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First Drawing of a Dinosaur Bone?


Welsh Wizard

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Hi all

 

I finally managed to acquire a copy of Robert Plots, Natural History of Oxfordshire, written in 1677.

 

Robert Plot was the first keeper of the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford University. I’ve included a link as it’s well worth a visit.

 

https://www.ashmolean.org

 

This is a large “portfolio” book and includes the first known picture of a dinosaur bone. It was misidentified (quite an interesting misidentification - look it up) but it is probably the broken end of a megalosaurus femur.

 

There were only 750 copies of the first edition of this book published and it makes for a interesting read. This is a second edition from 1705, which has been very difficult to get a decent well priced copy.

 

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FDAA2584-F2CA-4CBB-865C-6E9D13C61618.thumb.jpeg.b164ec60acbb4b52f6eb280d500ffe0f.jpeg

 

6DBBBF40-1B0B-4B8D-80DE-1D5744E2F31A.thumb.jpeg.f117c6d1dea5df11298b9d2e48750498.jpeg

 

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Edited by Welsh Wizard
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  • Welsh Wizard changed the title to First Drawing of a Dinosaur Bone?

That looks like an awesome book... and absolutely ancient to even the oldest book in my library (1866, if memory serves me right)! It's actually quite crazy to think books like these are still on the market today... :o So definitely a good catch, and no doubt an interesting read! :default_clap2:

 

Now if this would've been ten years ago, I'd have known a publisher that could've made a facsimile copy - as I think this is one of those iconic volumes to preserve for posterity - but they seem to have partially shifted focus over these past years as they grew... 

 

And that last plate is definitely a  S. humanum (the full genus name seems to be deemed too inappropriate for the form, which, I guess, should also point people in the right direction ;)), you've misidentified as a dinosaur fossil... :P

Edited by pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon
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'There's nothing like millions of years of really frustrating trial and error to give a species moral fibre and, in some cases, backbone' -- Terry Pratchett

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Hooray, Oxfordshire! :default_clap2:

 

Nice snap-up!

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~ Isaac; www.isaactfm.com 

 

"Don't move! He can't see us if we don't move!" - Alan Grant

 

Come to the spring that is The Fossil Forum, where the stream of warmth and knowledge never runs dry.

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Very impressive! What an extraordinary acquisition! 

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Congratulations on adding this scarce volume to your book and document collection! 

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Start the day with a smile and get it over with.

 

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  • 6 months later...

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