Thomas Pennant - British Zoology (4 voll.) - 1776-1777

Full leather bindings with defects to the hinges and headcaps. Spines somewhat worn with gilding, inscription of tome in a black box and gold title in a red box, both applied. Top edges dark blue."

1 vol.: 2 blank leaves, [1], xxxiii, [3], 418, 2 blank leaves
2 vol.: 2 blank leaves, [6], from 442 to 786, 2 blank leaves
3 vol.: 2 blank leaves, [4], 425, 1 blank leaf, [2], 2 blank leaves
4 vol.: 2 blank leaves, [1], viii, [6], 154, [94], 2 blank leaves

British Zoology is an important scientific work by naturalist Thomas Pennant. Here we present the celebrated fourth edition published in 4 volumes between 1776 and 1777 in London and Warrington by publisher Benjamin White and printer William Eyres. The monumental systematic catalog describes the British fauna, dividing it in the first two volumes between Quadrupeds and Birds (including aquatic ones), dedicating the third to Reptiles and Fish, and introducing for the first time in the fourth volume (issued in 1777) the sections on Crustaceans, Molluscs and Shells. The work, renowned for its extraordinary iconographic apparatus consisting of about 284 engraved plates, represents a milestone of eighteenth-century zoology.

4 title pages with the corresponding animal representing the class explored in the volume. Ex libris applied to the flyleaf of each volume. Diffuse as well as light foxing. About 284 beautiful illustrations of animals, many of which leave an imprint on the following leaf. Exemplars in overall good conservational state, complete and usable.