Russell | An Account of Indian Serpents, 1796, [bound with] A Continuation, part 1 (only, of 4), 1801, first editions

From the Library of Clayre and Jay Michael Haft

Patrick Russell

An Account of Indian Serpents collected in the Coast of Coromandel [bound with:] A Continuation of an Account of Indian Serpents. London: W. Bulmer and Company, Shakespeare Press, 1796 and 1801

FIRST EDITIONS, 2 works in one volume, folio (511 x 354mm.), An Account: dedication leaf, 42 hand-coloured copperplates and three plain plates [Wood 547]; A Continuation: part one (only, of 4), 9 hand-coloured copperplates, red three-quarter morocco by Zaehnsdorf, spine with raised bands in six compartments, gilt edges, marbled endpapers, binding slightly soiled

First editions of the first works on the subject of Indian snakes. Patrick Russell (1727-1805) was a naturalist with the East India Company. "Russell's Account... relied heavily on Indian knowledge, although he subjected local wisdom to the trial of experiment and his own observations” (ODNB).

PROVENANCE:

G.R. Nicolaus: bookplate and monogram label