The Devonshire Association was founded in the great age of Victorian optimism when so much was being discovered and explored for the first time. The work of the British Association for the Advancement of Science provided the model for it. In 1861, William Pengelly FRS, advocated the establishment of a local association to be organised like the British Association but focused on Devon. He put the idea to two friends as they walked along Millbay Road in Plymouth on a geological expedition. This casual conversation resulted in the formation of the Association and the holding of its first meeting in Exeter in the following year. Membership was just 69. This rare and much sought-after book was produced digitally from a copy in the University of Princeton Library collection and can be downloaded from Google Books. Google has sponsored the digitisation of books from several libraries. These books, on which copyright has expired, are available for free educational and research use, both as individual books and as full collections to aid researchers.