RÉAUMUR, (RENÉ-ANTOINE FERCHAULT DE). - GROWING PEARLS IN BIVALVES.

Observations sur le Coquillage appellé Pinne Marine, ou Nacre de Perle; à l'ocassion duquel on explique la formation des Perles.

(Paris, L'Imprimerie Royale, 1719). 4to. Without wrappers. Extracted from "Mémoires de l'Academie des Sciences. Année 1717". Pp. 177-194 and 2 large folded engraved plates.

First printing of a famous paper in which Rèaumur showed how perls could be grown artificially in bivalves.

"In 1715 his investigations of artificial pearls led him to study the substance that gave luster to the scales of fishes. These researches in return linked to inquiries that he had undertaken since 1709 into the formation of mollusk shells, which he showed to grow by the addition of successive layers rather than by the incorporation of new matter into the already existing structuree. In 1717 (in the paper offered) he attempted artificially to stimulate pearl formation in bivalves."(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.: 44407