The Honey Bee. Its Natural History, Physiology And Management. Bevan, Edward.

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).