emmens (catfishes 1957)
W. L. Whitern (guppies 1957)
William Vorderwinkler (encyclopedia tropical fishes 1958)
William T. innes (exotic aquarium fishes)
Martin Brittan (Danios, Rasboras)
Mervin F. Roberts (animal booklets)
Neal Pronek (oscars, aquariums)
Robert Gannon (live foods, starting right)
Robert J Goldstein (cichlids 1970)
Warren E. Burgess (saltwater fishes)
Hans Frey (dictionary of tropical fish 1961)
Harold Shultz (piranhas booklet)
Rolf Geisler (aquarium fish diseases)
Robert P. L. Stroughan (keeping seahorses)
Diane Schofield (beginning with tropicals 1966)
Glen Axelrod (nephew) (rift lake cichlids)

First Hardcopy TFH books




Tropical Fish as a hobby 1952
Herbert R. Axelrod 




Handbook of Troplcal Aquarium Fishes 1955
In plastic protect cover
Courtecy of
Robert Gavora fine and rare books



with dust cover 1957

Encyclopedia of Tropical Fishes



Exotic Tropical Fishes 1962 


Tropical Fish in Your Home 1956


Goldfish in Your Home 1958


Guppies Hardcopy 1957


Axelrods Tropical Fish Book 1954




Tropical Fish 
1950s 

How to Keep and Breed Tropical Fish



Saltwater Aquarium Fish 1956


Color Guide to Tropical Fish




1967 Axelrod and Shaw
many pictures from booklets
First Edition, 
later it is Book 1 of a 6 book series


Goldfish and Koi in Your Home 1970


all about building ponds



Color Stamp sticker booklet
Booklet you paste 
included stamps inside

Herbert Axelrod 1955
Tropical Aquarium Fishes
Nelson Doubleday
National Audubon Society 
Nature Program




TFH Fish Book collection
Early Booklets TFH publications

Siamese Fighting Fish booklet 1950s


Early Booklets Collection TFH publications
All booklets books on display here
These are 1950s and 1960s was 35 cents, some color booklets 50 cents 
Later in color booklets till 1983
Different types livebearers egglayers

75 booklets listed 

40 early booklets and 35 in color. 
Over 100 fish booklets. Some with same title different picture covers

Important to notice 

Early booklets - CAPITAL LETTER TITLE
Later booklets - lower case letter title
Same titles in different cover pics
15 early 1960s color plates cover



15 booklets color plates cover


Daphnia live food



Booklets Books TFH see close up 1957




Later TFH books booklets 1960s list, price
Later no more booklets offered
Only hardback books

TFH Booklets 1958 list

TFH authors early booklets


Tropical Fish Book Collection booklets

1953 edition booklet 25c


Tropical Fish Guide 1954
Thanks Shirley Bryant aaabooks
Authors And Artists books


















Cichlids

African Tetras

African Catfish





















Argentine Pearl Fish
Cynolebias bellottii steindachner 1881
Enrique Bosche



Later 1960s - 1970s in color booklets




Goldfish Novice

Platies and Moons


















Hybrid Guppies




























Soft Cover

siamese fighting fish 1960s

catfish 2nd edition




soft covers $1.00




















Types of Fish
Funny how I put killer fish
Warning - fish that grow 1 foot up
You must own a large tank 
Agressive fish must be with same

Tetra (characin) - Redtail Baracuda

Tetra - Red Belly Piranha


Barb - African Goliath Tigerfish

Lake Sturgeon
Like a prehistoric shark
Some fish grow its whole life
So if you see a 10ft fish its 100

Carp - common carp

Carp family - Common Goldfish
Keeps growing its whole life
Domestic Comet Goldfish

Alligator Snapping Turtle
Extra Pointed Shell, long tail
Largest Live over 100 years
Suwanne River USA
suwanne species
can you say Gamera

Baby Alligator
Its feature is a U shape jaw
sold at petstores 20th century
flushed to the sewer of NYC



Gourami - anabantoid Giant Gourami


Cichlid Americas - Tiger Oscar
Albino Veiltail Tiger Oscar



Cichlid African - Cockatoo Cichlid

Panchax Killifish - Gularis Kilifish


Rasbora - Galaxy Rasbora


Catfish - Redtail Catfish

Bullhead Catfish American lakes


Gulper Catfish keep alone



Cory Catfish - Pigmy

Fighting Fish Betta
Best fish to keep in a bowl
easy bowl(jar) needs no air pump,
needs no filter, air breathing fish,
not need air in the water.
This bowl for show, no gravel needed

Albino Betta (celophane)
True albino red eye pupil

Female shorter fins
Albino red eye pupil

Human face celophane
No color like skin clear fins
eyes not all black can see pupil

My Marble Betta
 gene DNA changes its color
Marble Betta changed color
months later


Clear Betta
Human face, eyes not all black
Can see eye pupil

Copper Dragon Betta
Metalic Scales


The Wild Betta Splendens
Red tail, red body, red gill,

Details of Wild Betta Splendens


Bred Copper Dragon Betta
Notice wild features


Wild Betta imbellis
Red ring tail, red tip
Metalic scales


Banana Plant - My favorite plant
The Betta like to sleep on Leaf

African Dwarf Frog (aquatic)

