The collections of the British Museum (Natural History) are, by universal agreement, the most important and comprehensive insect collection in the world. The world renowned series Butterflies of the World is, in effect, the author`s synoptic compression of those collections into the 25 volumes that have been published to date. In order to facilitate their publication, the author and his wife established Hill House Publishers in 1982. These famous volumes, whilst being indespensable reference works for lepidopterists, are both too large to transport and expensive to replace. Consequently, the author has undertaken to compress the 25 volumes into a single portable and inexpensive volume, for use as a first reference guide in the field. It is in effect, a necessary primer for those who would simply like to have at their finger-tips, something reliable for the recognition of butterflies, at least to generic level.

The book is arranged to follow the systematics of the larger volumes, but in doing so it attempts to make corrections and additions to them wherever possible. In this work are published several new genera, new species and a long awaited rationalisation of the Neotropical genus "Thecla" (Lycaenidae). In order to effect a satisfactory compression of as much information as possible into the book`s portable dimensions, the author has reduced the colour figures to less than natural size, as well as combined halves of specimens where appropriate. The accompanying text, while not running synchronously with the plates, is brief and telegraphic in style. Needless to say, this portable volume is extensively referenced to the larger volumes, which are in turn referenced to the main collections in the B.M.(N.H.) (the Natural History Museum) It must be emphasised that this volume does not replace the larger volumes, but is a most necessary supplement to them.