Very scarce. A very popular series, this is a comprehensive encyclopedia of natural history, contemporary but independent of Buffon's Histoiré Naturelle, which was started in 1763. Illustrated with 145 engravings, each showing several figures, Brooke extracts from the works of previous authors in his descriptions of the realms of nature, most notably Linnaeus. The introduction to volume one tells that the author had traveled to Africa and America, and that the work utilizes the systems of Ray and Linnaeus. The fifth volume is devoted to the earth and objects found within, and includes studies of minerals, fossils, volcanoes, earthquakes and magnets, which is illustrated with engraved plates. Brookes basically follows the theories of Linneaus in his description of how minerals are classified.
The set has the following volume titles: Vol 1. Quadrupeds, Vol 2. Birds, Vol 3. Fishes and Serpents, Vol 4. Insects, Vol 5. Water, Earths, Stones, Fossils, Vol 6. Botany.
3rd edition, 1790: A New and Accurate System of Natural History. Third edition, corrected. London, MDCCXC. 6 vols. [Vol 1] 408 p.; [Vol 2] 317 p.; [Vol 3] 258 p.; [Vol 4] 324 p.; [Vol 5] 312 p.; [Vol 6] 322 p. Black and white illustrations are scattered through out the volumes. The fifth volume describes earths, stones, fossils, and minerals.
Bibliographical references: Bernard Quaritch, Bookseller: cat. 1001, no. 8. • Freeman, Natural Science Books in English, 19??: no. 505. • Nissen (ZBI): no. 598. • NLM 18th Century Books (Blake): p. 66. • Wellcome Catalog (Books): 2, 246.