De Ave Diomedea dissertatio, cum verâ ejus effigie aeri incisa, ex Muséo D. Friderici Lachmund Hildesheim. Ad Cl. Virum, Dn. D. Johan. Danielem Majorem.
Eur 2,500 / USD 2,700
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Amsterdam, A. Frisius, 1674. 12mo (130 x 75mm). pp. 52, (6), with 5 (4 folded) engraved plates. Recent boards.
scarce publication on the Albatross and one of the earliest illustrated monographs of a single bird
First edition and a very scarce publication on the Albatross and one of the earliest illustrated monographs of a single bird, 'among the greatest rarities in ornithological literature' (E.P. Goldschmidt). In the name 'Diomedea' is a reference to the mythical metamorphosis of the companions of the Greek warrior Diomedes into birds. The Albatross was part of Lachmund's own natural history cabinet at Hildesheim. The work is dedicated to Johan Daniel Major, professor of anatomy at Kiel. The first plate (210 x 175 mm) shows a full depiction of the Albatross, an other plate shows its large and strong beak, while the remaining plates show anatomical details.
Not in any of the major ornithological bibliographies; The British Museum Natural History catalogue lists it as 'wanting'.
Eales 804, quoting an edition of 1686; Wellcome III, 426; Ripley & Scribner, 'Ornithological books in the Yale Univ. Library', 163.