zoology - 16 titles

Author:  Carlo Ruini (fl.1598)
Title/Imprint: Anatomia del cavallo, infermità, et suoi rimedii (The Anatomy of the Horse, Its Illnesses and Their Remedies)
2 v. in 1. : ill. ; 33 cm. (fol.); Gasparo Bindoni: Venice , 1599

This work, first printed in 1598, is the first book devoted exclusively to the anatomy of an animal other than that of humans. Ruini goes into great detail on equine anatomy and physiology and the work has been favorably compared with Vesalius's De Fabrica (Herald 122).
Full title: Anatomia del cauallo, infermità, et suoi rimedii : opera nuoua, degna di qualsiuoglia prencipe, & caualiere, & molto necessaria à filosofi, medici, cauallerizzi, & marescalchi
First published in 1598 under the title: Dell'anotomia, e dell'infermità del cavallo.
Signatures: pi2 *-2*6 3*4 a-2a6 2b4 chi2 A-2L6 2M4. Leaf chi2 and 2M4 are blank. In the Dibner Library copy, leaves G-2M4 are misbound after leaf f6; leaves g-2b4 are misbound after F6.
Our copy has the bookplate: Herbert McLean Evans.

book thumbnail image

View all available images from this item in our Galaxy of Images
≈≈≈

Author:  Robert Hooke (1635-1703)
Title/Imprint: Micrographia: or, Some physiological descriptions of minute bodies made by magnifying glasses
18 p. l., 246, [10] p. XXXVIII pl. (partly fold.) 31 cm.; J. Martyn and J. Allestri: London , 1665

A classic work in the history of science, Hooke prepared the engravings himself and reported the first observations of organic cellular structure. He describes the invention of the compound microscope and illustrated many small animlas including the flea, gnat, and louse, as well as pollen seeds, the point of a needle, the edge of a razor, and feathers. The illustrations of the greatly enlarged flea (nearly 16 inches long) in particular shows Hooke's attention to detail.
Signatures: [*]2 A2 a-g2 B-C2 D-Kk4 Ll-Mm2.

book thumbnail image

View all available images from this item in our Galaxy of Images
≈≈≈

Author:  Francesco Redi (1626-1698)
Title/Imprint: Esperienze intorno alla generazione degl'insetti
3 p. l., 228 p. illus., plates (part fold.) 24 cm.; All'insegnia dell Stella: Florence , 1668

Redi was an Italian physician and poet. This book described his important experiments that demonstrated that the popular notion of the spontaneous generation of life was false. This work is incorrectly cited in Heralds as the 1688 edition.
The unnumbered plates are included in paging; 28 between p. 208-209 are numbered. According to Razzolini (Bibl. dei testi di lingua a stampa, p. 287) some copies have 29 in this group.
Our copy is bound with: Steno, N. De Solido ... Florentiae, 1669.
Signatures: A-Dd4 Ee6.

book thumbnail image

View all available images from this item in our Galaxy of Images
≈≈≈

Author:  Antony van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723)
Title/Imprint: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London
p. 6037-6038, 6116-6118, [1] folded leaf of plates : ill. ; 23 cm.; London , 1673

This is the first of over 300 letters that the pioneering microscopist Leeuwenhoek sent to the Royal Society. This letter reported on his discovert of red blood cells, the stinging apparatus of bees, the proboscis and feet of lice, and the structure of bees' eyes.

