Dissertatio Epistolica de Bombyce

London: J Martyn & J Allestry Regie Societatis Typographos, 1669. First Edition. Full contemporary calf.. Good; some modest overall toning and light spotting to several plates, text crisp and clear; binding worn, chafed, and taped along the backstrip; short, clean tears into four plates (no loss); very good margins throughout.. 4to, [10], 100 pp + 12 engraved folding plates. Contemporary engraved bookplate of the Viscount of Scudmore with a shelf mark in ink. Initial and final blank present.

"Malpighi's work on the silkworm represents the first monograph on an invertebrate and records one of the most striking pieces of research work on his part. He dissected the silkworm under the microscope with great skill and observed its intricate structure; before the appearance of this work the silkworm was believed not to have internal organs" (G-M #293). "In de Bombyce Malpighi had carefully observed the artisan nature construct each of the three stages - larva, chrysalis, and moth - through which the silkworm is formed. He further remarked on the specific apparatuses with which the silkworm is provided, among them the air ducts (tracheae) and the blood duct with a number of pulsating centers (corcula)" (DSB IX, p.65). Frati #20; Norman #1428; Wing M-349.