Insects.- Moffett (Thomas) Insectorum sive Minimorum Animalium Theatrum

Insects.- Moffett (Thomas) Insectorum sive Minimorum Animalium Theatrum, first edition, title with woodcut illustrations but with central image of a skep-beehive cut out, title laid down, soiled and stained and with tears and foot repaired with slight loss to imprint, skep illustration repeated at end of preliminaries, numerous woodcut illustrations in text, water-staining and some foxing and browning, marginal hole to C5, 18th century mottled calf, spine gilt, slightly rubbed, folio, [British Bee Books 25; Nissen ZBI 2852; STC 17993], Thomas Cotes [and] Benjamin Allen, 1634. *** Moffet's was "the best work of its kind...it set a new standard of accuracy in the study of the invertebrates" (Garrison-Morton). He was educated at Cambridge and Basel, where he obtained a degree in medicine; he travelled widely in Europe before establishing a practice in Ipswich and London and serving as physician to Queen Elizabeth's forces in Normandy in 1591. The first edition has three variant imprints.

Estimate:£2,000

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