First six volumes only, with plates 1-289, 205* (the complete work consists of 16 volumes and 770 plates). The fine hand coloured engravings each include an insect along with a plant with which it is usually associated. All plates/parts are first issues. John Curtis (1791-1862) was a British entomologist, illustrator and engraver, and writer. The present work, ‘British Entomology’, considered by the great French naturalist Georges Cuvier (1769-1832) a ‘paragon of perfection’, is one of the most beautifully illustrated works on British insects, acknowledged as being a masterpiece of the engravers' and colourists' art. Nissen ZBI, 1000, Horn-Schenkling, 4184