Félicien Derenne - Collection historique de la Revue Mensuelle de la Société Entomologique Namuroise et de Lambillionea - 1901-1931

Historical collection of the Monthly Review of the Namuroise Entomological Society and Lambillionea (Monthly Review of the Union of Belgian Entomologists)
Years: 1901-1905, 1911-1913, 1914-1924, 1925-1928, 1929-1931 (Series continuous in blocks).
Annual volumes bound, institutional-era bindings, Full cloth / Library half-binding. General condition: Excellent. Interior very fresh, plates and illustrations intact.

The volume for the year 1929 constitutes an exceptional piece for the history of scientific illustration: Technique: Presence of genuine era photographic silver prints (intact), cut and manually pasted onto the plate pages.Signatures of major artists: Fernand BRAUN (Royan): historic French photographer of the Belle Époque and renowned lepidopterist. His original butterfly prints are of absolute rarity, almost all of his archives and negatives having been destroyed during the 1945 bombing of Royan.Studio L'ÉPI (Brussels): Famous Brussels studio for documentary photography and reportage of the interwar period, guaranteeing laboratory work of microscopic precision.
The lot is enriched with unique world‑class documents not found in standard editions: Field sheets (1923): Original manuscript tables of captures records known as “à la miellée” (nocturnal hunting of Noctuidae), detailing weather conditions, substrate recipes, and species observed over a century ago.Major scientific correspondence (Letter of 12 March 1932): Author: Félicien Derenne (F. Derenne-Meyers), legendary director of Lambillionea [Lambillionea - Wikipedia].Support: Typed letter on red-letterhead of the review (90 Avenue Louis Lepoutre, Brussels), hand-signed.Content: Letter addressed to the “Dear President” (Dr. Jean-Thomas Betz) concerning the official scientific description of an exceptional mutation (female aberration of Melitaea aurinia captured at Digne), presenting a spectacular case of melanism on the recto and albinism on the verso.Graphical elements: Includes a hand-drawn anatomical butterfly diagram by Félicien Derenne, detailing wing nomenclature, as well as two work photographic prints attached.

University origin: Direct provenance from the Library of the Catholic University of Leuven (UCL).Scientific fonds: Former property of the Centre Cerfaux-Lefort (Namur/Louvain), a premier Belgian entomological and phytopathological research hub.
Historical donor: Manuscript ex-libris note “Don de Monseigneur Ranwez Namur,” linking the collection to Mgr Jean Ranwez (1910-1994), eminent canon, theologian and great Namurois scholar.Legal status: Presence of the official university stamp “DÉCLASSÉ” (DECLASSIFIED), guaranteeing legitimate ownership and full legality of the sale.
N.B.: Lot of fascicles is added free of charge.