Product Description
Klein, J. T.; Tentamen methodi ostracologicae sive dispositio naturalis cochlidum et concharum in suas classes, genera et species. [AND] Lucubratiuncula de formatione, cremento et coloribus testarum, quae sunt cochlidum et concharum, [AND] Commentariolum in locum Plinii Hist. Natur. Libr. IX. Cap. XXXIII. [AND] Sciagraphia methodi ad genus Serpentium ordinate digerendum. Leiden, G. J. Wishoff, 1753. Three works in one volume. Quarto, pp. folded frontispiece portrait of Klein, 8, 177, 5, 18, 4, 6, 8, 44, 16, 2 with 12 engraved plates (to first work), and one engraved plate in the text in second work, a few text vignettes.
The work is complete and in a contemporary full calf with five raised spine bands, gilt lettered morocco spine label. Wear to boards, front hinge nicely restored. Text with moderate foxing to outer margin of title page and dedication page and last plate at rear, remainder of text and plates are clean with only minor foxing to margins.
Jacob Theodore Klein (1685-1759) was trained as a mathematician, lawyer and diplomat. However he also was very interested in natural history and privately gathered an enormous collection of natural history specimens. His Tentamen methodi ostracologicae is a detailed systematic work on shells, based partly on earlier observations by Buonanni and Rumphius. The second section of the book deals with colouring of shells, the third is a comment on the work of Plini. The forth, on a single page, proposed a new classification of the snakes. The engraved plates show a total of 228 specimens. The work is an early, widely followed conchological classification. Even after the acceptance of Linnaeus' 10th edition of the Systema Naturae as the starting point of zoological nomenclature, many of Klein's names remained accepted.
.
