Lot 2170 email save

Stephens British Entomology Color Plates

Sign In to see what this sold for

Title: Illustrations of British Entomology; A Synopsis of Indigenous Insects: Containing Their Generic and Specific Distinctions; with an Account of Their Metamorphoses, Times of Appearance, Localities, Food, and Economy, as Far as Practicable.
Author: Stephens, James Francis
Description: 7 volumes (of 12), including Volumes 1-4 of Mandibulata and Volumes 1-3 of Haustellata. 55 hand-colored engraved plates. (8vo) 9½x5¾, later half calf and marbled boards. First Edition.While a student at Cambridge Charles Darwin sent records of insects that he had captured to Stephens, several of which were published. "The main work is divided into four volumes of Haustellata and seven of Mandibulata. The beetles occur in the first five volumes of the latter, and there are about thirty records bearing Darwin's name, the earliest being in an appendix to Volume II, which is dated June 15, 1829. The localities include Cambridge, North Wales and Shrewsbury. There is one further record which is earlier than this. In Haustellata, Volume II, p. 200, Darwin records the occurrence of the common noctuid moth Graphiphora plecta at 'Cambridge', and the date of this part is June 1, 1829. The modern scientific name of this moth is Ochropleura plecta (L.), and its common name the flame shoulder. In most cases these records are given in quotation marks, and therefore represent genuine publications by Darwin in a book." (Freeman, pp. 19-20).
Heading: Place Published: London
Publisher: Baldwin and Cradock
Date Published: 1828-31