London, William Lay, 1858. 8vo (18.2 x 13.2 cm). xi, 288, [iii] pp., eight hand-coloured steel-engraved plates. Original blue, blind-stamped cloth with gilt title on the spine and large gilt vignette on the front board. All edges gilt.

A typically Victorian publication, promoting the study of insects and their metamorphoses, habits, and food. According to Horn-Schenkling " Selten" (Rare). The author, Henry Noel Humphreys (1810-1879), best known, perhaps, for his "British moths and their transformations", “was a British illustrator, naturalist, entomologist, and numismatist. Humphreys, who studied medieval manuscripts in Italy as a young man, became an accomplished scholar in numerous subjects. In addition to his entomological texts, Humphreys wrote works on ancient Greek and Roman coins, archaeology, and the art of writing and printing” (Wikipedia). Boards a bit rubbed, spine re-backed with the original gilt-ornamented cover mounted. Frontispiece, title page and preliminary pages a bit soiled and thumbed, a few small spots, but generally in a good condition, and still a very good copy. Freeman, British natural history books 1495-1900. A handlist, 1836; Horn-Schenkling, 10964.