Fabre's Book of Insects

What's not to like? Fabre's tales, or Fabre's able translator de Mattos, and de Mattos' translation retold by Mrs. Stawell - sorry, but what a tangle - of insects makes one admire their strangeness at the same time one is horrified by them. I think in particular of his time-consuming observation of the Anthrax fly's two - not one - larval forms, which comprises the final chapter in Fabre's Book of Insects. It is very unlikely that anyone before this 19th century naturalist of France ever pinpointed this particular aspect before, and this is but one example of his efforts. "I have gone forward with one aim always before me: to add a few pages to the history of insects," he wrote.

Following in the footsteps of his great entomological forebear, J. Henri Fabre, Fabre the much-younger creates an artistic “mythology” (in the words of the publisher) of insects. The book chronicles a love of bugs as profound and colorful as a recollection of an artistic movement, musical scene, or childhood respite. The drawings’ variety comes close to rivaling that of their diminutive subjects. This special gilt-decorated hardcover edition is numbered and stamped with the artist’s insignia.

Classic. Illustrated with detailed drawings and paintings. An entomologist, many of Fabre's books are based on his backyard observations.

Published by Hodder & Stoughton, first edition, 184pp, 12 laid-in colour illustrations with tissue guards. Text includes “Retold from Alexander Teixeira de Mattos’ translation of Jean-Henri Fabre’s Souvenirs entomologiques by Mrs. Rodolph Stawell.”

Edward Julius Detmold (Brit., 1883–1957) was a prolific book illustrator who “became one of the most talented of illustrators, depicting animals and plants with an extraordinary understanding, and making use of fantasy settings of architecture and landscape.”