Buffon

1831 · ref. S65766 — London; Dublin; Glasgow: Printed for Thomas Tegg J. Cumming R. Griffin 1831. vi 448; 396; 509; 500 c. 400 engravings 4 vignettes. . HB. 4 vols 12mo 178�110 mm publisher's orig. boards printed paper labels to spines spines worn with splitting and some loss to paper covers; the fourth volume is split. Internally clean and bright with illustrations well preserved. An unusal survival in the original publisher's binding. Wright's work represents a significant early nineteenth-century English adaptation of Buffon's celebrated natural history. Rather than simply reprinting the original text Wright sought to modernise and expand Buffon's work for a contemporary British readership incorporating material from leading naturalists of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries particularly Georges Cuvier and Bernard Germain de Lac�p�de. The volume also includes an anonymous introductory treatise on botany reflecting the growing importance of botanical science within natural history.Richly illustrated throughout the work contains more than 400 charming wood-engraved illustrations most of them executed by the noted artist William Harvey together with four vignette engravings by J. Thompson after Harvey's designs. These extensive illustrations greatly enhanced the accessibility and appeal of the text providing visual representations of the animals for a broad reading public.As a publication Wright's edition is both attractive and historically significant. It demonstrates the enduring influence of Buffon's eighteenth-century natural history while revealing how his ideas were being reassessed and supplemented in light of advances in zoology and comparative anatomy. The botanical section offers a concise overview of contemporary plant science discussing the structure and functions of roots stems leaves flowers fruits and seeds as well as plant nutrition germination and classification. Particularly noteworthy is its treatment of both the Linnaean system and the emerging Natural System of classification illustrating the transition in botanical thought during the early nineteenth century. As such the work stands as an important document of the period's efforts to reconcile classical natural history with the rapidly developing scientific knowledge of the modern age. Printed for Thomas Tegg, J. Cumming, R. Griffin hardcover