1745 ❧ HOOKE, ROBERT. 1635-1703. Micrographia Restaurata: or, the Copperplates of Dr. Hooke's Wonderful Discoveries... London: John Bowles, 1745. Folio (360 x 228 mm). 33 engraved plates of microspopic enlargements of botanical and zoological specimens (4 folding); woodcut tail-pieces and title decoration. Spotting and browning affecting text primarily. Contemporary speckled calf ruled in gilt on covers. Rebacked preserving old lettering-piece, some scuffing to covers. Second edition, an 18th-century revival of the most influential book in the history of microscopy. Originally printed in 1665 by the Royal Society, Robert Hooke's Micrographia revolutionized human understanding of the natural world by introducing a hidden universe of cellular biology, famously coining the term 'cell' and visualizing common structures at terrifyingly grand scales. By the early 1700s, original copies had become exceedingly rare and cost-prohibitive to the Enlightenment-era scientific community. The 1745 edition, Micrographia Restaurata, was conceived following the discovery of Hooke's original, long-lost copper engraved plates comprising all but seven of the original plates. Naturalist Henry Baker, author of The Microscope Made Easy, was tasked with editing the volume. Baker condensed Hooke's notoriously dense, rambling 17th-century prose into a 'narrow compass' of clear, precise explanations better suited to contemporary experimental physics and natural history. While the five technical, non-pictorial geometrical plates from 1665 were omitted to streamline the scientific text, the 33 spectacular botanical and zoological engravings were beautifully reproduced heavy folio paper. Norman 1092; PMM 147 (first edition). For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing