ALBIN, Eleazar (fl.1713-59)

Sold
£ 8 190
Auction dateClassic
13.12.2023 11:00UTC +01:00
Auctioneer
CHRISTIE'S
Event location
United Kingdom, London
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 1105733
Lot 99 | ALBIN, Eleazar (fl.1713-59)
ALBIN, Eleazar (fl.1713-59)

Insectorum Angliae naturalis historia. London: William Innys, 1731. [With:] – A Natural History of Birds. London: William Innys and Richard Manby, 1738-1740.

Uniformly bound set of Albin’s works in contemporary tree calf, including his extremely rare first Latin edition of his publication on lepidoptera, and the first edition of the ’earliest coloured book on British Birds’ (Fine Bird Books). Little is known about Albin’s origins, however in the preface to his 1720 publication Natural History of English Insects, he offers some insight into his background, writing: ‘Teaching to Draw and Paint in Water-Colours, being my Profession, first led me to the observing of Flowers and Insects, with whose various Forms and beautiful Colours I was very much delighted; especially the latter, several of which I painted after the Life, for my own Pleasure’. The plates in the Insects volume illustrates the complete lifecycle of the given butterfly species and details their preferred plant. RBH records just two copies of this Latin edition of the Insects sold in the last 50 years. Insects: Lisney 121.Nissen ZBI 59; Birds: Great Bird Books (1990) p.71); Nissen IVB 15.



2 works in 4 volumes, quarto (292 x 225mm). Insects: title with engraved vignette and 100 hand-coloured engraved plates, wood-engraved capital and tailpieces (45mm clean tear to plate XIV, occasional spotting and browning confined to margins). Birds: 3 vols. 305 (only, of 306) hand-coloured engraved plates, woodcut capitals and tailpieces (vol. 2 lacking final index leaf, vol. 3 lacking plate 72, occasional staining, spotting and browning throughout, especially in vol. 2). Uniformly bound in contemporary tree calf, covers with narrow gilt Greek-key borders, gilt flat spines with red and green morocco gilt labels, marbled endpapers (rubbed with joints splitting, front cover to Insects almost detached, vol. 3 of birds with covers detached, corners bumped). Provenance: John McTaggart (engraved armorial bookplates).

Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
09.12.2023 12:00 – 17:00
10.12.2023 12:00 – 17:00
11.12.2023 09:00 – 18:00
12.12.2023 09:00 – 17:00
Phone +44 (0)20 7839 9060
Email
Buyer Premium see on Website
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase