Natural History

Philadelphia:: Audubon, J.J.,, 1843.. Imperial Folio Edition. Near Fine Condition with rich original hand-coloring. . A Near Fine orginal hand-colored lithograph by JT Bowen after painting by John James Audubon. (1785-1851). Near Fine condition with a few light foxing spots at edge, not effecting the image. Rich original color, full margins. Imperial Folio (22 x 28 inches) framed to 33.75 x 29.25 inches. Archivally framed in Ecru pongee with goldleaf bevel and 2" gold leaf & burl Neoclassical frame by Lowry-James Rare Prints & Books. The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America (Philadelphia c.1845-48) represents the culmination of a lifelong dream held by America's most prominent naturalist and visionary, John James Audubon (1785-1851). Following the completion of his magnum opus, the Double Elephant Folio Edition of Birds of America, c. 1824-38, Audubon was at liberty to pursue a project close to his heart, large scale portraits of all of North America's native… Read More

London: John and Arthur Arch, Cornhill, 1831. CHANDLER, Alfred. . Illustrations and Descriptions of the Plants which Compose the Natural Order Camellieæ, and the Varieties of Camellia Japonica, Cultivated in the Gardens of Great Britain. London: John and Arthur Arch, Cornhill, 1831. Deluxe copy on large paper, with highly finished plates. This book "exists in three states, i.e. with uncoloured plates, coloured plates, and more highly finished coloured plates on large paper." (Sitwell). With forty beautiful hand-colored plates heightend in gum Arabic (thirty-six of which are engravings and four of which are lithographs, all by Chandler). Folio (14 7/8 x 10 3/4 inches; 378 x 273 mm). xii, [40 leaves], 41-48 pp. With tissue guard and a leaf of text for each plate. Pages 41-48 include instructions for the "Propagation and Culture." A presentation copy, signed by Booth on the title-page. Contemporary half black morocco over brown cloth. Gilt lettering on spine. Red endpapers. Cloth a bit sunned and… Read More

(10), viii, 116, 48 engraved plates (24 handcolored each with an uncolored key plate), 1 colored, engraved frontis.
A very clean copy of the most well known and most desirable book on amphibians. Some plates trimed close effecting plate numbers on colored plates xiv, xix & xx, and uncolored plates xix, xx, xxi, xxii and a small portion of image (head of a dissectng pin) on both versions of plate xix. Faint dampstain on upper, inside corner of text pages 59-74 and a couple of the plates in this section. "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." — Wood, 1931. 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… Read More

London: Lovell Reeve, 1859. First Edition. Hardcover. London, Lovell Reeve, [November] 1859 [first separate edition]. Large quarto, viii, 128 pages (complete with the half-title). Later half roan and stippled cloth, lightly rubbed at the extremities; a very crisp and bright copy. 'The first important botanical work by a supporter of the doctrine of evolution by natural selection' (Norman, often quoted, but not going nearly far enough in our opinion!). A singular rarity, of the utmost importance. In the concluding paragraph of the postscript, unique to this edition, Hooker writes: 'I would further observe here, to avoid ambiguity, that my friend Mr. Darwin's just completed work "On the Origin of Species by Natural Selection" [sic], from the perusal of much of which in MS. I have profited so largely, had not appeared during the printing of the Essay, or I should have largely quoted it. Kew, November, 4, 1859'.

1785. Augustae Taurinorum (Turin), Ioannes Michael Briolus, 1785 + 1789. Folio. 3 later hvellum in old style w. titles and tomes printed in black on spines. All edges uncut. Title-pages printed in red and black. Large engr. vignette to all three title-pages. Engr. frontispiece-portrait to volume one. (10), XIX, (1), 344; (4), 366, XIV (= Nomina Generum & Vernacula + Errata), (2) (=colophon); (4), XIV pp + 92 beautiful full page engr. HAND-COLOURED plates. Complete w. all three half-titles and all 92 plates in the very scarce coloured state. A very good copy w. some occasional brownspotting and soiling. Last ab. 35 plates w. waterdamage to upper right corner, only on some plates affecting the actual plate, and on these not affcting the image, but merely the plate-numbering in upper right corner. The supplementary "Auctarium" is in 4to and bound in a newer full leather binding w. gilt spine (Henning Jensen). Engr. title-vignette. (4), 53, (1) pp. + 2 folded engr. plates. Complete, nice and clean w.… Read More