Freshwater Crayfish Lobster

Freshwater Crab


Freshwater Moray eel

Freshwater Stingray


Livebearer - Pike Livebearer
Like a giant guppy monster


Discus

Angel Fish

 Pearl Scale Angel Fish
Black Angel Fish
Albino Angel Fish



Arowana Asian
Dragon fish
Dragon Fish
Black indonesian

Silver South American

African Arowana

Albino Arowana



TFH animal booklets late 1950s

















Dog and Cat early booklets





Early Bird Booklets














The Other Pet Booklets
I got into collecting buying the diseases booklets, to learn how to keep my Betta fish healthy and not die.
Thats the reason I started buying fishbooks. The old booklets on diseases of fish. Then I just bought all of the old tfh booklets shipped to me from all over the planet.


Aqua Stock co. NYC 1954


William innes
Exotic Aquarium Fishes


Newer Big Books 
Many newer bigger books and bigger ATLAS in the late 1980s 90s to catagorize as much species of the world discovered and enhanced by selective breeding.
Glen Axelrod (nephew) took over the TFH company. Glen also published a large
Aquarium Fishes of the World book, and a newer large Encyclopedia book.

Newer Huge books
Some pictures same in the booklets
Some TFH cover pics are in booklets
The booklets have some best pictures




Mini Atlas (size of older books)

Fascination of Breeding (huge book)

Aquarium Fishes of the World






Atlas Garden Ponds (huge book)

This newer 90s book has some of the older book photos that are some of the best all in this later book Jumbo Fishes.


Tropical Fish Booklet collection
Late 1950s to early 1960s
Tropical fish as pets 1953 -25c 1955 -35c
Tropical fish Guide (1954, 1960) -50c
Aquarist Repair Manual (booklet 1959)
Beginning the Aquarium
Aquarium Water Chemistry -50c
Decorate the Aquarium (how to)
Breeding egg layers
Breeding Live Bearers
Diseases of Tropical Fish
Aquarium Plants
Siamese fighting fish 1956
Angel Fish
Catfishes
Danios
Gouramis
Barbs
Cichlids
Dwarf Cichlids
Tetras book1
Tetras book2
Rasboras
Mollies as pets
Platies as pets
Swordtails
Goldfish as pets 1954
Guppies as pets 1957
Fancy Guppies
Guppies -$1.00
Panchax group (kilifishes)
Pencil Fish
Discus 1957
Seahorses
Saltwater Fishes as pets 1956
Argentine Pearl fish
African Barbs -50c (color plates)
African Cichlids -50c (color plates)
African Tetras -50c (color plates)
African Catfish -50c (color plates
Saltwater Fishes -50c (color plates)
Tiny Tetras -50c (color plates)

15 booklets color plates cover

Tropical Fish Book Collection
Later color plate booklets 1960s to 1970s 50 cents, latest 1983
Live foods (for aquarium fishes)
Beautiful Bettas (color plates)
Beautiful Goldfish (color plates)
Piranhas (color plates)
Goldfish Novice
Goldfish as pets (60s color)
Guppies Hybrid
Beginning the Aquarium (color)
Beginning with Tropicals
Catfish (2nd edition booklet)
Moons Platies
Keeping Seahorses -75c
Community Tank (fishes for your)
Community Tank (color)
Tropical Fish Primer (color plates)
Tropical fish primer (70s color)
Tropical fish guide (60s color)
Aquarium Water Chemistry (color)
Diseases of Tropical Fishes (color)
Colorful egglayers (color plates)
Colorful livebearers (color plates)
Colorful Swordtails  (color plates)
Colorful Tetras (color plates)
Breeding Tropical Fish -75c
Breeding egglayers (60s color)
Breeding Livebearers - in color
Breeding fishes - in color
Aquariums - in color
In Color - Aquarium Plants
In Color - Saltwater fishes
In Color - Goldfish
In Color - Bettas
In Color - Gouramis
In Color - Angel fish
In Color - Mollies
In Color - Guppies
In Color - Discus

Dollar Booklets
Tropical Fish in Your Home (soft copy)
Garden Pools $1.00
Guppies $1.00
Aquarium Fish Diseases $1.00
Diseases Aquarium Fish $1.00
Start, Tropical Fish (starting right)
Start, Goldfish (starting right with)
Goldfish $1.00
Tropical Fishes $1.00
Tropical Fish $1.50


In Dr Axelrods older years sold the TFH company within the industry and his nephew Glen Axelrod is running it as President. Again in a time before internet, online shopping, and google search, was needed - books and little booklets a wonderful library of knowledge.
- Joey Pagan nyc


Tropical fish authors TFH publications

Tropical Fish Book Collection Tropical Fish Hobbyist  T.F.H. publications is Tropical Fish Hobbyist magazine, founded by Herbert R. Axel...