TREMBLEY Abraham Mémoires, pour servir à l’histoire d’un genre de polypes d’eau douce, à bras en forme de cornes.

Garrison-Morton, 307; Nissen, ZBI, 4163.

First edition.

It was in these memoirs that Abraham Tremblay (1710-1784) describes his discovery of the the hydra, a freshwater polyp that he observed for more than three years as tutor to the son of an earl who owned an estate with a pond and streams. His observations and experiments are meticulously recorded with a particularly enlightened mind.

After mistaking the hydra for a plant, Tremblay realised that he was dealing with an animal that could move with its tentacles (the horns) and that was photosensitive, instinctively moving towards the brightest spot. Through a series of intelligent experiments, he found that the hydra had the power to regenerate itself through cell division, and finally that the hydra could reproduce asexually.

Tremblay’s studies were well received by his contemporaries, but were soon forgotten, certainly because they competed with Réaumur’s work. Modern zoology rehabilitated the importance of his work and the quality of his experiments.

“Trembley discovered the hydra and was the first to observe in it asexual reproduction, regeneration, and photosensitivity in an animal without eyes. His experiments were of great importance in the study of regeneration of lost parts. He was the first to make permanent grafts and to witness cell-division” (Garrison-Morton).

Finely illustrated, the work is adorned with 4 engraved vignettes by Pronk and 4 culs-de-lampe, and 13 folding engraved plates, the first 4 by J. van Schley, a pupil of Bernard Picart, the others by P. Lyonet.

The study consists of 4 separate memoirs, the first of which contains a description of polyps, the second describes their food, the cause of their colour, etc., the third discusses the generation of polyps, and finally the fourth and last with descriptions of the operations and their results.

Good copy.