Mémoires pour servir à l'histoire d'un genre de polypes d'eau douce à bras en forme de cornes

First edition, illustrated with 4 very attractive headpieces by Pronk, 4 tailpieces and 13 folding plates on polyps. Armorial copy with the arms stamped on the spine (ermines and macles) of the Rohan-Chabot family. The armorial bindings of the Rohan and Rohan-Chabot families have the distinctive feature of bearing the heraldic devices exclusively on the spine.

Contemporary full blonde calf binding. Spine with raised bands decorated with crowned ermines and macles. Joints entirely cracked. Headcaps worn. Corners slightly bumped from rubbing. Occasional minor worming, final plates with upper margin soiled.

It was in these memoirs that Tremblay discovered the hydra, or hydra, a freshwater polyp which he observed for several years while serving as tutor to the son of a count who owned a property with ponds and streams. He meticulously recounts his observations and experiments with a particularly enlightened mind. After initially taking the hydra for a plant, Tremblay understood that he was dealing with an animal, capable of moving with its tentacles (the horns), and which is photosensitive, instinctively directing itself toward the most luminous point. Through multiple and intelligent experiments, he established that the hydra has the power of regeneration through cell division, and finally that the hydra can reproduce asexually. Tremblay's studies found resonance among his contemporaries, but quickly fell into oblivion, certainly because they competed with those of Réaumur. Modern zoology has rehabilitated the importance of his work and the quality of his experiments.