DSB, XI, 327-335; Garrison & Morton, 304; Sparrow, no. 192 & p. 22; 1Heralds of Science, 192; Nissen ZBI, 3315; En fran\u00e7ais dans le texte, 145; Norman, 1804; Bodenheimer I, 415-448; Nordenski\u00f6ld 231-232.<\/i><\/p>\n
First edition of Reaumur’s greatest work – one of the great classics within the entomological literature and a work of fundamental importance in insect biology<\/span>.<\/p>\n It “is in fact one of the most monumental works written in this field of research. It offers a number of extremely valuable contributions to the knowledge of the anatomical structure of the insects, their evolutional history and condition of life…\u00bb(Nordenski\u00f6ld).<\/p>\n “D’observation en d\u00e9duction, d’hypoth\u00e8se en v\u00e9rification, s’\u00e9laborent un intense monument de science, une mani\u00e8re de r\u00eave po\u00e9tique \u00e0 rebond, et la palpitation de la vie se retrouve resitu\u00e9e \u00e0 travers la pr\u00e9cision d’un regard \u00e9perdument regardant qui donne \u00e0 voir, dans leur extr\u00eame singularit\u00e9, les m\u0153urs et coutumes insoup\u00e7onn\u00e9es des gu\u00eapes solitaires ou des libellules, des bourdons velus ou des chenilles processionnaires. Scrutateur de r\u00e8gnes minuscules, R\u00e9aumur n’ignore rien des empires se d\u00e9veloppant \u00e0 l’ombre des feuillages, \u00e0 fleur de terre, ou dans la transparence voil\u00e9e des eaux” (Yves Tadi\u00e9, in : En fran\u00e7ais dans le texte).<\/p>\n Reaumur was active in many branches of natural sciences. he invented improved methods of iron-refining and made important contributions to our knowledge of the expansion of gases and fluids and of specific heat. He is perhaps best known for his invention of the thermometer scale which bears his name. In 1710 he wrote a paper on the possibility of spiders being used to produce silk, which was so celebrated at the time that the Chinese Emperor caused a translation of it to be made.<\/p>\n He was the first scientist to suggest the use of wood as a material for papermaking by observing the habits of wasps, which insect may be considered a professional papermaker devoting most of her life to the fabrication of this material for the construction of nests. A true son of the Enlightenment he calls attention to the economic value of entomological research. Silk, wax, honey, lacquer, and conchineal are all valuable products of the insects. His friends often called Reaumur the Pliny of the Eighteenth Century – and T.H. Huxley says in a letter: ” From the time of Aristotle to the present day I know of but one man who has shown himself Mr Darwin ‘s equal in one field of research – and that is Reaumur. “- ” Bis auf den heutigen Tag besitzen wir kein Werk, das morphologische, \u00f6kologische und physiologische Probleme in gleicher Harmonic und auf solch breiter Grundlage behandelt. ” (Bodenheimer).<\/p>\n “R\u00e9aumur was among the great naturalists of his or any age… R\u00e9aumur’s greatest work in natural history was his M\u00e9moires pour servir \u00e0 l’histoire des insectes, published in six volumes between 1734 and 1742… His descriptions were minute and exacting in every detail, and his experiments were among the most ingenious he ever contrived. R\u00e9aumur was one of the first to undertake extensive quantitative research on insects… He made some of the first tentative studies of communication among the bees. In short, there was no aspect of the life cycle or behaviour of bees too minute or too unimportant to escape his attention. he took every pain, every precaution to make his study as complete and exhaustive as possible. And so it was with the other insects he studied” (DSB). “R\u00e9aumur’s greatest work” (Garrison-Morton).<\/p>\n “R\u00e9aumur took pains to emphasize the practicality of insect studies as benefitting industries where insects were economically useful, such as the manufacture of silk, honey, wax, lacquer and cochineal dye, as well as those industries where the economically harmful depredations of insects could be lessened by improved methods of pest control” (Norman).<\/p>\n Very good copy, complete with its 267 engraved plates (by mistake plates 29-31 & 35 of volume V have been bound into volume VI).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 6 volumes 4to (245 x 190 mm) 2 nn.ll., 654 pp., 1 nn.l. (avertissement), 50 engraved plates for volume I; 2 nn.ll., XLVI pp., 1 nn.l. (table), 514 pp., 1 nn.l. (avertissement), 40 engraved plates for volume II; 2 nn.ll., XL, 532 pp., 47 engraved plates for volume III; XXXIV, 1 nn.l., 636 pp., 44 engraved plates for volume IV; 2 nn.ll., XLIV, 728 pp., 38 engraved plates for volume V; 2 nn.ll., LXXX, 608 pp., 48 engraved plates for volume VI. Contemporary marbled calf, spine gilt with raised bands, red speckled edges.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":85382,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[540],"product_tag":[1345,1450,1349,1315,1340],"class_list":{"0":"post-85407","1":"product","2":"type-product","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"product_cat-natural-history","7":"product_tag-entomology","8":"product_tag-first-edition","9":"product_tag-general-zoology","10":"product_tag-science","11":"product_tag-zoology","12":"pa_auteur-reaumur-rene-antoine-de-2","13":"pa_type-de-livre-printed-book","15":"first","16":"instock","17":"shipping-taxable","18":"purchasable","19":"product-type-simple"},"acf":{"artist":" Ren\u00e9-Antoine de REAUMUR","chapeau":"","adresse_bibliographique":"Paris, Imprimerie Royale, 1734-1742","book_type":"Printed book","provenance":"","afficher_prix":""},"yoast_head":"\n