Middleton, R. Hunter

Cherryburn Prints: Volume I. Discovered Subjects I to X (and) Volume II. Discovered Subjects XI to XX + 2 additional signed prints, each housed in portfolio cases as issued.

Chicago: The Cherryburn Press, 1973. First edition of limited issue. Pp. (vol. 1): (5, title page, subjects by discovery, prints without a press); pp. (vol. 2): (2, title page, addendum for Volume II) + 22 linoleum-block prints in colors on Japanese paper, each tipped into a plain paper mat with the printed roman numbers of each print at bottom inside corner; the plates are loose in portfolio as issued. Original hand-made rag-paper wrappers for each volume is printed in red and housed in the publisher's cream-color linen box over charcoal paper-covered boards with red ribbon ties, spine and front cover with red printed title labels, folio (15 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches). This edition was limited to 20 copies only. Middleton describes the creative process: ""Start by spotting several blobs of water color paint, in different hues, on a piece of heavy tracing paper, located well within the whole area; then, subject the paper to quick horizontal movement in several directions. Repeat the process one or more times. The result will be a mass of crisscrossing irregular width lines and solid shapes"". This process allowed Middleton to ""discover recognizable material, usually in the form of birds, animals, fish, flowers and human profiles, appearing in plausible environments."" Middleton was an American book designer, painter, and type designer. Born in Glasgow, Scotland he came to Chicago in 1908 where he studied at the School of the Art Institute. He joined the design department of the Ludlow Typograph Company in 1923 where he served as director from 1933-71. In 1944 he began operating a private press, The Cherryburn Press, producing many fine press editions. This copy of 'Cherryburn Prints' came from grandson of R. Hunter Middleton. This copy has two extra prints, the first is dated 1973 and bears the initials RHM, and the second extra print is a large format watercolor (10 1/2 x 8 inches) printed on the stationary of R. Hunter Middleton. Each extra print is added at the beginning of the prints in each portfolio. No ownership marks. The linen on the spine so the first portfolio case is slightly tanned, there is edge rear to the rear board of the first portfolio and to the inner cardboard ridge, the wrappers, printed text and color prints inside each portfolios are bright and clean, the red ribbon ties have been renewed for both portfolios; a tight copy in near fine condition..

Natural History BooksProfessional seller

Book number: 6177

Catalogue: Fine and Rare

Miller, John F.

Illustratio Systematis Sexualis Linnaei. An Illustration of the sexual system of the Genera Plantarum of Linnaeus

London: published and sold by the Author, (1770-) 1777. First edition. Pp. (120), engraved emblematic frontispiece, engraved title, subscriber's list, with 108 fine hand-colored engraved plates heightened with gum Arabic (4 hand-colored engraved plates of leaf shapes + 104 hand-colored engraved plates of flowers) and 108 uncolored plates printed in black (all plates in this work appear in two states, one state is hand-colored and the other is monochrome). Bound to style by the Studio Bindery of Kingston-on-Thames, Surrey, England, in speckled calf, the covers paneled in blind with on-laid light brown speckled panel surrounding a central area cross-hatched in blind, spine in six compartments with raised bands, the bands highlighted by tooling in gilt and blind, red morocco lettering-piece in the second compartment, the others with simple repeat gilt decoration of a centrally-placed flower-spray tool, marbled endpapers, lg thick folio (527 x 355mm). The text is printed in two columns one in Latin and on in English. The work was originally issued to subscribers in twenty parts between 1775 and 1777 to 85 subscribers who ordered a total 105 sets (some plates printed as early as 1770); the edition was limited to these 105 copies (subscriber's list included). ""An immense work of botany where in … Miller illustrated, in a style of unprecedented elegance, the sexual system of Linnaeus"" (J. C. Lettsom - Memoirs of John Fothergill, 1789, p. 106). Linnaeus himself was full of praise for Miller's work, in a letter of 25 July 1775 he described the sample plates he had been sent as ""pulchiores et accuratiores quam ullae quas vidit mundus a condito orbe"" (more beautiful and accurate than any seen since the beginning of the world). Johann Sebastian Mueller was born in Nuremberg but moved permanently to England in 1744 changing his name to Miller. For the present work, he worked chiefly from specimens in the garden of John Fothergill at Upton in Essex, England. See also Great Flower Books (1990) p. 120; Soulsby 667; Stafleu & Cowan 6482. The frontispiece is lightly foxed, the 2nd and 76th colored plates show slight flaking of the green pigmentation, occasional offsetting from some uncolored plates onto the facing text leaves, a few faint mars to the outer leather boards, this large attractively-bound volume weighs about 40 pounds; a bright, clean copy in near fine condition..

