Latreille, P. A.
Histoire naturelle générale et particulière des crustacés et des insectes. Ouvrage faisant suite aux oeuvres de Buffon, et partie du cours complet d'histoire naturelle rédigé par C. S. Sonnini, membre de plusieurs sociétés savantes. Familles naturelles des genres. Tomes 1-14. [The complete Arthropoda].
Paris, F. Dufart, An X-XIII (1802-1805). 14 parts in 14 [complete]. 8vo (19.5 x 12.2 cm). Over 5,000 pp.; 112 finely engraved plates, 14 folding charts. Uniform contemporary polished tree-calf with empire style gilt borders and ornaments. Red and black morocco labels with gilt title. Marbled endpapers. Edges yellow, speckled with red.
Massive work by one of the most important entomologists of the 19th century, written by the great French zoologist and entomologist Pierre André Latreille (1762-1833). The work is very important to the taxonomy of the higher Arthropoda, in particular crabs, shrimps, and Insecta, and in fact a cornerstone in entomological taxonomy. Latreille's goal was to arrange the genera by taking numerous characters into consideration; his system was based essentially upon a combination of the characters that Linnaeus and Fabricius had employed. Boards with some, mainly minor rubbing, a few volumes with the leather on the boards (not the spines) more abraded, bottom of the spine in volume 13 bumped. Some light, in a few sections moderate age-toning, and some spotting throughout; the plates generally cleaner. A very good, complete, and attractively bound set. Horn-Schenkling, 12825; Junk Rara, p. 30; Nissen ZBI, 2388.