Fourth edition of this attractively illustrated work on amphibians and reptiles: frogs, turtles, lizards and snakes. It was written and published in the educational, encyclopaedic tradition of the Enlightenment by the Bavarian clergyman and naturalist Gottlieb Tobias Wilhelm (1758-1811), who lived in Augsburg. He began publishing his well-known series on various parts of natural history under the title Unterhaltungen aus der Naturgeschichte ("Discourses on Natural History") in 1792 in weekly instalments from his brothers publishing house, the Martin Engelbrechtschen Kunsthandlung.
Boards shaved, corners and edges of the boards worn, without affecting the integrity of the binding, with ownerships entry: "Ex librio Bertrando Gatti" and a bookplate of Oberst Carl Koralek, both on the front pastedown, some staining and soiling throughout, right margins of the plates frayed, some with small tears, top-corner of pp. 185-86 damaged with loss of page numbers and some text, plates with untidy contemporary handwritten names and annotations. Nissen BBI, 2152; Nissen ZBI, 4408; Pritzel, 10272.