|
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
Back to Rare Books Icones Animalium: Images from Renaissance scienceThe Book: Icones Animalium
This is an abbreviated version of Gessner's great four volume, 4000+ page work Historia animalium [1551-1558], a lavishly illustrated encyclopaedia of all the known animals including mammals, amphibians, birds, and reptiles, in alphabetical order, and in various vernaculars. [The fifth, incomplete volume was published in 1587 after Gessner's death.] The second edition of Icones is a large format 134 page volume, containing a selection of hand-coloured woodcuts and descriptions of animals from Historia animalium but in systematic order. It is this second edition that the Museum holds. The Library's bound volume containing Icones animalium holds two further Gessner works. An appendix from one of the volumes of Historia animalium, Appendix historiae quadrupedum viviparorum & oviparorum [1554], and Nomenclator aquatilium animantium, [1560], a work on marine and freshwater fish. This is a 400 page work and is also beautifully illustrated with woodcuts, but is not coloured. Icones was acquired by the Australian Museum in 1919 from Charles Hedley, conchologist and assistant curator at the Museum. While there may be copies of Icones animalium and Nomenclator aquatilium animantium in a private collection in Australia, these copies held by the Australian Museum appear to be the only ones in public collections.
|
The Australian Museum Research Library holds, in its Rare Book Collection, a copy of Conrad Gessner's Icones animalium quadrupedum viviparorum et oviparorum, quae in Historia animalium C. Gesneri describuntur ... Editio secunda ... Tiguri: C. Froschoverus, MDLX [1560].
