More figurines of the amphibians dot the spacious office and as you enter the corner office of company owner and founder Chan Chew Lun, a visitor is treated to the sight of even more figurines of the amphibians of every colour and size made from either ceramic or metal.
It is from this office that Chan has done his bit in putting Sabah on the publishing map as Natural History Publications is now among the book producers that researchers turn to when they want to see their works published.
From a publisher of research work focusing on Borneo’s plant and animals more than three decades ago, Natural History has evolved as the go-to publication house for scientists and researchers who have carried out studies from South America to Australia to Madagascar.
“We are established among the scientific community. They are coming to us instead of us having to approach others,” said Chan who is known among his friends as CL.
It’s no surprise Natural History’s stature is very high among the scientific community. It has published books in association with Britain’s Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew.
Thirty years after he started out, the bespectacled Chan takes obvious delight in telling the visitors to his office of how he came to acquire the frog figurines and these include from auctions during a visit to the US and from trips to China and various other countries.
To him, the frog figurines remind him of his early childhood in Sabah’s east coast town of Sandakan.
“I still remember vividly catching tadpoles near the basketball court at my former primary school Cheng Ming in the town area,” he said with a laugh.
However it was a book on the amphibians that got Chan into the publishing business more than 30 years ago.
At that time, Chan operated a souvenir shop in Kota Kinabalu and among the items sold there were books, many of which were about Borneo’s natural history. Many of them were authored by foreign researchers and produced by foreign publishers.
One day, a gentleman dropped by his shop and during their conversation, Chan learnt that the man he was talking to was Robert F Inger, an American researcher who began studying Borneo’s amphibians in 1949.
Inger was also author of the book “The Amphibia of Borneo” that Chan was selling in his shop.
During their conversation, Chan asked Inger if he could reprint his book with the intention of illustrating the scientific tome with more colour photographs of Borneo’s native amphibians.
Chan obtained the Chicago Museum’s permission to reprint the book and in 1990, his foray into book publishing began. Prior to that he was involved in producing the journal of the Sabah Society, an NGO promoting the conservation of the state’s natural and cultural heritage.
He also served as Sabah Society’s president for two terms.
The reprint version of Inger’s book eventually sold out, warranting a second reprint and this was an affirmation to Chan that he was on the right track.
Over the past 30 years, Chan reckons Natural History has produced more than 300 titles and though many of these have been scientific publications, his firm has moved to other types of books – many of which still focused on plants and animals.
“My intention to go into this type of publishing was because I’ve always been interested in nature whether it’s plants, insects or other animals. I remember as a child I was fascinated with plants and animals whether they were on the roadside or in jungles.
“When I was growing up, materials about them were scarce and even if they were available, these were usually in scientific journals that were nor easily accessible to the layman. Much of these were dry material and many did not even know of their existence,” Chan said.
While his company has continued to publish scholarly books, these are given the Natural History touch by featuring as many high definition photographs of the subject matter.
Chan’s firm has continued to expand its book range to include those on plants and animals that are easier to understand as they were written in layman’s language and illustrated with numerous photographs.
These range from Borneo’s slipper orchids to begonias and even its wild fruits as well as the islands’s wildlife such as the orang utan and proboscis monkey as well as its diverse birds.
Along the way, Chan’s publishing firm has branched out into publishing books relating to parks and forests, culture and travelogues and much of these have been focused on Borneo’s diversity.
Among the more popular titles from Natural History have been reprints of books authored by expatriates who wrote about their lives in Borneo in the 1900’s. It was through such a book that Sabahans learnt how the state became associated with the tagline “land below the wind.”
The phrase was used by sailors in the past to describe lands below the typhoon belt but American author Agnes Newton Keith clinched it for Sabah when she used it as the title for her book about her life in the state. It was first published in 1961 and later reprinted by Natural History.
The reprint enabled Sabahans to discover life in the then North Borneo prior to the outbreak of the Second World War. Like many other Natural History publications, it was also popular among tourists.
Like other businesses, the publishing industry has been hit by the Covid-19 pandemic and Natural History is no different with a drop in demand for its books.
Despite the tough times, Chan says Natural History has some ongoing publishing projects, including one authored by a former Sabah chief minister. However, he would not provide the details.
Looking back at his involvement in the book publishing industry, Chan said an essential requirement was having a passion for the books.
“Although we have published hundreds of titles, any time our book comes into existence the feeling is the same – it’s like holding a new baby in your hands,” he said.
After 30 years in the business, Chan ruefully acknowledges that even before the pandemic, book publishing was not a money making venture.
“To me it’s more of a hobby,” he added. It is a hobby that continues to put Sabah on the map in the book publishing world.