Natural History BooksProfessional seller

Book number: 8130

Catalogue: Fine and Rare

Oppianus

Oppian's Halieuticks of the Nature of Fishes and Fishing of the Ancients in V. Books. Translated from the Greek, with an Account of Oppian's Life and Writings, and a Catalogue of his Fishes

Oxford: Printed at the Theater, 1722. First edition in English. Pp. (8), 232, (7, list of subscribers); engraved title vignette. Early brown half-calf leather, spine with five raised bands, title is lettered in gilt on a red morocco label in one compartment, gilt armorial vignette in another compartment, over gray marbled boards, 8vo. This work was written by the Greek scholar Oppianus (Oppian) who lived in the second century A.D. Casey Wood (p. 500) notes that the first time it appeared in published form was in 1478 in the Italian city-state of Florence. A second edition was published in 1508. The volume offered here is the first edition in English that was translated directly from the original Greek. Casey Wood (pg. 500) observes: ""The labor of translating this Greco-Roman author was divided between Mr. Diaper (Pt. 1, Books I and II) and John Jones (Pt. 2, Books III to V). The latter contributor also wrote an account of Oppian's life and writings and compiled a catalogue of his Fishes. Dean's Bibliography of Fishes (volume III, p. 295) says that 'of all the ancient writers on fish and fishing, Oppian is easily the most important.' The contests between rival factions in the sea are amusingly drawn in the lines relating to the Lobster, the Lamprey, and the Preke (octopus). The remarkable color-changes of the last named were well known to the ancients (Book II)"". The catalogue of fishes at the end of the work is of taxonomic importance since it lists all fishes known to Oppian in the 2nd century A.D. These fishes are listed with both their Greek and Latin names. The front endpaper bears the signature of Dan Lyfons of All Souls College at Oxford, dated 1752. Daniel Lyfons, M. D. became a Physician to the General Hospital at Bath. The front endpaper also has the armorial bookplate of Ferdinand Grant Loeb (1865 - 1913). Light foxing to the front endpapers and to the half-title; a tight, bright and clean copy in near fine condition in a very attractive early binding..

Natural History BooksProfessional seller

Book number: 7846

Catalogue: Fine and Rare

Pallas, Peter S.

Travels through the Southern Provinces of the Russian Empire, in the Years 1793 and 1794, in 2 volumes, complete.

London: printed by A. Strahan for Longman and Rees, 1802-1803. First edition. Pp. xxiii, (1, errata) 552; xxx, (1, errata), 523; with 51 engraved and aquatint plates (most of which are hand-colored), 4 folding engraved maps, 28 hand-colored aquatint vignettes. Contemporary speckled calf-leather, rebacked preserving original spines with red and black gilt-lettered labels, 4to (275 x 217 mm). This is the first edition in English. It was translated from the original German entitled ""Reise durch verschiedene Provinzen des Russischen Reichs in einem ausfuhrlichen Auszuge"" published in 1778. There is a scientific flair to Pallas' accounts as the author was trained as a botanist and zoologist. This well-illustrated work documents the author's ""travels from St. Petersburg eastwards, along the Volga, to Astrakhan, the Caspian Sea, thence to the Caucasus Mountains, the Crimea, and back to St. Petersburg. Pallas covers the ethnology, costumes, flora, fauna, geology, topography and commerce of the southern provinces of Russia"" (Abbey Travel 222). Cox, (volume 1, p. 199) observes that ""Pallas left St. Petersburg in 1768 and spent six full years investigating various districts of Siberia such as the Urals, the Caspian, Tobolsk, Lake Baikal and the lower Volga. His reports on the geology, flora, fauna and indigenous inhabitants are of great scientific value."" Finally, Tooley (357, p.289-291) called the work ""an extremely charming colour plate book... It deserves a place in every colour plate collection for its numerous attractive coloured vignettes, an unusual feature."" Armorial bookplate of Margaret D. Stephens. Inscribed to ""Joe Frank Payne, M.D."" from P.H.P.T.  in memory of their safe trip to Russia in May 1879.  Joseph Frank Payne was a physician and medical historian who was sent to Russia in 1879 by the British government to investigate an epidemic of bubonic plague.  Name stamp of former owner in Chinese on the title page of both volumes. Occasional marginal spotting or foxing to some text pages, two of the folding maps at the rear show stronger marginal foxing, the fine hand-colored and plain plates are quite bright and clean; the original calf on the front and rear covers shows some rubbing and shading; overall, a tight copy in very good condition..

