The butterfly vivarium. Or, insect home: being an account of a new method of observing the curious metamorphoses of some of the most beautiful of native insects. Comprising also a popular description of the habits and instincts of many of the insects of the various classes referred to; with suggestions for the successful study of entomology by means of an insect vivarium. Illustrated with coloured engravings.

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.