Herald of Science 189, as designated by Bern Dibner, consists of the first nine letters of Leeuwenhoek's that were published in volumes 8-10 of the Philosophical transactions from 1673 to 1675, which can be found in the Dibner Library. These letters are: 1. The letter cited here; 2. "The Figures of some of Mr. Leewenhoecks Microscopical Observations, formerly publish't (in Numb. 94. p. 6037-6038.) together with their explication [VIII, 6116-6118, plate]; 3. "Considerations of Mr. Leewenhoeck, touching the Compression of the Air; sent to the Publisher in his Letter of August 15, 1673" [IX, 21-23, plate]; 4. "More Microscopical Observations made by the same M. Leewenhoeck, and promised in Numb. 97. of these Tracts; Communicated in his Letters of August 15, 1673 and of April 7, 1674" [IX, 23-25]; 5. "Microscopical Observations from M. Leeuwenhoeck, concerning Blood, Milk, Bones, the Brain, Spitle, and Cuticula, &c. communicated by the said Observer to the Publisher in a Letter, dated June 1, 1674" [IX, 121-128]; 6. "Other Observations made by Mr. Leeuwenhoeck, about Sweat, Fatt, Teares; imparted to the Publisher in a Letter of July the 6th 1674" [IX, 128-131]; 7. "More Observations from Mr. Leeuwenhook, in a Letter of Sept. 7, 1674, sent to the Publisher" [IX, 178-182]; 8. "Microscopical Observations of Mr. Leewenhoeck, concerning the Optic Nerve, communicated to the Publisher in Dutch, and by him made English" [X, 378-380, plate]; 9. "Other Microscopical Observations, made by the same, about the texture of the Blood, the Sap of some Plants, the Figure of Sugar and Salt, and the probable cause of the difference of their Tasts" [X, 380-385].
Our copy has a modern brown buckram library binding with a gilt-lettered spine

≈≈≈

Author:  Giovanni Alfonso Borelli (1608-1679)
Title/Imprint: De motu animalium
2 v. 18 fold. pl. 22 cm.; Angeli Bernabò: Rome , 1680-81

In this classic work, Borelli managed to explain how the muscles of animals moved based on the science of mechanics. He compared the muscles and their linkages to bones in terms of centers of gravity and forces applied to levers, thus showing how people walked, birds flew, etc.

book thumbnail image

View all available images from this item in our Galaxy of Images
≈≈≈

Author:  Jan Swammerdam (1637-1680)
Title/Imprint: Bybel der natuure
2 v., LIII folded leaves of plates. illus. 39 cm.; I. Severinus: Leiden , 1737-38

Swammerdam is regarded as one of the finest 17th-century microscopists. He made thousands of observations with his instruments and this work, only published well after his death, formed the basis of the modern understanding of insects.
Full title: Bybel der natuure, / door Jan Swammerdam, Amsteldammer. Of, Historie der insecten, tot zeekere zoorten gebracht: door voorbeelden, ontleedkundige onderzoekingen van veelerhande kleine gediertens, als ook door kunstige kopere plaaten opgeheldert. Verrykt met ontelbaare waarnemingen van nooit ontdekte zeldzaamheden in de natuur. Alles in de Hollandsche, des auteurs moedertaale, beschreven. Hier by komt een voorreeden, waar in het leven van den avtevr beschreven is door Herman Boerhaave ... de Latynsche overzetting heeft bezorgt Hieronimus David Gaubius
Paged continuously. Plates I-XVI are bound in v. 1; plates XVII-LIII are bound in v. 2. There is an added t.-p. in Latin. Dutch and Latin text are in parallel columns. Plate LIII is bound in the text section of v. 2, facing p. 908.
Provenance: "Ex libris Marchionis Salsae" (bookplate); armorial bookplate with motto "Comme je fus".

≈≈≈

Author:  René-Antoine Ferchault de Réaumir (1683-1757)
Title/Imprint: Mémoires pour servir à l'histoire des insectes
6 v. 267 fold. pl. 26 cm.; l'Imprimerie Royale: Paris , 1734-42

This six-volume unfinished series was a milestone in the development of entomology. Réaumur experimented with insects to find out more about their behavior and development. His process of experimentation using methods of "interrogating nature" have set a pattern in experimental biology. Although it is not a part of Herald of Science 192, there was a 7th volume of this set that appeared much later, published as Encyclopédie entomologique, [no.11] with the imprint: Paris, R. Lechevalier, 1928; added t.-p., 1929. "[Tome 7] publiée pour la première fois, d'après le manuscrit original." cf. Bibl. de la France, Nov.9, 1928, Annonces, p.5338. The Smithsonian does not have a copy of volume 7.
Contents of the various volumes: 1. Sur les chenilles et sur les papillons. -- 2. Suite de l'histoire des chenilles & des papillons; et l'histoire des insectes ennemis des chenilles. -- 3. Histoire des vers mineurs des feuilles, des teignes, des fausses teignes, des pucerons, des ennemis des pucerons, des faux pucerons, & l'histoire des galles de plantes, & de leurs insectes. -- 4. Histoire des gallinsectes, des progallinsectes, & des mouches à deux aîles. -- 5. Suite de l'histoire des mouches à deux aîles, & l'histoire de plusieurs mouches à quatre aîles, sçavoir, des mouches à scies, des cigales, & des abeilles. -- 6. Suite de l'histoire des mouches à quatre aîles, avec un supplément à celle des mouches à deux aîles. -- 7. Histoire des fourmis, par m. de Réaumur ... Introduction de E. L. Bouvier ... avec notes de Charles Pérez.
Provenance: Sir Ashton Lever (armorial bookplate); J. Carson Brevoort (ms. notes)

