Oxford The Theatre, 1686.First edition. Folio (350 x 230 cms) Full contemporary panelled calf,rebacked,pp.xiv,450pp,+10pp index.two ll list of subscribers bound at end, Engraved title page,Dedication, Large folding engraved Map, 37 engraved plates of which 26 are double page or folding, and mostly of the Great Houses of the County, and their Gardens the other plates illustrate curiosities and natural phenomena without the usually missing heraldic plate. A fine unpressed copy. Robert Plot, 1640-1696, was born at the family home of Sutton Barne in Borden Kent. He was educated at Wye and then at Magdalen Hall, Oxford, graduating with BA in 1661, MA in 1664, DCL in 1671. His research interests were primarily concerned with the study of natural history and antiquities in England. He began his study for a multi-volume work in Oxfordshire, where he was living at the time, which resulted in the publication in 1677 of The Natural History of Oxford-shire, being an essay towards the Natural History of England .Subsequently, in 1683, he was appointed Professor of Chemistry and the first Keeper of the Ashmolean Museum at the University of Oxford. Plot's second volume in the series of natural histories, The Natural History of Stafford-shire was published in 1686, his investigation of Staffordshire having been instigated at the invitation of Walter Chetwynd of Ingestre Hall. Plot dedicated the Natural History of Staffordshire to James II and in 1688 was subsequently named Historiographer Royal. His ambition to continue the multi-volume series for all England was however, never realised.  Plot's work on Staffordshire combines scientific enquiry with local folklore to provide an intriguing account not merely of the county's natural history, but also its geology, pre-industrial manufacturing and culture during the 17 th century. The selected chapters available for access from The Natural History of Staffordshire include: Chapter 3; Of the Earths ,Chapter 4; Of the Stones , Chapter 5; Of Formed Stones and Chapter 9; Of the Arts . Chapter 3 is of particular interest to ceramic historians, in its description of pre-industrial pottery manufacture in Staffordshire Upcot 1172