London: Joseph Smith 1832. Hardcover Hardcover. Good. Sixteenmo. 144; 144pp. Contemporary half leather over marbled boards with gilt spine titles. Some rubbing and wear to covers inner rear hinge starting some pages with pencil scribbles mainly at start and end otherwise a good copy. Joseph Smith, hardcover
Paris: Pourrat freres 1833-01-01. Hardcover. Very Good. A quality set. 20 volume set. 21 cm. Green leather spines with green marbled boards. All bindings sound. Minor rubbing to extremities. Unmarked pages. Scattered foxing. 4 folding color engraved maps and 181 color engravings of mammals and birds.<br>Includes: T.I: Theorie de la terre. <br> T.II: Theorie de la terre suite. Histoire des mineraux: introduction. <br> T.III: Histoire des mineraux. Epoques de la nature. <br> T.IV a VII: Histoire des mineraux. Experiences sur les vegetaux <br> T.VII--T.VIII a IX: Histoire des animaux. de l'homme. <br> T.X a XIV: Histoire des animaux. <br> T.XV a XX: Oiseaux.<br><br> Georges-Louis Leclerc Comte de Buffon was a noted scientist whose monumental works in natural sciences influenced the next two generations of naturalists including Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and Georges Cuvier. Mayr The Growth of Biological Thought. p 330 Buffon's work was based on the methods of observation and experimentation. He raised many of the fundamental problems of biology in a scientific context. One of Buffon's most important contributions was the popularization of the old earth theory in opposition to Archbishop Ussher's biblical earth time-line. <br><br>Buffon was an important pre-cursor to Darwin. Cited as the father of biogeography Buffon's Law postulated that creatures "improved" and "degenerated" after dispersing from a center of creation. He based his theory on comparative anatomy studies. Buffon tried to explain the origin of living things by spontaneous generation of elementary particles and its development as a consequence of climate and diet. Buffon argued that all members of a family of species descended from the same ancestors a "unity of type". <br><br> This is an oversized or heavy book that requires additional postage for international delivery outside of Canada and the US. Pourrat freres hardcover