1801. Vindobonae (Vienna), Matth. Andrae Schmidt, 1801-1805. Large folio. (50x35,5 cm.) Bound in 3 contemporary half longgrained red morocco bindings, with gilt backs and gilt lettering. Corners and edges slightly rubbed, minor scratches to the marbled covers, a fine copy. (8),74;(1),72;(1),66 pp. and 300 (100+100+100) handcoloured engraved folio-plates. Text as well as plates printed on fine thick paper, all uncut and clean. Plates with tissue-guards and in very fine original handcolouring. Scarce first edition of this beautiful work on grasses by the first director of the botanical garden in Vienna. A fourth volume, also comprising 100 plates, was issued 4 years later in 1809 - it is not present here. The beautiful plates are unsigned but drawn by Johannes Baptista Jebmayer (J. Ibmayer)."The work is a product of the golden Age of Viennese botany, when Hapsburg patronage attracted many botanists, and paid for lavish publication of their work. The present work is dedicated to the Emperor Francis I… Read More

1880. London: John Murray, 1880. 8vo, x, 592, 32 (ads dated May 1878) pp. Illustrated with 196 in-text woodcuts. Original green blind-stamped cloth, backstrip titled in gilt, brown coated endpapers, hinges cracked, a little wear to crown and foot of backstrip, text block edges (but not pages) stained, an unsophisticated copy. § § First edition, first issue, inscribed in Charles Darwin's hand, "Elizabeth Darwin, From her Father." Presentation copies from Darwin, in his own hand, are exceptionally rare (most presentation copies were inscribed "from the author" by the publisher); a copy inscribed to a family member by Darwin himself is extraordinarily so. Elizabeth Darwin, known as Bessy, was Charles and Emma Darwin's youngest daughter and perhaps the most enigmatic of all their ten children. She is remembered as a quiet soul who lived in the family home until the death of her mother, and then in a cottage on her own near her three brothers until her death in 1926. The book which Darwin has… Read More

London : Printed by J Davis [Vols I & II] and B Wilks [Vol III] for the Author, 1798 A very good copy of the complete 3 volume 1st edition including later Supplement, with 440 hand coloured plates on 436 leaves. This work was James Sowerby's follow up to his successful English Botany and he both drew, and engraved the plates and oversaw the colouring. He immersed himself in the study of mushrooms over the period of work, which was published between 1798 and 1809, including creating 200 models of larger species, and making his collection of specimens available to public view. In his introduction to the Supplement (which was issued without separate title) he states his concern that the identification of many individual species, with illustrations that focus only on perfect specimens, might confuse the public into eating poisonous fungi. His response was to illustrate a number of specimens rather than the 'perfect one' and to model a number of poisonous species for public inspection. This… Read More

London: Carington Bowles, 1764. Second Edition. Near fine. Folio, 15 1/2 x 11 3/4 inches (394 x 300mm); Second edition, 1 title page and 12 plates engraved and hand-colored, trimmed to plate-mark at fore-edge, lightly browned, some spotting, later 3/4 red morocco with title and fillets in gilt, rubbed and a little stained, rebacked, corners worn. The plates were engraved by Henry Roberts as evidenced in the markings of each plate the first edition, but omitted in the second edition. [Nissen 4411; Linsey 183]. EXTREMELY RARE, COMPLETE BOUND SET of this important work, a fine hand-coloured set of decorative plates with the butterflies and moths arranged symmetrically forming kaleidoscopic patterns. Each moth or butterfly is accompanied by a number and referenced at the foot of each page with its English name as well as annotations about what the caterpillar eats, when it changes to chrysalis, and when it flies. The first edition of 1742 (British Museum holdings nos. 1914,0520.522 - 1914,0520.534,… Read More

Berlin: Ben Joachim Pauli, 1783. First Edition. Near fine. Ludwig Schmidt and others. Oblong 4to, 8 1/2 x 10 1/4 in. (211 x 260 mm), 117 fine hand-colored engraved plates, printed on handmade laid paper. Contemporary half calf with marbled paper boards and a handwritten paper label on the spine, chipped; binding rubbed and corners bumped but binding is square and firm; all edges red; light water stain to the cover and fly sheets, not affecting the plates. Very light foxing on a few of the plates. The copy offered here does not include the plate relating to the entomologist's instruments, which is included in some copies. [Nissen, ZBI 2078]. An exceedingly rare and beautifully-illustrated work by Carl Gustav Jablonsky and JFW Herbst, whose Natursystem is one of the first attempts at a complete survey of exotic and European butterflies, and edited following the system of Carl Linnaeus (1707 - 1778), the father of modern taxonomy, as stated in the subtitle of the work. Carl Gustav Jablonsky (1765 -… Read More

