London:: Printed By Taylor And Francis, Red Lion Court, Fleet Street., 1866.
Physical Description
[6], 55, [1] p., XII pl. (incl. frontis.): 5 illus.; 318 mm. (Quarto.)
General Note
Plate [III] is a large, folding plate, not numbered.
Contents
[Pl. I (frontis.), t.p., dedic.] - Contents - [Text, with 5 figs.]; Description Of The Plates; [colophon] - [Plates II-XII].
Responsibility Note
Pl. I (frontis.) is signed as painted by R. Savary; pl. II as painted by E.W. Robinson; pl. IV, VI as drawn by E.W. Robinson; other plates do not carry the name of a painter or draughtsman. Plates I, II, III, V, VIII, XII are signed as lithographed by or 'From nat. on Stone by' J. Erxleben; pl. IV, VI as printed by W. West; pl. VII, IX-XI as lithographed by J. Smit.
The printers' imprint of M & N Hanhart is carried on plates I, II, III, V, VII-XII.
The in-text figures are unsigned.
The work is dedicated by Richard Owen to the Hon. Adolphus F.O. Liddell, Q.C.
References
N.A. Rupke, Richard Owen Victorian naturalist (1994); J.W. Gruber and J.C. Thackray, Owen centenary (1992).
Summary Note
The text is divided into the following sections: 1. Historical Introduction; 2. Description of the Skeleton; 3. Comparison of the Skeleton; Conclusion.
The first three plates are captioned , and show: I. Didus; II. Didunculus; [III] Didunculus Strigirostris; Didus Ineptus [skeletons]. Plates IV-XII show various bones.
Plates I and II are hand-coloured lithographs.
Provenance
A preliminary leaf is inscribed in ink, 'For the Royal Academy of Arts, very respectfully, from the Author.' Presented in 1868 (see 'Report on the Library', RA Annual Report for 1868, Appendix No. 6, p. 32).
Binding Note
19th-century green papered boards; spine lettered 'Memoir On The Dodo - Owen'.
Subject
Dodo - Birds - Anatomy - Skeleton - Mauritius - History
Ornithology - Natural history - Great Britain - 19th century
Pictorial works - Lithographs - Colour printing - Great Britain - 19th century