RÉAUMUR, (RENÉ-ANTOINE FERCHAULT DE).

Decouverte D'une nouvelle Teinture de Pourpre, & diverses experiences pour la comparer avec celle que les anciens tiroient de quelques especes de Coquillages que nous trouvons sur nos Costes de l'Ocean.

(Paris, L'Imprimerie Royale, 1714). 4to. Without wrappers. Extracted from "Mémoires de l'Academie des Sciences. Année 1711". Pp. 168-199 and 1 folded engraved plate

First printing of a famous paper in which Réaumur "rediscovered the secret of making the purple dye of the ancient Romans from the substance produced by a particular species of mollusk."(DSB XI, p. 331).

"Réamur was among the greatest naturalists of his or any age. In the breadth and range of his researches, in the patient detail of his observations, and in the brilliant ingenuity of his experiments, it would be difficult to name his equal. Thomas Henry Huxley has compared him favorably with Darwin."(DSB XI, p. 331).

Order-nr.: 44402