[Göteborg, 1788]. 8vo (20.9 x 15.0 cm). 4; 3 pp. Marbled paper spine cover. No wrappers issued.

Two rare works, originally published in Det Götheborska Wetenskaps och Witter- hets Samhälles handlingar IV (1788), pp. 65-68; the first on a turtle kept in captivity, written by the Swedish officer Martin Staaf (1731-1788). Staaf, who bought the animal in Malaga, Spain, described its habits (e.g., "I was told that she loved water and swampy places, for which I ... immediately put a vessel of water, into which she usually went, blew into the water with his beak and amused himself there for an hour or two"). The second paper deals with a small mammal (civet). Uncut. Paper toned. This copy, although without owner's inscription or stamp, from the library of the renowned Swedish herpetologist Richard Wahlgrén (1946-2019), who had a keen eye for herpetological rarities. Pencilled annotation in the first page fore margin, possibly written by Wahlgrén, otherwise, a very good, unmarked copy. Svanberg, I. Svenska sköldpaddor 1650-1950, p. 65. Not in Adler, Contributions to the History of Herpetology.