Lot 693 , Muffett, Thomas (1553-1604) - Heaths Improvement,

Muffett, Thomas (1553-1604) - Heaths Improvement, 1st edition, quarto, contemporary calf. Imprimatur before title, small flake detached from spine head (retained), bookplate of Sir Archibald Grant, of Monymusk, second Baronet (1696-1778) politician and agricultural improver, London 1655
Estimate £1,000-1,500

Muffett's first published book was a treatise on insects. He was an advocate of the benefits of drinking whey, however his proposed treatise on drink was never completed. It has been speculated that the children's nursery rhyme, 'Little Miss Muffet', owes it origins to lines in 'Healths Improvement' - p.285: 'And a Maid fed usually (by custome) upon Napellus Spiders...'.


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Sold for £1,000