Natural History BooksProfessional seller

Book number: 5571

Catalogue: Fine and Rare

Keywords: Fine rare travel exploration Russian Empire 1793 1794 Caucasus Mountains Crimea St. Petersburg Bolga Astrakhan Caspian Sea English translation Urals Europe Asia Eurasia Tobolsk Lake Baikal Margaret D. Stephens Pallas

Parkinson, John

Paradisi in Sole: Paradisus Terrestris faithfully reprinted from the edition of 1629

London: Methuen & Co, 1904. Facsimile Reprint. Pp. (4), a-k, 1-612, 1-16 (index + contents); title page with decorated floral woodcut, woodcut portrait of Parkinson, 110 full page plates - all are fine woodcuts of floral species. Later full tan morocco, spine with five raised bands lettered in gilt in one compartment, front and rear covers tooled in blind and with blind-stamped small floral decorations, thick folio (14.5 x 9 inches). The long subtitle listed on the decorated floral title page reads: ""… or a garden of all sorts of pleasant floras … with a kitchen garden of all manner of herbs, roots and fruits, for meat or sauce used with cuts, and an orchard of all sorts of fruit-bearing trees and shrubs fit for our land together with the ordering of planting and preserving of them and their uses and virtues."" This is almost certainly the most famous English gardening book of the 17th century. The work is based on Parkinson's own gardens. The title can be roughly translated to 'Park in the Sun' which is how the author viewed his own fine gardens. This high quality facsimile reprint is very attractively bound in highly decorated tan morocco. ""John Parkinson (1567-1650) was the last of the great English herbalists and one of the first of the great English botanists. He was apothecary to James I and a founding member of the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries in December 1617, and was later Royal Botanist to Charles I. His most monumental work was Paradisi in Sole Paradisus Terrestris (Park-in-Sun's Terrestrial Paradise), which generally describes the proper cultivation of plants in England"" (modified after Wiki entry). See also Pritzel 6933. No ownership marks and no signs of use. A very bright and clean copy in fine condition, bound in an elegant and attractive full morocco binding..

Natural History BooksProfessional seller

Book number: 7360

Catalogue: Fine and Rare

Pfeiffer, Louis and Otto, Fr.

Abbildung und Beschreibung blühender Cacteen. Figures des Cactées en fleur peintes et lithographiées d'après nature (two volumes complete bound in one volume)

Cassel: Theodor Fischer, 1843-1850. First edition. Pp. 150+, 60 hand-colored plates (plate 14 in the second volume is in fine color facsimile), the original printed blue wrappers are bound in place for the parts in volume 2, many original tissue guards are in place. Each plate is accompanied by 2-3 leaves of descriptive text. Early one-half black morocco leather, spine with five raised bands and lettered in gilt in three compartments, over green cloth-covered boards, green tinted marbled endpapers, small folio (330 x 260mm). This rare work was issued by subscription in 12 parts – each part contained five hand-colored plates. In this copy the two volumes are bound together in one volume. As with all copies, the plates show foxing due to the low quality of the paper used. The text is presented in both German and French. According to Junk, Rara, p. 68: This is the only iconography of the Cacteen - at least until the year of its completion - that is complete. The author, Louis Pfeiffer (1805-1877), was a doctor who lived in Kassel, Germany. He examined the cactus species cultivated in the largest botanical gardens in Germany based on the living material himself. He also consulted with Prince von Salm-Reyfferscheid-Dyck, the first expert on succulent plants. See also: Great Flower Books (1990), p. 125; Nissen BBI, 1524; Stafleu & Cowan 7817; Pritzel 7108 and De Belder 278. There is some foxing and browning to some of the hand-colored plates in volume 1, this is due to the poor quality of the paper used; nearly all the plates in volume 2 are bright and clean, only a few shows light foxing. The fine morocco binding is very bright and clean, two of the four marbled endpapers some light browning. Overall, a tight and clean copy in very good condition..

