JARDINE, William (1800-1874). Leaves from the Book of Nature, Containing the Principal Illustrations in Jardine's Naturalist's Library. Edinburgh: W.H. Lizars; London: S. Highly; Dublin: W. Curry, [1846]. 

Folio (550 x 424 mm). Pictorial title-page with hand-coloring, 117 engraved plates with hand-coloring. (Some spotting and browning.) Contemporary half green morocco (rebacked to style). Provenance: Hugh Arthur Birley (gift inscription from Charles Jackson Barton).

A RARE OVERSIZE FORMAT, unrecorded by the major bibliographies. The work is divided into four divisions: Mammalia (comprising 39 plates), Ornithology (comprising 42 plates), Icthyology (comprising 18 plates), and Entomology (comprising 18 plates). We record only one other copy of this format sold at auction in the last 30 years (possibly this copy). See previous lot for Jardine's Naturalist Library where these illustrations appear in their octavo format.