Historia insectorum Generalis - photo 1
Historia insectorum Generalis - photo 2
Historia insectorum Generalis - photo 3
Historia insectorum Generalis - photo 4

Historia insectorum Generalis

Lot 54
27.06.2024 00:00UTC +00:00
Classic
Sold
$ 2 520
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
Buyer Premiumsee on Website%
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 1236284
Lot 54 | Historia insectorum Generalis
Estimate value
$ 1 000 – 15 000
SWAMMERDAM, Jan (1637-1680). Historia insectorum Generalis, ofte Algemeene Verhandeling van de bloedeloose Dierkens. Utrecht: Meinardus van Dreunen, 1669.

First edition of Swammerdam's transformative investigations of the microscopic anatomy of insects—"the overthrow of the idea of metamorphosis" (DSB). The author was the son of an amateur collector of curiosities, including insects, and he began to form his own insect collection while studying medicine as a young man in Leiden. A friend of Leeuwenhoek, he used a single-lens microscope to make minute studies of insect anatomy. His work demonstrated that the developmental phases of insect life—from egg to larva to pupa to adult—are a continuous process of anatomical change, and suggested that all biological processes are fundamentally the same, with no distinction between insects and so-called "higher animals."

"Swammerdam’s thesis about insects was fundamentally new and significant. For his contemporaries, as for Aristotle, there existed three good arguments that not only placed the insects far from higher animals, but even tended to remove them from the realm of subjects open to scientific study. These arguments were: insects lack internal anatomy; they originate by spontaneous generation; and they develop by metamorphosis" (DSB) Swammerdam's work disproved this utterly, using both evidence from dissection of larval and chrysalid forms as well as a comparative approach to argue that all development occurs according to one model—just sometimes less obvious to the naked eye. His work prefigures and probably influenced that of another keen-eyed Dutch scientist interested in the nature of metamorphosis: Maria Sibylla Merian. Garrison and Morton 294; Nissen ZBI 4052; see DSB XIII pp 168-175 and F.J. Cole, "Swammerdam" in History of Comparative Anatomy (1949, pp 270-305).

Quarto (194 x 154mm). Half title. 13 engraved plates, 8 of which folding; folding table with illustration captions (plates somewhat browned). Contemporary Dutch vellum ruled in blind (text block separating from cover, but sewing sturdy). Provenance: David P. Wheatland, 1898-1993, founder of the Harvard Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments (bookplate).
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
13.06.2024 – 27.06.2024
Phone +44 (0)20 7839 9060
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Buyer Premium see on Website
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase

More from Creator

Historia insectorum Generalis
Historia insectorum Generalis
$100

Related terms

Frequently asked questions

First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.