AUTHOR:
Bloch, Marcus Elieser (1723-1799)
Allgemeine Naturgeschichte der Fische. French
TITLE: Ichthyologie, ou Histoire naturelle, générale
et particuliére des poissons, par Marc Eliéser Bloch.
IMPRINT:
Berlin: chez l’auteur, 1785-97.
COLLATION:
12 pts. in 6 v.: 432 col. plates; 49 cm.
NOTES:
Translated by J.C. Thiébault de Laveaux from the original German work.
“The first French edition, issued more or less concurrently with the first
German edition, of the finest illustrated work on fishes ever produced. The plates,
by a variety of artists and engravers (see Nissen), are outstandingly coloured,
and are heightened with gold, silver, and bronze to produced the metallic sheen
of fish scales. Plates 271-344 are each dedicated to and bear the name of those
who subsidised the engravings of the plates, nobility, scientific institutions,
and wealthy individuals. In addition, the names of the fishes are given in several
languages. Bloch was born in Anspach and practised as a physician in Berlin. He
devoted himself to natural history, and wrote several works of which this is his
most famous. ‘In the tradition of the great cabinet naturalists, Bloch developed
his collection of specimens from local excursions, contacts in the marketplace
and harbor, and correspondence. As his interest ranged beyond central Europe,
he joined an existing network of scientific-scholarly contacts to inspire him
to describe and figure the fishes of the then known world. In some cases, he accepted
sources in lieu of actual specimens, particularly from father Plumier and Prince
Maurits’ (History in Service of Systematics, 1981 p. 8 i.e. E. B.
Wlls. Bloch’s Allgmeine Naturgeschichte der Fische: a Study).’”
— Antiquariaat Junk catalogue no. 270
REFERENCES:
Nissen Schöne Fischbücher’s 23; Nissen ZBI, 415.
KEYWORDS:
1. Fishes. I. Laveaux, Jean-Charles (1749-1827)
LOCATION:
ffQL615.B65 1785 | |