Natural History BooksProfessional seller

Book number: 9594

Catalogue: Fine and Rare

Roesel von Rosenhof, August Johann

Historia naturalis Ranarum nostratium / Die naturliche Historie der Froesche hiesigen Landes

Nuremberg: Johann Joseph Fleischmann, 1758. First edition. Pp. (10), viii, 116, 48 engraved plates (24 are hand-colored each with a matching uncolored key plate), 1 hand-colored frontispiece, engraved title page, 8 engraved headpieces in the text. Contemporary mottled calf, probably German, spine with 7 raised bands, gilt-lettered on red morocco label in one compartment and with a repeating emblematic gilt-scene showing St. Francis in the other 7 compartments, folio (17.5 x 12 inches), in black cloth-covered clamshell box with gilt title/author label on the box spine. ""The present volume is one of the classics of amphibiology. The illustrations are of the finest and the whole work is admirably done. The title and text appear both in Latin and German and there is a preface by A. von Haller--altogether a very valuable, early contribution to the literature of the Batrachia"" (from Wood, 1931, p. 541). This work is from the private collection of Countess Sophie Potocha of Lancut Castle, Poland with her signature on the title page. Countess Sophie (Zofia) Potocha lived between 1760-1822. August Johan Roesel was born into an Austrian noble family in Augustenburg, near Arnstadt, Germany on March 30, 1705. Following the early death of his father, his godmother, the reigning princess of Arnstadt-Schwarzburg, assumed responsibility for his education. She encouraged his artistic ability and in 1720 he was apprenticed to his uncle, Wilhem Roesel von Rosenhof, a well-known painter. During his early research on insects, Roesel studied amphibians and reptiles. This work culminated in the publication of Historia naturalis ranarum in several installments between 1753 and 1758. When all of them had appeared, Albrecht von Haller offered to contribute a preface to the work. The text of the Historia, printed in both Latin and German, contains descriptions of all the German frogs and toads. The twenty-four plates in large folio format are presented in pairs: those on the left-hand page show simple outlines of their subjects; those on the right-hand page are produced in unusually sumptuous and graphic colors (after DSB). From the research collection of herpetologist Kraig Adler with his small bookplate on inside of the slipcase and his small signature at the top of the title page. A very bright and clean copy with brilliant hand-colored plates, outer corners a little rubbed, in near fine condition in a new clamshell cloth-covered box..

Natural History BooksProfessional seller

Book number: 9527

Catalogue: Fine and Rare

Rondelet, Guillaume

Libri de Piscibus Marinis, in quibus verae Piscium effigies expressae sunt + Universae aquatilium Historiae pars altera, cum veris ipsorum Imaginibus, two volumes in one (in late 19 century polished calf)

Lyons: Matthias Bonhomme, 1554, 1555. First edition. Pp. (16), 583, (25); (12), 242, (10); 429 woodcuts from the designs of Georges Reverdi featuring 2 portraits of the author, numerous fishes, shells, crabs, crocodiles, serpents, turtles and other sea creatures. In period-style late 19th century brown polished calf leather, spine with six raised bands, lettered in gilt in one compartment, blind-stamped decorations to the front and rear boards, folio (13 3/4 x 8 1/2 inches). This is the first edition of Rondelet's towering achievement in the study of ichthyology and all varieties of aquatic life. ""In this work, which covers all marine and freshwater zoology, Rondelet relied heavily on classical authority, particularly Aristotle. However, he also insisted on the value of experience, citing the results of his own experiments and anatomical investigations, and refusing to accept any statements contradicting what he himself had observed. His De piscibus marinis covered far more species than any earlier work in the field. It influenced the development of ichthyological research, and remained the standard for more than a century. The first section of De piscibus marinis constitutes a general treatise on comparative anatomy distinguishing species by their habits, parts and actions. The remainder of the work is an encyclopedia of over 300 aquatic animals, with each entry giving the subject's name in several languages, and outlining its way of life, feeding habits and characteristic anatomical features. The work is especially valuable for its accurate treatment of Mediterranean species and for providing the first zoological accounts of the manatee and sperm whale"" (modified after Norman 1848). See also Adams R-746 and R-747; Garrison-Morton 282; Nissen ZBI 3474. From the library of David Lank of Montreal, Quebec with his custom bookplate on the front endpaper. The title-page is a bit worn and soiled, there are short and faint tidemarks confined to some outer margins, there are early ink marginalia in Latin on some pages; an extra illustration has been pasted on to page 238, the period binding is very attractive; a tight copy in very good condition..

