The Butterfly Collector's Vade Mecum: with a Synoptical Table of British Butterflies

Description:

2nd enlarged edition. Rare. Laetitia Ford, née Jermyn (1788-1848) was a naturalist, butterfly collector and writer at a time when women were not expected to pursue careers in the sciences. Her interest in natural history was encouraged by her neighbour, Rev. William Kirby, an influential entomologist and naturalist. Today, she is chiefly known for the present work, a delightful guide book to English butterflies, which she dedicated to her mentor, W. Kirby. Her 'synoptical table' provided detailed information on larval food plants, times of appearance and localities, especially in Suffolk and Essex. Although her name is not printed on the title-page, her maiden name, Laetitia Jermyn, is printed at the end of the preface (the first edition only prints her initials, L.J., after the preface) The coloured frontispiece, depicting a Swallowtail butterfly with its larva and chrysalis, is clearly shown as the work of the author herself.

Freeman 1232; Hagen I p. 398.

Condition

Cont. marbled bds, rubbed, with slight wear to corners; spine carefully rebacked with matching paper, publisher's printed label pasted to front board. Page edges uncut. Vg.