Ephemeri Vita or the Natural History and Anatomy of the Ephemeron by SWAMMERDAM, Jan - 1681

London: Henry Faithorne and John Kersey, 1681. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. 1st Edition. Hardcover. 4to - over 9¾ - 12" tall. 4to (214 x 163 mm). [8], 44, [8] pp. Signatures: A-G4 H2. 8 engraved plates on 5 sheets (2 folding). Bound in 20th century calf antique, spine with morocco gilt lettering piece, gilt dentelles, new endpapers. Text and plates quite crisp and clean with only very little browning and occasional spotting, small hole in title page and abrasion to first letter of title with slight loss, lower margins of H1 and H2 repaired and reinforced, light browning. Provenance: collection of Roman Vishniac, Russian-American biologist, photographer and pioneer in photomicroscopy. ----

FIRST ENGLISH EDITION, and exceptionally rare, of Swammerdam's monograph on the mayfly, originally published in Dutch in 1675 and translated by the well known British anatomist Edward Tyson. Swammerdam made remarkable observations on insect anatomy, including his description in this work of metamorphosis, which had never been covered in greater detail before. His illustrations of the anatomy of the mayfly were also of unprecedented accuracy and detail. References: Nissen ZBI 4060; Wing S6233; Osler 963. - Visit our website to see more images!