SWAMMERDAM, Jan.
Ephemeri vita, of afbeeldingh van 's menschen leven, vertoont in de wonderbaarelijcke en nooyt gehoorde historie van het vliegent ende een-dagh-levent haft of oever-aas. ...
Amsterdam, Abraham Wolfgang, 1675. 8vo (15.6 x 9.5 cm). With detailed illustration of the mayfly or ephemeron on 8 engraved plates (including 2 folding). Further with woodcut decorated initials and a woodcut ornamental tailpiece. Contemporary vellum, sewn on three supports laced through the joints, with title in ink on the spine. [32], 422, [8] pp.
€ 5,500
First edition of a detailed and interesting study on the day-fly by the famous Dutch physician and naturalist Jan Swammerdam (1637-1680), based on careful dissection and minute microscopic observation, but at the same time also meant to serve as a instructive parable on the shortness and misery of human life, this in its turn based on the mystic beliefs of Antoinette de Bourignon. Her encouragement to publish the work is found in a letter to the author, which Swammerdam added to the preliminaries of the present work, in French in which it was originally written, followed by its translation in Dutch. The book was translated into English by E. Tyson, and published in London in 1681.
Good copy of a rare work.- (Old ink annotations on first blank; some sl. waterstaining at the end; sm. tear in folding plates). Bibl. Natura Artis Magistra 3509; Nissen, ZBI 4059; STCN 841775567 (14 copies); USTC 1812182 (12 copies); Wood 1675;
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