≈≈≈

Author:  Georges Louis Leclerc, comte de Buffon (1707-1788)
Title/Imprint: Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière, avec la description du Cabinet du roy
44 v. front. (port., v. 1) plates (part fold.) fold. maps, fold. tables. 26 cm.; l'Imprimerie Royale: Paris , 1749-1804

Buffon's masterpiece is this comprehensive account of our entire knowledge of the natural history, geology, and anthropology. Of the 50 volumes he hoped to produce, only 36 were completed in his lifetime, and 8 more were produced by the count de Lacépède. Our collection is not complete, containing vols. 1-30, (of 37) and 6 (of 7) supplemental volumes.

≈≈≈

Author:  Jean Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet de Lamarck (1744-1829)
Title/Imprint: Systême des animaux sans vertèbres, ou tableau général des classes, des ordres et des genres de ces animaux
viii, 432 p., [8] leaves of plates (6 folded) ; 21 cm.; Chez l'auteur, au Muséum d'Hist. Naturelle ; Chez Deterville, Libraire: Paris , 1801

As curator of the invertebrates at the Jardin des Plantes, Lamarck had the opportunity to examine these animals (and the ones in his personal collection) in great detail and in this book he put forth his new classification scheme for them. He based his work on the new research being done by Cuvier and others and established the modern layout for the classification of invertebrates. Our book was a presentation copy from Lamarck himself.
Colophon: A Paris, De l'imprimerie de Crapelet.
The leaves of plates are tables with textual matter. Some copies were issued with a supplementary leaf 402 bis, containing "Addition" and "Seconde addition (our copy has a photocopied facsimile of this leaf)." Errata: p. 412.
The Dibner Library's copy is the author's presentation copy, inscribed on the half-title.
Our copy is bound in old mottled quarter-leather with mottled paper boards, raised bands, and gilt-tooled spine with red leather spine label.

≈≈≈

Author:  Georges, baron Cuvier (1769-1832)
Title/Imprint: Le règne animal distribué d'après son organisation : pour servir de base a l'histoire naturelle des animaux et d'introduction a l'anatomie comparée
4 v., XV leaves of plates : ill. ; 22 cm. (8vo); Chez Deterville: Paris , 1817

This 4-volume work marked a great advance over the classification of animals devised by Linnaeus. Cuvier's research showed that animals needed to be grouped in four separate groups (vertebrates, molusks, articulates, and radiates) based on their structure. This marked a change from the belief in a linear hierarchy of animals leading up to humans.
Contents: t. 1. L'introduction, les mammifères et les oiseaux -- t. 2. Les reptiles, les poissons, les mollusques, et les annélides -- t. 3. Les crustacés, les arachnides et les insectes, par M. Latreille -- t. 4. Les zoophytes, les tables, et les planches.

book thumbnail image

View all available images from this item in our Galaxy of Images
≈≈≈

Author:  Karl Ernst von Baer (1792-1876)
Title/Imprint: De ovi mammalium et hominis genesi : epistolam ad Academiam Imperialem Scientiarum Petropolitanam
[8], 40, [2] p., [1] leaf of plates : 1 ill. ; 31 cm.; Leopoldi Vosii: Leipzig , 1827

Baer was a pioneer in the study of embryology and comparative embryology. This book marks his important discovery that mammals develop from eggs, specifically mammalian ova.
Our copy has on the front paste down: Ex libris Herbert McLean Evans (2 book plates); Ex libris Franz Keibel (1 book plate).
The engraved plate is hand colored. Corrections have been made in the text, in ink.

