Historiae Naturalis de Quadrvpetibus Libri cum Aeneis Figuris

Historiae Naturalis de Quadrvpetibus Libri cum Aeneis Figuris

QL41 .J7

c. 1650

In the absence of actual specimens, artists who made the illustrations for scientific treatises often extrapolated from hearsay or relied on the observations of previous artists. Although Jonstonus' book popularized natural history and was widely read and translated in the 17th century, the superb copperplate engravings by Mathäus Merian are fanciful plagiarizations of the 16th century works of Konrad Gesner and Ulisse Aldrovandi. The rhinoceros, in fact, is based on the work of Albrecht Dürer.

231 pages

Rare Book Collection, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Library

126