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| Author / Publisher |
Jan Swammerdam (1637-1680) / Leyden, I. Severinus, B. and P. van der Aa, 1737/ 1738 |
| Title |
Bybel der Natuure, of Historie der Insecten. Biblia Naturae; sive Historia Insectorum, in classes certas redacta, nec non exemplis, auctoris descripsit Hermannus Boerhaave Latin transl. H.D. Gaubius |
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| Description |
JAN SWAMMERDAM (1637-80), Dutch naturalist and microscopist; pioneer of entomology and discoverer of red blood cells. He studied medicine at Leiden, and despite his short life and a professional career of only about twelve years, Swammerdam was one of the outstanding comparative anatomists of the seventeenth century. He was a pioneer in microscopic studies, investigating especially the anatomy of insects, his system of classification laid the foundations of entomology. At his death after seven years of illness and scientific activity, he left a mass of papers and reports of investigations, most of which remained unknown until they were published a century later. Considered the most accurate of classical microscopists, Swammerdam was an educated and highly systematic worker who confined his attention to studying relatively few organisms in great detail. Over the period of about six years he devoted much of his energies to exhaustive entomological research. He employed highly innovative techniques; for example, he injected wax into the circulatory system to hold the blood vessels firm, he dissected fragile structures under water to avoid destroying them, and he used micropipettes to inject and inflate organisms under the microscope. Swammerdam's A General History of Insects, was widely recognized as a major work at the time, and in his magnum opus, Bybel der Natuure, he advanced his entomological researches and produced one of the finest collections of microscopical observations ever published. Swammerdam's great work, the Bybel der Natuure, was left unpublished at his death. The manuscript of this, his most important work, passed through several hands before Herman Boerhaave having learned of its existence sought to acquire it. Boerhaave was aware of Swammerdam's genius and determined to acquire his great unpublished book and see it safely through the press. He edited the manuscript and arranged for it to be published 1737/8 in a fine edition of 2 folio volumes, with dual Dutch and Latin text, beautifully printed with titles in red and black, with engraved vignettes, head- and tail-pieces, and 53 fine engraved plates. "The scientific ambition represented by Bybel der Natuure is astonishing. Even today it shocks by its audacity. In its scope and depth, Swammerdam's work far exceeded any other book of the time", and laid the foundations of modern biology. It is the "finest one-man collection of microscopical observations", and the book is consulted by naturalists to this day. Folio. 2 text vols. and 1 plate vol., text vols.: (62),550[=546]; (4),551-910,(36 index), 124(uitlegging der tafereelen)p., engr. title-vignettes, Latin and Dutch juxtaposed text, plate vol.: 53 engr. plates (52 fold.) by J. VAN DER SPYK, contemp. unif. gilt hcalf Without pages 363-366 as always. Click on the photo and use "<" button under the photo to see additional photos |
| Condition |
Contemp. unif. gilt hcalf without pages 363-366 as always. Two folio volumes, together they measure approximately 37cm (14¾") x 25cm (10") x 14cm (5½"). Half leather bindings. Re-backed but with the original spines and labels neatly restored. Ownership inscription of Cornelius van der Hoeven to end-paper, and ownership ink stamps of L. S. Schadd to front free end-paper and verso of title. The pages have a few spots. Overall a very good set |
| References |
Lindeboom 566; Cole, Comparative anatomy, p.270-305; Dibner, Heralds, 291; Hagen II, p.209; Horn-Schenkling 2197; Nissen, ZBI 4055; Wheeler gift 291. Norman Library 2037: "Despite a scientific career that lasted only a dozen years, Swammerdam was one of the outstanding comparative anatomists of the seventeenth century. His most remarkable work was in the field of insect anatomy, which he undertook in order to disprove still-current Aristotelian notions (which he opposed upon religious grounds) that insects lack internal anatomy, develop by metamorphosis (sudden and complete transformation) and arise from spontaneous generation. By refining his techniques of micro-dissection and injection to the point where he could use them on the smallest and most delicate anatomical parts, Swammerdam was able to illustrate for the first time the complex internal structures of insects, including their reproductive organs; and to demonstrate the gradual development of an insect's adult form throughout all its larval stages. These observations are "indubitably the foundation of our modern knowledge of the structure, metamorphosis and classification of insects" (Cole, p.285). In addition, Swammerdam performed valuable investigations of crustaceans, mollusks and frogs, and was the first to prove experimentally that muscles do not increase in bulk when contracted via nerve stimulation. The Biblia naturae, Swammerdam's major work, was published fifty-seven years after his death by Herman Boerhaave, who assembled it from unpublished manuscript materials integrated with a slightly revised version of Swammerdam's Historia insectorum generalis (1669). Boerhaave's biography of the author, which prefaces the work, remains the chief published source of information about Swammerdam's life. The book's fifty-three copperplates were prepared under Swammerdam's direction from his own drawings." | |