≈≈≈

Author:  Theodor Schwann (1810-1882)
Title/Imprint: Mikroskopische Untersuchungen über die Uebereinstimmung in der Struktur und dem Wachsthum der Thiere und Pflanzen
XVIII, 270 p., IV folded leaves of plates : ill. ; 21 cm.; Verlag der Sander'schen Buchhandlung (G.E. Reimer): Berlin , 1839

This book by Schwann marked the origins of modern histology as he announced his discovery that the cell was the basic structural unit for plants and animals. His realization that the mammalian ovum is a simple cell that becomes a complex organism led to his publishing this work.
Our copy has an armorial bookplate: Henry Cushing. There is a second bookplate: Yale Medical Library. Historical Library; "withdrawn."

≈≈≈

Author:  Louis Pasteur (1822-1895)
Title/Imprint: Mémoire sur la fermentation appelée lactique
p. 913-916 ; 28 cm.; Mallet-Bachelier: Paris , 1857

Pasteur's brilliant career started ealry with his work on fermentation. This short article discusses the results of his interests in practical industrial research problems. Starting with alcohol fermentation, Pasteur moved along to milk fermentation and saw that yeast was capable of reproducing itself without free oxygen. This "Pasteur effect" led to great advances in bacteriology.
Our copy of this article was detached from: Comptes rendus hebdomadaires des séances de l'Académie des Sciences, tome 45, no.22. It is bound together with: Mémoire sur la fermentation alcoolique / par M. L. Pasteur. [ibid.] no. 25, p. 1032-1036.

≈≈≈

Author:  Charles Darwin (1809-1882)
Title/Imprint: On the origin of species by means of natural selection
ix, [1], 502, 32 p., [1] folded leaf of plates ; 21 cm.; John Murray: London , 1859

This monumental work has had a profound impact on us since its publication in 1859. Originally planning to write a 3-volume work on Natural Selection, Darwin was forced to condense it into this "abstract" when he learned that Alfred Russel Wallace had developed a similar theory. This more accessible work, arguing that living species change in the natural world, was championed by Darwin's colleagues and survived the attacks of more conservative scientists.
Full title: On the origin of species by means of natural selection, or, The preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life.
Our copy is the first edition; state with species misspelled speceies on p. 20, line 11.
The printer's colophon on p. [iv] and 502: London: Printed by W. Clowes and Sons, Stamford Street, and Charing Cross.
The publisher's catalog, 32 p. at the end, has the colophon: Bradbury and Evans, printers, Whitefriars. It is dated June, 1859.
The publisher's advertisement on p. [ii] is dated October 1st, 1859;
There is an edition binder's label on back paste down: Bound by Edmonds & Remnants, London. Our copy has a blind and gold-stamped green cloth binding with tan endpapers.
There is a bookseller's label on front paste down: H. Sotheran & Co. ... London.

≈≈≈

Author:  James D. Watson (1928-)
Title/Imprint: A structure for deoxyribose nucleic acid ; Genetical implications of the structure of deoxyribonucleic acid
p. 737-738 : ill. ; 26 cm. ; p. 964-967 : ill. ; 26 cm.; London , 1953

Watson and Crick's significant discovery of the structure of the DNA molecule was announced in these two papers (both together form Herald of Science 200). Their research uncovered the mechanism for how DNA replicated itself and answered the fundamental question of genetics. Our copy of these articles was extracted from: Nature (London, England), v.171, no.4356 (April 25, 1953) and no.4361 (May 30, 1953).
Our copy has a stamp on the title page: Health Physics, H.E.R. Library, Ministry of Supply. Copy no. III (copy no. added in ink).

≈≈≈

Author:  August Weismann (1834-1914)
Title/Imprint: DieContinuität des Keimplasma's als Grundlage einer Theorie der Vererbung
VI, 122 p. : ill. ; 25 cm.; Gustav Fischer: Jena , 1885

Weismann was an early proponent of genetics and in this work discussed his development of the concept of a "germ-plasm" that carried the traits of the parents to their children. This work was Herald of Science 200 in the original edition of 1955. It was replaced in the 1980 edition by the articles on the discovery of DNA (the modern germ-plasm) by Watson and Crick.
Our copy has stamped on p. [1] of the cover: Bibliotheek Leesmuseum, Amsterdam. There is also a bookplate: Herbert McLean Evans.

≈≈≈
^top