Swammerdam, Jan. The book of nature; or, the history of insects. Seyffert, London, 1758.

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Description: Swammerdam, Jan (1637-80). The book of nature; or, the history of insects. . . . With the life of the author, by Herman Boerhaave. Translated from the Dutch and Latin original edition, by Thomas Flloyd. Revised and improved by notes from Reaumur and others by John Hill, M.D. 2 parts in 1, folio. [6], xx, [6], 236; 153, lxiii, [12]pp. 53 engraved plates, a few by Swammerdam. London: C. G. Seyffert, 1758. 440 x 274 mm. (uncut). Quarter calf, marbled boards in period style. Edges a bit frayed, light toning, but very good. First Edition in English. See Dibner 191. Despite a scientific career that lasted only a dozen years, Swammerdam was one of the outstanding comparative anatomists of the seventeenth century. His most remarkable work was in the field of insect anatomy, which he undertook in order to disprove Aristotle's claims that insects lack internal anatomy, develop by metamorphosis (sudden and complete transformation) and arise from spontaneous generation. By refining his techniques of microdissection and injection to the point where he could use them on the smallest and most delicate anatomical parts, Swammerdam was able to illustrate for the first time the complex internal structures of insects, including their reproductive organs; and to demonstrate the gradual development of an insect's adult form throughout all its larval stages. These observations are "indubitably the foundation of our modern knowledge of the structure, metamorphosis and classification of insects" (Cole, p. 285). In addition, Swammerdam performed valuable investigations of crustaceans, mollusks and frogs, and was the first to prove experimentally that muscles do not increase in bulk when contracted via nerve stimulation. The Biblia natura, Swammerdam's major work, was published fifty-seven years after his death by Herman Boerhaave (1668-1738), who assembled it from unpublished manuscript materials integrated with a slightly revised version of Swammerdam's Historia insectorum generalis (1669). Boerhaave's biography of the author, which prefaces the work, remains the chief published source of information about Swammerdam's life. The English translation of Biblia natura was prepared by the physician John Hill (1716?-75), author of several botanical treatises (including the monumental Vegetable System [1759-75]) and a host of miscellaneous works. Brazier, Neurophysiology in the 17th and 18th Centuries, pp. 40-45. Cole, History of Comparative Anatomy, pp. 270-305; Library of Early Medicine & Zoology, 731. .

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