GLEICHEN - RUSSWORM , Wilhelm Friedrich von - Jakob Friedrich ISENFLAMM ( translator ) :
Reference : 40356
Nürnberg, Imprimé chés (sic) la Veuve de Chretien de Launoy , 1770, in-folio, 38 x 25 cm, (8)nn pp (includes title page) + 76 pp + 48 pp + (8)nn pp includes the supplement half title ) + 24 pp + 51 engraved plates in contemporary handcolouring. The plates are labelled [1] I , IIa, IIb , III , IV , V, [2] A, B, C, D, E, [3] I - XXX , [4] 1 - > 10. ( complete). Bound in later red half morocco with marbled covers. Title page very slightly soiled with some faint stains. Some copies have two title pages dated 1763 and 1770 (e.g. British Museum copy), one presumes that the 1763 title was cancelled. Fine copy of the French translation. Only edition of this beautiful botanical work illustrated with finely coloured plates based on microscopic observations. (Nissen n° 717, de Belder 133). The plates have been engraved by J.C. Keller. The original German edition '' Das Neueste aus dem Reiche der Pflanzen...'' (Nissen 716) appeared in 1764-1766. This French translation is very rare. The last copy we could trace on the market was sold in 1991. The author Gleichen-Rußworm had met Ledermüller who helped him with microscopic investigations. In this publication he turns his attention to pollen and fertilisation of plants. This very study, by an amateur, who himself perfected the tools for his research, greatly advanced microscopy in Germany in the second half of the 18th century. A very attractive copy..