Beitrage zur Kenntnis der Bildung, Befruchtung und Theilung des thierisches Eies

Hertwig, Wilhelm August Oscar (1849-1922). Beiträge zur Kenntnis der Bildung, Befruchtung und Theilung des thierischen Eies. In Morphologisches Jahrbuch 1 (1876): 347-434, plus 4 plates (nos. X-XIII). Whole volume, 8vo. iv, 816pp. 27 plates (9 folding). 225 x 150 mm. Quarter morocco, marbled boards, circa 1876. Light rubbing. Occasional foxing, paper a bit toned, otherwise very good. From the library of embryologist / comparative anatomist Robert Wiedersheim (1848-1923; see G-M 183 and 343), with his signature on the front endpaper and occasional marginal marks probably by him.

First Edition. Garrison-Morton 495. Hertwig's Habilitationsschrift paper, based on his study of fertilization in sea urchins, established the fact that fertilization consists of the union of the nuclei of a male and a female sex cell, and that only one spermatozoon is required to fertilize an egg. This latter finding had important implications for the study of heredity. Hertwig's paper marks an important conceptual advance, uniting the process of fertilization and the transfer of hereditary material with the nuclear theory of sexual reproduction. This copy is from the library of Robert Wiedersheim, best known for his role in establishing comparative anatomy as a discipline, and for his famous textbook on the subject (Vergleiche Anatomie der Wirbeltiere, 1883). DSB.