Natural History BooksProfessional seller

Book number: 8077

Catalogue: Fine and Rare

Roscoe, Mrs. Edward (née Lace)

Floral Illustrations of the Seasons: Consisting of Drawings from Nature of some of the Most Beautiful, Hardy and Rare Herbaceous Plants cultivated in the Flower Garden, carefully arranged according to their Seasons of Flowering

London: R. Havell, Marshall Simpkin and Thomas Richardson, 1838. First edition (reissue). Pp. (vi), 55 hand-colored copper-engraved and aquatint plates by Havell after Margaret Roscoe's drawings on wove paper with J. Whatman Turkey Mill watermarks dated 1828, interleaved with letterpress descriptions facing each color plate, section titles (Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter). Finely bound by Sangorski and Sutcliffe in three-quarter dark green morocco over pale green cloth boards, spine with five raised bands, gilt-lettered in three compartments and gilt floral decorations in other compartments, top page edge gilt, 4to (11.5 x 9 inches; 29 x 23 cm). The author was William Roscoe's daughter-in-law and was better known as a botanical artist under her maiden name Margaret Lace. This work was originally published in 7 fascicles from November 1829 to 1831. The volume was published in 1831; this reissue has a date of 1838 on the title page yet the watermarks on the color plates are dated 1828 as in the 1831 printing. In this work, plate 47 is placed as the frontispiece. Robert Havell's exquisite engravings and aquatints demonstrate his mastery as a natural history illustrator. The process for printing aquatint plates, used by Havell in Floral Illustrations of the Seasons, is uncommon. It was used in the early printing of some great flower books such as Thornton's Temple of Flora (1799-1807). In the aquatint process, ""the plate is covered in powdered resin and heated so that, when it cools, its resin coating has a fine network of cracks through which acid will etch the plate; gradations of tone are produced by stopping the etching at different stages, using varnish to protect the pale areas from acid while the darker areas are further etched. The printed result is a very fine network of irregular lines building up various depths of tone"" (Rix - The Art of Botanical Illustration, 1981, p. 178). See also Stafleu and Cowan, TL-2, 9504; Nissen, BBI, 1676; Sitwell, Great Flower Books (1990), p. 133, Dunthorne 266 and Pritzel 7763. No ownership marks. Green morocco on the spine is lightly sunned, a few plates trimmed along the lower margin occasionally touching plate-marks but with no effect to color images, there is no plate number for plate 41; a tight, bright and clean copy in near fine condition..

Natural History BooksProfessional seller

Book number: 0970

Catalogue: Fine and Rare

Keywords: flowers hand colored plates Roscoe Lace seasonal plants Natural Sciences Natural Science

Saalmuller, M.

Lepidopteren von Madagascar. Neue und weig bekannte Arten zumeist aus der Sammlung der Senckenberg'schen naturforschenden Gesellschaft zu Frankfurt am Main, 2 Parts, complete (bound in one volume).

Frankfurt am Main: Im Selbstverlag der Gesellschaft, 1884-1891. First edition. Pp. (4), 531; 15 full page chromolithograph plates (1 ornate chromolithograph title page + 14 chromolithographs of butterflies and moths, designated I-XIV), frontispiece photogravure of the author at beginning of part 2). Recent one-half green morocco leather, spine with 5 raised bands, with red and black morocco title labels lettered in gilt, over English marbled boards with matching marbled endpapers, 4to (282 x 230 mm). This authoritative work is the earliest monographic treatment of the Lepidoptera of Madagascar. Part 1 covers Rhopalocera, Heterocera: Sphinges et Bombyces and Part 2 covers Heterocera: Noctuae, Geometrae and Microlepidoptera. Many species new to science are described here. Small rectangular stamp of Universitat Basel at the top margin of the title page, no other ownership marks and no signs of use. Very scarce. A bright and clean copy in near fine condition..

Natural History BooksProfessional seller

Book number: 5562

Catalogue: Fine and Rare

Keywords: Fine rare butterflies moths Madagascar Africa Lepidoptera Rhopalocera Heterocera Sphinges Bombyces Noctuae Geometrae Microlepidoptera Saalmuller

Saalmuller, M.

