HUBER (François). New observations on bees. Paris, Genève: J. J. Paschoud, 1814. - 2 volumes in-8, 198 x 126: (2 ff.), 362 pp, 2 plates; (2 ff.), 479 pp, (2 ff.), 12 plates. Half blond spotted calf with white parchment corners, smooth spine decorated (contemporary binding). Revised, corrected and considerably enlarged second edition of the first volume, and first edition of the second, all giving the complete version of the observations on bees by the Swiss naturalist François Huber (1750-1831). The first edition of the first volume appeared in 1792. The first volume, consisting of thirteen letters sent to his mentor Charles Bonnet between 1789 and 1791, reveals some fundamental discoveries. In particular, Huber describes his invention of a "leaf-shaped" beehive, designed to make it easier to observe the combs. He also explores queen fertilisation, the work of Pastor Adam Gottlob Schirach on rearing future queens using royal jelly, as well as the fights between virgin queens and the slaughter of males at the end of summer. The second volume, published in 1814 by his son Pierre Huber, abandons the epistolary form and adopts a more systematic approach. Huber demonstrated that bees produce wax by means of abdominal glands, and that pollen serves as food for the larvae. He also describes in remarkable detail how bees build their cells and combs. "The "New Observations" (850 pages in all) truly revolutionised knowledge of the natural history of bees at the time. On the basis of crucial observations and remarkably intelligent experiments, Huber established a number of new facts that are now considered part of the general knowledge of every beekeeper. [...] Neither Huber's descriptions nor his experiments have been equalled, surpassed or even contradicted over the last two centuries. What an achievement for this scientist, who became blind at the age of 20 and never in his life 'saw with his own eyes' the object of his studies! Finally, to carry out his observations, he designed a new model of hive, the book hive, which is the origin of the movable-frame hive universally used by modern beekeepers". (Revue suisse d'apiculture, 2024, n° 1-2, page. 32.) Because of his disability, his work was carried out in collaboration with his "servant" François Burnens (1760-1837), and also with his wife Marie-Aimée Lullin (1751-1822). The edition is illustrated with 14 plates giving a precise description of the beehive "in sheets", as well as the anatomy and architecture of bees. A good copy in contemporary binding.