CUBIÈRES, Simon Louis Pierre.
Histoire abrégée des coquillages de mer, de leurs moeurs, et de leurs amours.
Versailles, P.D. Pierres, An VIII (1799/1800). 4to. With an engraved headpiece and 21 engraved plates printed in brown. Contemporary blue boards. [3], [1 blank], VIII, 202.
€ 700
Second edition of a conchological work, addressed to female readers, by the French writer and naturalist Simon Louis Pierre Cubières (1747-1821). He opens with a preface, headed "aux femmes", followed by a general introduction to natural history and seashells. The following chapters are devoted to the classification of sea shells (univalves, bivalves and multivalves) each dealing with a different family of these classes. Each plate depicts several shells, included at the end of the text is a list with the names of all the depicted shells. The author apparently felt that female readers would be especially interested in the "customs" and "love life" of shellfish.
A few small spots and a small water stain in the upper margin of the first few pages. Binding rubbed. Overall in very good condition. Junk, Thes. libr. conchyliorum 80; Nissen, ZBI 995.
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