Paris:: Arthus Bertrand, [1840-55]., 1840. Atlas folio (in sheets). 55 x 35.5 cm. 10 lithographic plates with drawings by Louis Bevalet & lithographed by Muller [and] Himely (engr.), 2 additional maps or charts. With the original printed wrapper chemise. Wrapper is a bit worn. Plates are in excellent condition. Very good. HOUSED WITHIN A MODERN HALF-MOROCCO DROP-BACK BOX, navy blue cloth chemise. First printing, extremely rare, of the unfinished publication of Gaimard expedition, containing what is often missing from the main body of the expedition report (probably due to the size of the plates and their non-bound format?). It seems Rudolph Ackermann (1764-1834), the famous lithographer from London, may have also been involved in the production of these plates as his name is on the plates themselves. / Gaimard, a French naval surgeon and naturalist, built an observatory at Bossekop, Finnmark, where he made his scientific observations of the Arora Borealis. There were 10 striking lithographs used to… Read More

Venice: Bernardinus Benalius & Johannes de Tridino alias Tacuinus, 1511. [H]ORTUS SANITATIS. Venice: Bernardinus Benalius & Johannes de Tridino alias Tacuinus, 1511]. The fifth, expanded edition of the Latin text and the first edition printed in Italy. The tract De facile acquisibilibus is added for the first time as a supplement to the section De urinis. Folio (11 7/8 x 8 1/8 inches; 300 x 205 mm). With 367 (of 368) leaves, bound without the final blank which is common. Printed in double columns, with over 1000 column-width woodcuts within the text. Title page within an elaborate woodcut border and three full-page woodcuts. Two of which are of physicians, and the third is of a skeleton. The illustration cuts are reverse copies of those by Johann Prüss. from the c.1496 Strasbourg which were copies from the first edition printed in Mainz by Jacob Meydenbach in 1491. Newer full calf. Boards stamped in black and blind. Spine lettered in gilt and incorrectly dated 1497. Title-page is slightly… Read More

In Bologna,: 1684., 1684. Quarto. [17] ff. The plates include an engraved title within elaborate border populated with weapons and gimmicks for hunting, a bird-age is shown on the top; engraved "times to begin birding" and 15 plates bearing two plates: top illustration, and bottom engraved text. Later quarter chocolate morocco, simple spine title, raised bands, marbled boards. Fine. FIRST EDITION OF THIS EXTREMELY RARE WORK, ENTIRELY ENGRAVED, BEING MITELLI'S EXTREMELY RARE FIRST PRINTING OF HIS OWN FORM OF BIRD-HUNTING, OR BIRD TRAPPING. The magnificent illustrations depict different bird hunting techniques, all very curious. According to Ceresoli these techniques for bird trapping were actually used at the time of this publication. "The aucupio modes depicted may seem fantastic, but actually practiced in those times, in which game was more credulous and more abundant than now: the Mitelli, then, a strenuous hunter, depicts some invented or modified by himself." – Ceresoli. Mitelli practiced the… Read More

San Francisco: Edward Vischer, 1862. VISCHER, Edward. First edition, third and best issue (with three more lithographs than the first issue). Title leaf (frontispiece) and twelve lithographic plates by Vischer, with a total of 25 engravings. Oblong folio, mount size (10 7/8 x 13 5/8 inches; 275 x 345 mm). The lithographer was C.C. Kuchel, and the printer L. Nagel. With the exception of the title leaf, the lithographs are mounted (as issued) and have letterpress descriptive text in purple. All plates are loose, as issued in the original cloth portfolio. Portfolio rebacked. Mounted on the inside of the front cover is a lithograph closely resembling the title leaf, but lacking printer's, lithographer's, and typographer's imprints. Mounted on the inside back cover is the "Index" and "Visitor's Guide." The present volume is Farquhar's state A, in a cloth portfolio rather than a pictorial paper envelope. In the envelope issue was a four-page folded sheet with text, which was not issued with this present… Read More

London: Published by the author, 1871-1881, 1895-1896, [1905-]1910. , 721 hand-col lithographic plates, 2 uncoloured plates; 106 colour-printed plates from photographs. . HB. 11 vols, large 4to (324x250mm): Birds, 9 vols, cont. red half morocco, raised bands to spines, gilt and black rules between compartments, beaded gilt rule to bands, gilt motifs to compartments, marbled boards and endpapers, top edges gilt, additional wood-engraved title pages; Eggs, 2 vols, cont. red half morocco by Geo. & A. Grant, spines closely matching the main set, with the same gilt motifs to spine compartments, but with red cloth boards. Birds: some minor rubbing/scuffing to corners; small chips to three head caps; Eggs: heavier scuffing to leather on joints and corners. Orig. printed blue wrappers to The Birds of Europe Vol. I-VIII (parts I-LXXXIV) bound at the end of Vol. I, together with various prospectuses, temporary title pages and lists of subscribers; part wrappers for Eggs of the Birds of Europe (parts I-XXIV)… Read More