Félix-Archimède Pouchet — Moeurs Et Instincts Des Animaux

Paris, Librarie Hachette, 1891. Leather. The French naturalist Félix-Archimède Pouchet examines the habits and instincts of animals in this heavily illustrated volume. A new edition of this illustrated work by French naturalist Félix-Archimède Pouchet. Published in French with 164 illustrations, collated and complete. Divided into seven sections, this volume on the habits and instincts of animals opens with a discussion of microscopic creatures and the invisible world, before turning water creatures, insects, forest dwellers, those creatures that protect agriculture, birds, before a final section on animal migration. As is evidenced in the opening sections of this volume, Pouchet was a leading proponent of the now superseded theory of spontaneous generation. Spontaneous generation held that living creatures could and would regularly arise from nonliving matter, a theory that was taken as fact until Louis Pasteur. In their efforts to a prize from the French Academy of sciences, Pouchet and Pasteur debated their respective theories with each other in the mid nineteenth century. With a blindstamp from Keele university, and a withdrawal ink stamp to the title page. In a red calf binding over red loth boards. Externally, generally smart. Lightly rubbed to the rear joint, more so to the front joint. With some minor bumping and wear to the extremities. The front hinge is starting, but firm. Internally, firmly bound. Aside from the first few pages of the volume, pages are generally bright clean with the occasional patch of light foxing. Very Good . Ill.: Not stated. Very Good .