BRITISH ENTOMOLOGY

London: Printed for the Author, 1824-39. FIRST EDITION, first volume with plates from First Edition bound with complete text from both the First Edition and Second Edition. 242 x 153 mm. (9 1/2 x 6"). Complete with all the plates and accompanying descriptions, but Vols. 13-16 lacking dedication page and volume index. With the title page for vol. 14 misbound but present; otherwise alphabetic and systematic indexes for entire series, plus the title pages for the systematic eight-volume edition, bound in at end of final volume. 16 volumes bound in 8..
Chocolate brown half-morocco with pebble-grain paper boards, raised bands, spine panels with gilt rules and gilt titling, top edge gilt. With 770 HAND-COLORED PLATES of insects and representative plants, all but a handful from the first edition, as usual (see below). Nissen ZBI 1000. See also: Blackwelder, "The dates and editions of Curtis' British entomology," Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, Volume 107, Number 5 (June 1947); French, "The Colouring of John Curtis's British Entomology (1834-1839): Joseph Standish and 'the paragon of perfection'" in Archives of Natural History, Volume 49, Issue 1, pp. 62-77. ◆Bindings with unimportant rubbing on joints and corners and with other minor problems, but certainly pleasing on the shelf, even if without much decoration. Internally with occasional soiling, mild offsetting from some of the plates, sporadic browning and the occasional stain, but very clean, the beautifully colored plates themselves uniformly fine--and unusual thus.

Published with great expense over the course of 15 years, this monumental work was celebrated for its high-quality hand-colored plates, prompting one eminent contemporary zoologist to describe it as "the paragon of perfection." Issued in monthly parts between 1824-39, "British Entomology" at the end of its run spanned 16 volumes (bound here as eight), with the 770 fine plates seen here. Each plate illustrates a very finely portrayed insect native to Great Britain, and almost all include an equally accomplished rendering of a native plant specimen. According to the author's preface, the illustrations were drawn from life by Curtis himself, and some of the engravings were also made by his hand. The coloring, primarily executed by professional colorist Joseph Standish, is memorably skillful. The fine brushwork, subtle gradations of color, and fidelity to nature combine to create images that are remarkably lifelike--so much so that one expects the specimens to fly off the page. The plates were highly praised in their day, with the eminent French zoologist Pierre André Latreille calling them the "paragon of perfection," and The Entomological Magazine "heartily recommending the work . . . to the attention and patronage of every British Entomologist." Although it is considered one of the greatest entomological works of the 19th century, the set's lengthy publication history and the great cost involved meant that many subscribers did not see the production through to its end. Thus, true first editions of this work (containing all the original parts as issued) are extremely rare, and it seems that nearly all complete copies offered on the market contain a mix of the first edition, second edition (identifiable by the underscore beneath the text and plate number), and/or later engravings and lithographs added to complete the work. As indicated above, all but a few plates in the present set are from the first edition. Apart from (and more important than) its bibliographical issues, our copy is consistently clean and beautifully colored throughout. John Curtis (1791-1862) learned about the art and science of entomology from an early age, and became a fellow of the Linnean Society in 1822. The present work was his most important, but he also discovered a number of new species and worked on several important collections of insects, both public and private. The Linnean Society's obituary of Curtis says, "In John Curtis we have lost one the most successful cultivators of British zoology and entomology, one of the most accomplished delineators of insects, and one of the closest observers of the phenomena of insect life." Of the present work, they note that it is "occupied by what the unanimous consent of entomologists has pronounced to be the most exquisite figures of the kind ever produced.".