Leiden, E. J. Brill, 1890-1892. Large 8vo (28.0 x 19.0 cm). Two volumes in three. 1031 pp. (460; 571, [ii]); 55 plates of which several chromolithographed or tinted [25; 30]. Original printed wrappers.

Rare complete first two volumes with many important contributions to the zoology of the Malay Archipelago. Edited, and partly written, by the Dutch zoologist Max Carl Wilhelm Weber (1852-1937). Weber later initiated and lead the famous Siboga Expedition, and "[h]is discoveries as leader of the Siboga Expedition led him to conclude that Wallace's Line was placed too far to the west. His studies, along with others, led to a series of alternative lines to be proposed to delimit two major biogeographic realms, the Australasian realm and the Indomalayan realm. These lines were based on the fauna and flora in general, including the mammalian fauna. Later, Pelseneer published an influential paper on this topic, in which he proposed to call his preferred limit Weber's Line, to honour Weber's contributions in that field. As is the case with plant species, faunal surveys revealed that for mollusks and most vertebrate groups Wallace’s line was not the most significant biogeographic boundary. The Tanimbar Island group, and not the boundary between Bali and Lombok, appears to be the major interface between the Oriental and Australasian regions for mammals and other terrestrial vertebrate groups" (Dutch Wikipedia). These Ergebnisse includes monographs on the mammals (by Weber and Jentink), the reptiles (by Weber and Lidth de Jeude), Hylobatus (by Köhlbruge, and Ruge), Entomostraca (by Richard, and by Monier), land snails (by Von Martens), Decapoda (by De Man), and several other contributions. It also contains the general introduction to the expedition with two maps. Well-illustrated. Uncut. In total, four volumes were published. All are rare. Plain wrappers to the second part of the first volume; otherwise as issued, clean. A good set. Nissen ZBI, 4627.