Lepidopteren von Madagascar. Neue und weig bekannte Arten zumeist aus der Sammlung der Senckenberg'schen naturforschenden Gesellschaft zu Frankfurt am Main, 2 Parts, complete (bound in one volume).

Frankfurt am Main: Im Selbstverlag der Gesellschaft, 1884-1891. First edition. Pp. (4), 531; 15 full page chromolithograph plates (1 ornate chromolithograph title page + 14 chromolithographs of butterflies and moths, designated I-XIV), frontispiece photogravure of the author at beginning of part 2, original printed wrappers bound in place). Later one-half black morocco leather, spine with two dark-red morocco labels lettered in gilt for the title and date and with seven pairs of gilt panel lines, over original dark blue leather-covered boards patterned in the shape of scales from butterfly wings, original French blue-marbled endpapers, 4to (295 x 233 mm). This authoritative work is the earliest monographic treatment of the Lepidoptera of Madagascar. Part 1 covers Rhopalocera, Heterocera: Sphinges et Bombyces and Part 2 covers Heterocera: Noctuae, Geometrae and Microlepidoptera. Many species new to science are described here. Small oval name stamp on the front wrapper of part 2, no other ownership marks and no signs of use. Very scarce. Front wrapper to part 2 shows some light soiling, all of the other wrappers, text and fine color plates are bright and clean as is the fine binding on this work; a tight and clean copy in near fine condition..

Natural History BooksProfessional seller

Book number: 5302

Catalogue: Fine and Rare

Sargeaunt, Captain C. C.

Venomous Snakes of Southern India

Madras: Central Survey Office, 1875. First edition. Pp. (1, title page printed in silver and gilt), 12 hand-colored photo-lithographic plates, with captions naming the snakes in Latin, English, Tamil, Telugu, Hindustani, and Canarese, all with the original tissue guards. Later brown full-grain goat-skin leather, lettered in gilt on the front cover, with the original Victorian marbled endpapers preserved inside, small folio (350 x 270 mm). This is likely the rarest book on Indian snakes ever published. The last copy recorded was sold by Christies in 2015. They report only two copies of the work could be traced to the United Kingdom. It may be that only 100 copies of the work were published. Most likely perished in the harsh southern Indian climate. The copy offered came from a collector in UK. No record of this book appears in Kraig Adler’s “Contributions to the History of Herpetology.” Adler reports he could find no biography or obituary for Captain C. C. Sargeaunt. Thus, no entry exists in his “Contributions to the History of Herpetology.” The hand-colored plates are exceptionally well done. A truly rare herpetology book! Some light browning to the rear (blank) side of some plates, a few wrinkles of the tissue guards, a tight and clean copy in near fine condition..

Natural History BooksProfessional seller

Book number: 9769

Catalogue: Fine and Rare

Schlegel, Hermann

Essai sur la Physionomie des Serpens (atlas volume only)

La Haye, France: J. Kips, J. Hz. et W. P. Stockum, 1837. First edition. Pp. (4), 21 full-page lithographed plates by W.H. Hoogkamer, three double page maps (with color highlights), one double page table, one quadruple page folding table. Original printed paper-covered boards, lettered in black and with an ornate floral-design border surrounding the text block, original gray endpapers, lg folio (17 x 13 inches). Hermann Schlegel (1804-1884) was a German ornithologist and herpetologist who began his career working for Jacob Temminck, Director of the Natural History Museum of Leiden. Schlegel later succeeded Temminck as Director of the Museum. Schlegel early work was mostly herpetological in nature. His most famous herpetological work was “Essai sur la physionomie des serpens” (1837) offered here. This was the first truly scientific treatise on snakes. Although it contained valuable descriptions of species, based on the rich Leiden collection and Schlegel's personal examination of the major European collections, his classification scheme never gained wide acceptance and was soon overshadowed by snake volumes published by A. -M.-C. Dumeril. Gabriel Bibron, and Auguste Dumeril (1844,1853,1854) (modified after Adler - Contributions to the History of Herpetology, vol. 1, p. 30-31). For further information, also Nissen ZBI 3684; BMNH, p. 1838; Vanzolini, p. 57; Engelman, p. 429; Agassiz IV, p. 268. No ownership marks. Rare work. Some faint browning to the endpapers, and to the front and rear boards, top and bottom outer corners of the front board rubbed, faint creases to rear side of the three double page maps, a tight and clean copy in very good condition..

