Cosmos: A Sketch of a Physical Description of the Universe.…

London: Bell and Daldy, 1871-72. 5 volume set, 7 1/4 inches tall. A sparkling Victorian full calf by Bickers with gilt raised bands, twin labels and ornate gilt tooling to the panels. The boards have twin gilt fillets and corner tools framing a remarkable gilt prize block. Prize bookplates. In his lifetime Humboldt was one of the most famous men in Europe and academies elected him to their membership, the first being The American Philosophical Society. He was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. 'Kosmos' was Humboldt's work bringing together all the research from his long career, It is rarely found in a finely bound set in English.