First accurate illustration of the horned viper
Ellis, J.
A letter from John Ellis, Esq; F. R. S. to the President, on the Coluber cerastes, or horned viper of Egypt.
Published
1766
Item ID
72171
€175.00
London, The Royal Society, 1766. 4to (22.0 x 16.5 cm). Four pp.; one large double-folded plate. Disbound.
Written by the British naturalist John Ellis (ca. 1710-1776). It contains "an exact drawing from nature, together with the best and latest systematical account of it...", because "...the authors who have treated on the Cerastes, as Alpinus and Bellonius, have given such unsatisfactory descriptions of it, and inaccurate figures" (from the introduction). Some scattered, mostly marginal spotting; the plate much cleaner, but with some light offsetting. Rare.