John Abbot and James Edward Smith | The natural history of the rare lepidopterous insects of Georgia, 1797, 2 volumes

John Abbot and James Edward Smith

The natural history of the rare lepidopterous insects of Georgia. London: printed by T. Bensley for J. Edwards and J. White, 1797

FIRST EDITION, early issue (Whatman watermarks 1794), 2 volumes, folio (400 x 310mm.), titles and text in English and French, dedication, 104 hand-coloured engraved plates, FINELY BOUND IN CONTEMPORARY STRAIGHT-GRAINED RED MOROCCO GILT, palmette borders gilt on covers in the manner of Staggemeier and Welcher, gilt edges

A SUPERB COPY. John Abbot (1751 - circa 1842) was born in London but spent most of his life in Georgia collecting specimens of insects and preparing drawings on a commercial basis. In his preface to this work Smith writes of Abbot: "The result of his observations he has delineated in a style of beauty and accuracy which can scarcely be excelled, and has accompanied his figures with an account, as well as representation, of the plants on which each insect chiefly feeds...".

LITERATURE:

Dunthorne 287; Great Flower Books, p. 76; Nissen ZBI 2; Sabin 25

PROVENANCE:

Charles Bennet, 4th Earl Tankerville (1743-1822), Chillingham Castle, book label (Bennet's wife, Elizabeth, née Colebrooke, was a noted collector of exotic plants and plant drawings, the latter collection now housed at Kew Gardens)