Kunstformen der Natur. In the original 11 fascicles. In 2 portfolios.
Publisher Information: Lepizig & Vienna: Bibliographischen Instituts, 1899-1904.
Haeckel, Ernst (1834-1919). Kunstformen der Natur. 11 fascicles, fascicles I - X containing 10 chromolithographed or halftone plates each (some with printed overlays) together with index leaves and leaf of descriptive text for each plate, fascicles I and VI with general titles, fascicle I with 2pp. introductory text, the supplementary fascicle XI (Allgemeine Erlauterung und systematische Übersicht) with 51pp. text. 100 plates total. Leipzig and Vienna: Bibliographisches Institut, [1899]-1904. Original printed wrappers, in the original publisher’s board portfolios with covers reproducing the design of the wrappers. Wrappers of fasc. I separated at the spine but present, moderate wear to the remaining fascicle spines, small separation in lower corner of first portfolio, but a fine, bright copy.
First Edition, rare in the Original Fascicles and Publisher’s Book Form Boxes, of Haeckel’s remarkable and hugely influential Art Forms in Nature, based on paintings and drawings made by Haeckel during his biological researches. “Haeckel had planned some ten installments in the series, which would then be published as a whole in a large folio volume. Each installment would have ten beautifully lithographed plates by Adolf Giltsch . . . All of the illustrations would be reproduced in lithographs of vibrant color or stark black and white. Haeckel expressed the premise of the series in the introduction to the first installment: ‘Nature generates from her womb an inexhaustible plethora of wonderful forms, the beauty and variety of which far exceed the crafted art forms produced by human beings.’ But because creatures displaying these wondrous structures lay hidden in the depths of the ocean or camouflaged in the jungle, they remained inaccessible to the lay public. Haeckel thus wished to make visible to a wider audience the extraordinary artistry of nature that the science of the nineteenth century had uncovered. He also hoped his series would provide ‘a rich cornucopia of newer and more beautiful motifs’ for modern artists. This hope would be realized during the next several decades as his Kunstformen der Nature had a decided impact on the movement of Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) in Europe” Richards, The Tragic Sense of Life: Ernst Haeckel and the Struggle over Evolutionary Thought, pp. 405-6). Haeckel’s images continue to be reprinted in numerous editions, making this work his most widely influential contribution to culture.
Book Id: 46687Price: $7,500.00