London, The Trustees of the British Museum, 1857. 8vo (22.0 x 13.8cm). xvi, 234, 8 pp.; one lithographed plate. Publisher's blind-stamped cloth with gilt title on the spine.

The first thorough work on the insects of Madeira, Porto Santo and some adjacent islets. The material was mostly collected by the author. As could be expected from rather isolated island-faunas most species described in this work are endemic. Thomas Vernon Wollaston (1822-1878) FLS published a series of eight island faunal studies, the others being on the insects of Madeira (published in 1854), the Coleoptera of Madeira in the British Museum (1857), those of the Cape Verde Islands (1867), on the beetles of the Canaries (1864), on the landshells of the Atlantic islands (1878), and on the variation of species, with especial reference to the Insecta (1858). The last mentioned paper in particular is an important contribution to evolution. However, Wollaston, concluded from his researches that species were created under a divine plan to best suit local circumstances. Published in the year previous to Darwin's On the origin of species, it was kindly received by Darwin. In turn, Wollaston, who could not shed his religious beliefs, published quite a negative review of Darwin's work. Thereafter sympathy between both men although working on much the same subject deteriorated slowly but steadily. The present work includes new species. The plate shows species of the genera Stereus, Autocera and Orthoperus. Former owner's inscription in the margin of the half-title, cancelled stamp on the title page, otherwise a very good, clean, near mint copy. Rare. Cat. BM(NH) V, p. 2, 350; Horn-Schenkling II(4), p. 453.