Leeuwenhoek, one of the first and also one of the greatest of the microbiologists, communicated many of his discoveries to the Royal Society in London. This set is a collection in Dutch of many contributions that van Leeuwenhoek sent to the Royal Society, which were first published in English translation in Philosophical Transactions. Leeuwenhoek was first to describe spermatozoa, and the red blood corpuscles; he discovered the crystalline lens, and was the first to see protozoa under the microscope. He introduced staining in histology in 1719 (saffron for muscle fibers). He also discovered protozoa and bacteria. He is said to have had 250 microscopes and 419 lenses, many of them ground by himself. (See also Nos. 98, 265, 860.) An English translation of his works, omitting all references to spermatozoa, appeared in 2 vols, in 1798-1807. Clifford Dobell’s study, Antony van Leeuwenhoek and his ‘little animals“ (London, 1932), revealed many new facts about the man, and included a bibliography. 

Digital facsimile from loc.gov at this link.