Barrett, Charles G. The Lepidoptera of the British Islands. A Descriptive Account of the Families, Genera and Species Indigenous to Great Britain and Ireland, their preparatory states, habits and localities.
1st. Ed. Pub. L. Reeve, London. [1892]-1907 Eleven volumes set. With 504 hand-coloured plates. Royal 8vo. Hardbacks. Some scattered foxing to fore-edges of text blocks, prelims., last plate of each volume and very occasionally elsewhere. O/w., contents in fine condition. Handsomely bound in original decorated, gilt lettered brown cloth, all in thor. vg. to fine condition. Bookplates of Sir Norman Lamont, 2nd Baronet of Knockdow; Scottish Liberal Party politician and one time Personal Private Sec. to Sir Winston Churchill.
The preferred royal octavo, illustrated, edition. A “Standard work on British butterflies and moths. Barrett (1836-1904) was among the first to illustrate the larvae of every species, as well as a significant number of aberrations.” (Salmon). Barrett’s collection of specimens was auctioned in 1906 and 1907. Many of the most important specimens were purchased by Lord Rothschild and they are now housed at the Natural History Museum in London.
£2,375.00 [ref: 56751]

Buckler, William, Stainton, H.T. (Ed.) & Porritt, G.T. (Ed.) The Larvae of the British Butterflies and Moths. Volumes I-IX.
1st. Ed. Pub. The Ray Society. 1886-1901 Nine volume set with 105 hand-coloured and 59 colour chromolithograph plates as published. 8vo. Hardbacks. TEG. Neat, contemporary ownership inscription of Robert M. Prideaux. Some leaves uncut. Very little spotting, o/w. contents fine. Original publisher’s decorated cloth all in vg. or thor. vg. condition. Spine of Vol. III professionally relaid, two volumes with some spine lean, one with some marking to boards.
The definitive work on the larvae of British Lepidoptera. The work was published posthumously, with vols I-V edited by H.T. Stainton and following his death, vols VI-IX were edited by G.T. Porritt.
£500.00 [ref: 61218]

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Donovan, Edward. The Natural History of British Insects. Volume 9 & 10.
Pub. for the Author and for F. and C. Rivington. 1800-1801 Two volumes bound as one. Royal 8vo. With title-pages for both volumes & 60 copper-engraved plates, 54 being hand-coloured. Minor scattered foxing, largely confined to tissue guards, o/w. contents very clean & in fine condition. All edges of text block marbled. Original half-red leather over marbled boards rubbed in places. Binding firm and in very good condition. With bookplate of “Thomas Johnston, ‘Nunquam non paratus’” to front paste-down.
Volumes 9 and 10 bound here as a single volume, comprising Neuroptera, Hymenoptera, Diptera, Aptera and Vorticella.
£395.00 [ref: 51982]

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Edwards, James. The Hemiptera-Homoptera (Cicadina and Psyllina).
Pub. Reeve. 1896 pp.xii, 271 with 2 uncoloured and 28 hand-coloured plates. Binding stretched at plate 9 but still tight. Bound in half morocco with marbled boards with some wear to top of spine. All plates clean except plate 30 has a very few faint spots of foxing. This is the scarce large paper coloured edition.
£225.00 [ref: 40368]

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Frohawk, F.W. Natural History of British Butterflies.
1st. Ed. Pub. Hutchinson. [1914] Two volume set with 60 full-page colour plates, a further 5 b/w. plates plus Appendix and list of Subscribers. Crown folio. Hardback. Signature and bookplate to front pastedown. Minor spotting to fore-edges of text-blocks and only a very small amount internally, o/w. contents fine. Original blue cloth boards have held their colour remarkably well, just lightly rubbed on tips, in thor. vg. to nr. fine condition.
Frohawk’s masterpiece and the first work to provide in illustration, all the stages of development of the butterflies featured.
£350.00 [ref: 63628]

