Lot 7: GMELIN, JOHANN GEORG.

GMELIN, JOHANN GEORG. FLORA SIBIRICA, SIVE HISTORIA PLANTARUM SIBIRIAE. ST PETERSBURG: ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, 1747-1769 First edition, 4 volumes, 4to (260 x 203mm.), engraved headpieces and initials, woodcut tailpieces, 285 engraved plates (many folding), contemporary marbled boards, morocco lettering-pieces, botanical names added to plates in manuscript, manuscript annotations in black or red, [Nissen BBI 721; Pritzel 3381], slight marginal dampstaining in vol.3, a few plates shaved, bindings rubbed

Gmelin toured Siberia as part of the St Petersburg Academy of Science's "Great Northern Expedition" of 1733-1743, whose primary aim was Bering's exploration of the Pacific coast of America. Gmelin and Gerhard Friedrich Müller, a historian, surveyed not only the flora but also the fauna, the geography and the peoples, resulting in the production of several authoritative works on various aspects of Siberia.