Available Copies from Independent Booksellers
H Noel Humphreys. The Butterfly Vivarium; or, Insect Home. William Lay, London, 1858.
Price: US$230.56 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: A good copy in the original decorative cloth binding with hand coloured frontispiece and 7 further hand coloured plates. All page edges gilted. The binding is bright and clean. There is wear and some fraying to corners and spine ends and general rubbing to edges and spine joints. The gilt decoration on the front board and spine is bright. The spine is slightly dulled and there is some light marking to the back board. Contents: half title; frontispiece; title; preface; contents and plate lists; text pp 288 with 7 tissue-guarded plates. 3 pp of publisher's ads at the rear. The endpapers have adverts for the publisher's works at the fpd, and both rear endpapers. The contents are clean and sound. There is a small green paint stain in the bottom gutter of the title page, which has a couple of brown spots, and the tissue guard to the frontispiece has been removed. The half title has an ink inscription dated 1871 with ruled lines, and there is a signature to the plain side of the frontispiece. There is a pale stain at the bottom edge in the gutter that extends up just over half a centimeter at times and finally disappears around p 211. There is a light stain in the side margin of p255. Please enquire if you would like to see additional images.
Seller: ecbooks, Orkney Islands, United Kingdom
Price: US$249.77 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: xii, 288, 8 hand-coloured engraved plates. . HB. cr. 8vo, orig. dec. cloth, gt, elaborate gilt design to front board, aeg, some wear to spine corners and joints, head/foot of spine frayed. Contents clean and crisp. Hand-coloured plates clean and bright. This work, published during the peak of Victorian interest in natural history, instructed the reader how to build, stock and maintain an insect vivarium. The coloured frontispiece illustrates a highly decorative glass and zinc case, containing aquatic, land and flying insects. This idea was clearly influenced by the growing popularity of aquaria and ornamental fern cases. These had become part of the furniture of an educated, middle-class Victorian home. Indeed, Humphreys describes the structure of the "insect home" as a drawing room object and clearly expected it to provide both scientific and aesthetic interest.Most of the book concentrates on the general biology of insects and how to collect and rear them. Various suggestions were made concerning the internal decoration of the case including; "pretty pebbles", "tasteful rock work", ornamental ferns and "small plants in flower". Tin or zinc tubes containing water were placed in the earth "in which stalks of different kinds of plants required for food of the caterpillars may be plunged". To keep the "miniature lake" clear, water snails and aquatic plants were recommended. Humphreys also wrote that to give the water a sense of life and movement even sticklebacks could be added!! Insects suitable for such a "little crystal palace" included species of dragonfly, the water beetle Hydrophilus piceus, the privet hawkmoth Sphinx ligustri, the clouded yellow Colias croceus, the peacock butterfly Inachis io and the orange tip Anthocaris cardamines. (Harvey, J., 1989, AES Bulletin, 47).
Seller: PEMBERLEY NATURAL HISTORY BOOKS BA, ABA, Iver, United Kingdom
Price: US$400.00 + shipping
Description: 12mo [19 x 13.5 cm]; xii, 288, [iii, ads including one for author's earlier book] pp, 8 fine hand colored engraved plates including frontis, engraved headpieces for each chapter, with the half title page, endpaper ads. original cloth, gilt title lettering on spine and on cover in decorative gilt border, all edges gilted, cover rubbed, rebacked preserving original spine & endpapers, interior clean and near fine in very good cover, solid and tight binding. Freeman 1836. An attractively produced book by author of other high-class natural history books, one being an early work on aquariums done at the beginning of the aquarium craze in Victorian England. The work translates the aquarium, a habitat for fish and other marine animals, to one of insects where the enthusiastic nature lover could collect various insects and watch them grow and reproduce in the comfort of their own home. The plates, including many of butterflies, beetles, etc, are beautifully done, the frontis being one of the vivarium itself, an ornate Victorian aquarium with plants, water, butterflies, etc, that could have been found in a typical parlor of the time. A picture of this book is available on request.
Seller: Horizon Books, Toronto, ON, Canada
Price: US$410.00 + shipping
Description: 12mo [19 x 13.5 cm]; xii, 288, [iii, ads including one for author's earlier book] pp, 8 fine hand colored engraved plates including frontis, engraved headpieces for each chapter, with the half title page. original cloth, gilt title lettering on spine and on cover in decorative gilt border, all edges gilted, cover rubbed and expertly re-set in binding, interior clean and near fine in very good cover, sound and tight binding. Freeman 1836. An attractively produced book by author of other high-class natural history books, one being an early work on aquariums done at the beginning of the aquarium craze in Victorian England. The work translates the aquarium, a habitat for fish and other marine animals, to one of insects where the enthusiastic nature lover could collect various insects and watch them grow and reproduce in the comfort of their own home. The plates, including many of butterflies, beetles, etc, are beautifully done, the frontis being one of the vivarium itself, an ornate sort of aquarium with plants, water, butterflies, etc that could have been found in a typical parlor of the time. A picture of this book is available on request.
Seller: Horizon Books, Toronto, ON, Canada
Price: US$448.30 + shipping
Description: , xii 1-288 pages, contains 8 hand-coloured plates, decorated capitals, contains the bookplate for Eric Gowing-Scopes (1913-2007) an entomologist who contributed specimens to The Natual History Museum. First Edition , covers marked, corners and edges rubbed, joints worn, textblock nice, previous owners' bookplates to front free endpaper and pastedown, good condition , decorative green cloth with gilt titles on the front cover and spine and gilt decoration on the front cover, full gilt edges , octavo, 19 x 14 cm Hardback ISBN:
Seller: Keoghs Books, Skipton, United Kingdom