Frohawk, F.W. Natural History of British Butterflies. A complete, original, descriptive account of the life history of every species occurring in the British Islands, together with their habits, time of appearance, and localities.
1st. Ed. Pub. Hutchinson. [1914] Two volume set with 58 [of 60] full-page colour plates, a further 5 b/w. plates plus Appendix and list of Subscribers. Crown folio. Some scattered spotting, very largely confined to text, o/w. contents fine. With pencilled note to ffep. of Vol. 1 indicating plates 10 & 11 not bound in. Original blue cloth boards in thor. vg. condition.
Frohawk’s masterpiece and the first work to provide in illustration, all the stages of development of the butterflies featured.
£200.00 [ref: 63010]

Kirby, William and Spence, William An Introduction to Entomology: Or elements of the Natural History of Insects: with Plates.
3rd. Ed. Pub. Longman et al. 1818-1826 Four volume set with two portrait frontis., six hand-coloured plates, 24 b/w. plates and fold-out table. 8vo. Hardbacks. Occasional spotting to text, o/w. fine. Scattered spotting to some b/w. plates, less so to hand-col. plates. Vol. I bound in brown half-calf over marbled boards, Vols. II to IV in black half-calf over cloth boards (bound by J.D. Smith, Deptford Bridge), all in good to vg. condition.
£225.00 [ref: 62681]

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Macleay, William S. Horae Entomologicae: or Essays on the Annulose Animals. Vol. I., Part I and II.
1st. Ed. Printed for S. Bagster. 1819-1821 Bound in two volumes (all published) with three copper-engraved plates. 8vo. Hardback. With dedication from George Macleay (William’s brother) dated 1880 to verso of title-page in Vol. II (which also contains bookplate of Univ. of Aberdeen). Some spotting and quite minor amount of marking, o/w. contents fine. Early paper covered boards showing wear, more recently protected in clear (removable) plastic covers. Scarce.
Part I comprises ‘General Observations on the Geography, Manners and Natural Affinities of the Insects which compose the Genus Scarabaeus of Linnaeus; to which are added a few incidental Remarks on the Genera Lucanus and Hister of the same Author.’. Part II comprises ‘An attempt to ascertain the rank and situation which the celebrated Egyptian insect, Scarbaeus sacer, holds among organized beings.’. Macleay was a promoter of the Circular of Quinarian system of classification. Charles Darwin, who got to know Macleay after he returned from the Beagle voyage, tried to fit Quinarian ideas into his evolutionary ideas up to around 1845.
£395.00 [ref: 64615]

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Moffett, Thomas. [Moffat, Mouffet or Muffet]. Insectorum sive minimorum Animalium Theatrum. Olim ab Edoardo Wottono, Conrado Gesnero, Thomaque Pennio inchoatum.
1st. Ed. 1st. Iss. Pub. London. 1634 pp.[xx], 326, [iv] with woodcuts throughout the text, last 4 leaves with woodcut illus. Royal 4to. Hardback. Title page professionally reinforced at gutter, lightly chipped to fore-edge. Overall, contents in nr. fine condition. Contemporary full-calf boards in thoroughly vg. condition, more recent spine in fine condition. A very pleasing copy indeed. One of three variant imprints, Lisney identifies this variant as the first issue given the appearance of ‘apud Benjam, Allen’ on the title page. Lisney 3, British Bee Books 25.
A very significant work indeed. A first edition, first issue, copy of the first book about insects published in Britain. Partly compiled from the writings of Edward Wotton, Conrad Gesner and Gesner's assistant Thomas Penny, Moffett's copiously illustrated treatise remained the ‘standard work’ on insects until the early 1700s.
£8,750.00 [ref: 57767]

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Morris, Rev. F.O. A History of British Butterflies.
5th. Ed. Pub. George Bell & Sons. 1870 pp.viii, 159, 24 with 72 hand-coloured plates, 2 b/w. plates illustrating equipment, plus 8-page George Bell and Sons Catalogue. Large 8vo. Hardback. Some scattered spotting to fore-edges of text block and internally, a little wear to three tissue guards, o/w. contents fine. Original gilt and blind decorated green cloth binding nr. fine. Copies of this work with bindings in this condition are quite uncommon.
£300.00 [ref: 63929]

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