When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Hermann Burmeister — Genera Insectorum — 1838–1846 — Complete with 40 Plates
BURMEISTER, Hermann. Genera Insectorum. Iconibus Illustravit et Descripsit. Volumen I, Rhynchota. Berlin [Berolini]: Burmeister et Stange, 1838; with Tabulae XL ad Genera Quaedam Insectorum Pertinentes, Berlin, 1838–1846.
A scarce and exceptionally attractive complete copy of Hermann Burmeister’s monumental early entomological work, published serially over nearly a decade and here preserved with the complete suite of forty engraved plates, many beautifully finished in period color. Although designated “Volume I,” no further volume was published, making this the complete work.
Burmeister (1807–1892), one of the foremost German entomologists and zoologists of the nineteenth century, conceived Genera Insectorum as an ambitious illustrated treatment of representative insect genera. The work encompasses Rhynchota and other orders, including Orthoptera and Coleoptera, with finely executed plates devoted to such genera as Fulgora, Lystra, Ledra, Opsomala, Copris, and Euchirus. Particularly striking are the large colored representations of exotic insects, accompanied by remarkably precise anatomical and morphological details.
Complete with all 40 plates, as called for by the printed Index tabularum. The plates range from delicately engraved anatomical studies to imposing, extensively colored insects, including the spectacular eyespotted Fulgora, the long-limbed Euchirus beetle, Lystra, Ledra, and Opsomala. The restrained application of color to selected figures is characteristic of the work, bibliographically described as partly colored.
Bound in period half calf over richly marbled boards, spine with raised bands, gilt rules, and black morocco lettering piece; edges colored red, with green endpapers. Binding rubbed and worn at extremities, with losses and abrasion to leather at corners and spine, but remaining sound and highly presentable. Contents generally well preserved with scattered foxing and occasional spotting, varying from plate to plate, as shown. Plates remain remarkably appealing, with strong impressions and attractive surviving color.
An unusually complete example of an important and lavishly illustrated nineteenth-century entomological publication. Complete copies retaining all forty plates are notably scarce in commerce, particularly when preserved together in a contemporary binding.
Berlin, 1838–1846. Complete: text and all 40 engraved plates, many with period hand-coloring.
