A Natural History of English Insects. Illustrated with a Hundred Copper Plates, curiously Engraven from the Life: And (for those who desire it) exactly Coloured by the Author … To which are added, Large Notes, and many Curious Observations. By W. Derham,

Description:

First edition. Rare. title page, Dedication, List of Subscribers and Preface, followed by 100 attractive hand-coloured plates illustrating butterflies and moths, their larvae and food-plants, each accompanied by a single page of descriptive letterpress (printed on one side only). A few plates illustrate other insects. 'Each plate is dedicated to a subscriber or well-known personality, undoubtedly included those who acted as patrons or took interest in Albin's drawings of insects' (Linsey, p. 79). 13 of the plates occur in two states (in which the dedications differ); in this copy all but one of these 13 are in Lisney's second state. Lisney states that no copy of the first edition which he examined contained all these plates in the first state.

Eleazar Albin (fl.1690-1742) was a naturalist and watercolour painter, the first of the great entomological book illustrators of the 18th century. Very little is known of his early life, he may have been born somewhere in the German states to a family named Weiss. By 1708 he had adopted the surname Albin, had married, and was living in or near the parish of St James's, Piccadilly. Around 1709-10 Albin met Mary, dowager duchess of Beaufort, a keen botanist who encouraged him to begin work on a natural history of insects. The first plates were engraved in 1713 and work proceeded apace until the onset of financial difficulties caused by the death of his patroness in January 1715. Although Albin had by this time already issued Proposals for Printing by Subscription ‘A Natural History of English Insects’ ([1714?]) from his premises, ‘next the Green Man near Maggots Brew House’ (Bristowe, ‘Life’, p. 82) in Golden Square, subscriptions were slow to come in and as a result the work was not finally published until 1720. Ultimately attracting 170 subscribers, 'A Natural History of English Insects' contained 100 copper plates which were hand-coloured by the author on request. Albin stressed that the insects depicted were copied ‘exactly after the Life’ as he had ‘observed it as a great Fault of those who have gone before me in this Way, that they either did not look often enough at their Pattern, or affected to make the Picture outdo Nature’.

'Natural History of English Insects’ is one of the finest British Lepidoptera books, the first to show British butterflies and moths in lifelike poses and full colour (Aurelian Legacy pp.109-110). It is a sumptuous, lavishly illustrated with exquisitely coloured plates intended for the enjoyment and delight of natural history enthusiasts, and for display in aristocratic libraries. (ODNB)

Lisney 119; Nissen ZBI 58.

Condition

4to (293x235mm), near cont. morocco, ornate gilt tooled panel to both boards, recently sympathetically rebacked, raised bands, gilt tooling and title to spine, corners restored, aeg, patterned endpapers. Some light offseting. An attractive copy, plates well-coloured. Bookplate of William Bree (1822-1917), Rector of Allesley.