The homepage of this delightful digital caravan features a colorful image of the surmulet fish. It's a nice way to introduce this collection of classic illustrated zoologies. The books here are culled from the New York Public Library's vast holdings and include works from 18th century France, 19th century America, and the magisterial 1837 work The Birds of Europe. These marvelous works are both scientific documents and illustrative repositories of reproductive printmaking from a time before photomechanical processes became the primary method of producing book illustrations. The introductory essay, adapted from a work by Miriam Gross that originally appeared in Biblion: The Bulletin of The New York Public Library, is a great way to get started. Students of art, zoology, and other related fields will find much to wonder and think about here as one can engage in a bit of comparison by looking at these unique volumes side by side. [KMG]
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