Vallmont Bomare - Dictionnaire Raisonné Universel d’Histoire Naturelle contenant l'histoire des animaux, des végétaux - 1791

Rare copy of the fourth edition in complete quarto format in 8 volumes, of this monumental and important dictionary of Natural History, decorated with a beautiful frontispiece engraved in intaglio after De Sève and a header in volume 1.
Beautiful estimated edition, partly original because revised & considerably increased by the author VALMONT DE BOMARE (1731-1807). The same year was published another edition in 8-inch format (in 15 t), much more common.

First published in 1761 in 5 in-8 volumes (the second in 1768 in 6 in-8 volumes and the third in 1775 in 9 in-8 volumes).

The author the naturalist and pharmacist Valmont de Bomare (1731-1807) headed the physics and natural history cabinet of the Prince de Condé in Chantilly.

His dictionary was a great success and was reprinted, expanded and annotated several times by the author and was translated into almost all languages. "We owe to the publication of this Dictionary - writes Michaud in his Universal Bibliography - the rapid progress of natural history. It has singularly contributed to spreading its taste and study. It has served as a type for all of the works of this genre which has since appeared, without their authors having paid Valmont de Bomare the tribute of recognition that they owed him. His book has the merit of unity over theirs; it is dictated by the same spirit: his thought , always noble, always bold, bears the stamp of loyalty, of a wise philosophy. If he escaped a few errors, they were less his fault than those of his time. He unraveled chaos; he opened walking, he left the movement; and without him, we might still await the important discoveries which signaled the dawn of the nineteenth century. Those who came after him are far from having rendered the same services Their dictionaries are verbose; the articles are not in ha harmony with each other; and in general, microscopic objects occupy a disproportionate place there with the greatest beings of creation ".


AUTHOR: Jacques-Christophe Valmont de Bomare

TITLE: Universal Reasoned Dictionary of Natural History: containing the history of animals, plants and minerals, and that of celestial bodies, meteors, and other main phenomena of nature; with the history of the three reigns, and the details of their uses in medicine, in the domestic and rural economy, and in the arts and crafts; and a concordant table of Latin names, etc. and the reference to the objects mentioned in this work

LOCATION: PUBLISHER, DATE: In Lyon: chez Bruyset frères., M.DCC.XCI., 1791.

SNACK: Without frontispiece. xx, 785, [3]; [4], 887, [1]; [4], 902, [2]; [4], 896; [4], 870, [2]; [4], 796; [4], 793, [1]; [4], 564, 215, [3] p

FORMAT: In -4 of 26 x 20 cm

Period binding in half brown calfskin, ribbed spine adorned with two red and green pieces and an elegant decoration with gilt irons. Corners of the dishes in vellum.

Fresh and clean set. Bindings in good condition, well preserved, solid, the leather shows wear from use, some slight marks, small tears on the head covers of volumes 1, 2, 7 and 8 with a lack of micro fragments in volumes 1 and 8. Interior in very good condition of freshness, practically without foxing.

WEIGHT: 7500 g