Nature Displayed in the Heavens and on the Earth, according to the latest observations and discoveries

London, Dublin, Edinburgh & New York: Printed for Sir Richard Phillips, 1823. Six volumes, small octavo, pp 588; 600, (15); 584, (10), uncut, a few pages unopened, a little age-toning and marking, one gathering (347-350) in Volume IV detached and gatherings towards the rear of the volume becoming a bit weak and loose, Volume VI has extra bis pages (343* - 354*); very well illustrated with 197 engraved or wood engraved plates (of which 31 are folding) and 50 coloured plates (of which 2 are folding) and 1 folding table; bound in the original pink boards, a bit worn, chipped and marked, original printed paper labels on the spines, the upper cover of Volume V detached, otherwise firm and tight, a neat signature on each front endpaper. Apparently lacking one plate in Volume 1 (Relative Sizes of the Planets) though there is no sign of this ever having been bound in. There are several extra plates to those listed, and our copy would seem to agree with the set at auction at Christie's in 2006 which contained 246 of 248 plates. A work of considerable charm and interest and, despite some faults as mentioned, a remarkable set in original unsophisticated state. [Simeon Ackroyd Shaw (1785 - 1859) was a 19th-century English scientific writer, industrial historian and teacher. He spent his working life in the Staffordshire Potteries, now the city of Stoke-on-Trent, England. Shaw originated in Lancashire and as a young man he arrived in the Potteries to work on the Potteries Gazette and Newcastle-under-Lyme Advertiser newspaper. After some 20 years of newspaper and printing work, living in Wolstanton, he then went into teaching. He ran several teaching academies in the district. His first book was this 6-volume work which was based on his obviously very comprehensive series of popular short lectures on everything from natural species to meteorites.]. First Edition. Boards. Good.