BEVAN, Edward. The Honey Bee. Its Natural History, Physiology and Management. Van Voorst. 1838.
8vo. Later quarter brown calf, spine with raised bands, black morocco gilt lettering piece, all edges marbled; pp. xxiv + 447 + [4, ads], frontispiece, illustrated title page, text engravings throughout; very good. Provenance: half-title inscribed by the author "Dr Cartwright Thomas/ With the affectionate regards of/ his uncle and friend/ the author".
Second edition. First published in 1824, this comprehensive book established Bevan, a retired physician from Herefordshire, as a national authority on bee-keeping to the extent that this expanded second edition bears a long and personal dedication to Queen Victoria, with some not-so-subtle attempts to equate her unconventional accession to the throne with that of a queen bee: "The queen of every bee-community has been destined to fill her high station, froma very erarly age, (not always from her birth)…" (p.iv).
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