The Living World: Containing Descriptions of the Several Races of Men, and the Different Groups of Animals, Birds, Fishes, Insects, Etc., Etc.

This handsomely-bound 2 volume antique set presents all the features of fancy leather Victorian bindings of the period Each large volume is bound in 3/4 leather over pebbled cloth boards with gilt lettering and tooling The spines show four raised bands, the endpapers are marbled and the textblock edges are also marbled, on all three sides 424, 364 pp NOT ex-lib These luxurious volumes are complete and illustrated with dozens of full-page, tissue-guarded chromolithograph plates of birds, fish, mammals & insects In the introduction, the authors of "The Living World" offer some context as to the content of these volumes: "Aware that most scientific works are dry and uninteresting to the mass of the people, being intended chiefly for scholars, and the more educated classes, we have endeavored to treat the subject in a manner that will both entertain and instruct at the same time While maintaining scientific exactness in the classification and description of objects, we have carefully avoided wearisome details, and introduced such a variety of pleasing and instructive matter as will, it is believed, arrest the attention of all grades of readers, and create in them a desire to know more of the nature and character of those races of animals over which the Creator has given man the right and power to rule" Condition / Notes: These antique volumes show well with age/wear indications concentrated on the extremities--rubbing and shelfwear particularly visible on high points The spine and binding for both texts is solid and intact without any loose pages The color illustrations are bright and bold while pages show some light toning though the text itself remains clean and legible throughout.…