Translated by Malcolm Davies and Basil Harley
The first English translation of Lister's classic work Tractatus de Araneis, published in 1678, and the first scientific work on spiders in the world. The text is split into two parts; Book 1 covers the `Genus of Spiders', whilst Book 2 covers the `Spiders of England by Species'. This second part is in turn split into the eight-eyed and two-eyed spiders. The original engraved plates are reproduced together with new plates by Michael Roberts. Includes an appendix of correspondence between Lister and his contemporaries.