Natural History BooksProfessional seller

Book number: 9441

Catalogue: Fine and Rare

Scoresby, William

Seven Log-Books Concerning the Arctic Voyages of Captain William Scoresby + The 1806 Log Book, in 9 volumes, complete.

New York: Explorers Club, 1916-1917 + 1981. First edition. Pp. 27; 191; 57; 34; 38; 34; 83; 61, (82); numerous facsimile plates of logbooks, color and black-and-white portraits of both the senior and junior Scorsby, folding maps, and charts. Publisher's original marbled boards in original slipcase with a later matching marbled fabric cover, lg folio (16 1/4 x 10 1/4 inches) + original black cloth with paper spine label, in original pictorial dust jacket, sm 4to (10 1/4 x 8 1/2 inches). Complete in 8 volumes (7 log books + matching introductory brochure volume). The introductory volume is by Frederick S. Dellenbaugh. This is number 141 of a limited edition of 300 numbered copies. Also included here is a ninth log-book volume: Scoresby, William: The 1806 Log Book Concerning the Arctic Voyage of Captain William Scoresby. Whitby, Yorkshire: Caedmon of Whitby, 1981, ISBN 0 905355 24 5. An Eberstadt catalog of 1952 notes the following about the Explorer Club set: ""Three hundred copies printed and plates destroyed; all copies permanently deposited in institutions, except for three presented to individuals: Dellenbaugh, Bartlett, and Stefansson. Although perhaps the most important work on whaling and early far-northern exploration ever to achieve print, apparently the desire of the patron, the late James B. Ford, that no copy should ever come on the market, has until now been fulfilled. The only record of the work is an appraisal made in 1937 by a qualified person, placing its value 'at a minimum of one thousand dollars.' The log-books, describing fourteen voyages into the Arctic seas from 1786 onward, are invaluable records of early northern navigation, whale fishing, and original exploration. Scoresby was the most successful whaler and ice navigator that ever lived; a foremost proponent of the Northwest Passage; inventor of the top-gallant 'crow's nest,' the ice drill, and much whaling equipment; and, with his son a leading scientific observer of the polar regions into which on many successive voyages he pushed farther than man had ever before ventured."" This note documents the great rarity of this set. No previous ownership marks. A bright and clean copy in near fine condition in a very attractive slipcase that is also near fine..

Natural History BooksProfessional seller

Book number: 4031

Catalogue: Fine and Rare

Seitz, Adalbert

The Macrolepidoptera of the World (a complete, fully bound set: 16 volumes and 4 supplements bound in 30 total volumes

Stuttgart: Alfred Kernen Verlag, 1909-1954. First edition. Pp. complete text and 1,458 chromolithographed plates. Publisher’s original brown half-calf over green cloth boards, spines are lettered in gilt with numerous gilt panel lines and with a gilt lepidopterological vignette at the head of each spine, lg 4to (31.5 x 25.0 cm; 12 ½ x 9 ¾ inches). This is the complete, bound set of the rarer and more sought-after English edition of this important work on butterflies and moths. Its fine color plates were made using the process of 10-to 14-colour lithography producing exquisite color plates. The editor, Adalbert Seitz, had a plan to finish the work in 1912 but in reality, publication ceased in 1954, even then several volumes remained unfinished. Seitz died in 1938 but the publication of the work continued after his death. The Macrolepidoptera of the World was published in 16 volumes with four supplements and is composed as follows: Volumes 1-4, Palaearctic Fauna with four supplement volumes; Volumes 5-8, American Fauna (vols 7 and 8 remained unfinished); Volumes 9-12, Indo-Australian Fauna (vols 11 and 12 remained unfinished); Volumes 13-16 African Fauna (vols 15 and 16 remained unfinished). Seitz visited all of the major lepidoptera collections around the world in order to compile this major study. It has not been surpassed. No ownership marks and no signs of use. This is a very large and heavy set; it will require much extra postage. In the USA the cost will be $300. International airmail will be much more depending on the country. A bright and clean set that is in fine (new) condition..

Natural History BooksProfessional seller

Book number: 9677

Catalogue: Fine and Rare