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an old book with drawings of lizards and other animals on it
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1604 - Zoology – Herpetology
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Estimate €500 - €750
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Description
Zoology – Herpetology Tschudi, Johann Jakob von Monograph on the Lizards of Switzerland. With 2 copperplate plates (1 of which is folded). Neuchâtel, self-published, 1837. 2 (2) pp. Contemporary half leather (binding slightly bumped). Boulenger, Catalogue of the Lizards, 18. – Engelmann, 1095. – First edition. - First individual edition, published by the author himself, of the groundbreaking debut work by the then nineteen-year-old Johann Jakob von Tschudi (1818–1889), which also marks his entry into scientific research. In this first fruit of his zoological studies, Tschudi subjects the native lizard fauna of Switzerland to a systematic re-examination, classifying the species according to the broad generic concept of ‘Lacerta’ established by Linnaeus and thereby provides one of the earliest monographic treatments of Swiss herpetofauna to date. The work was produced within the immediate scientific milieu of the Neuchâtel Natural History Museum, with which Tschudi was associated as a young collector and taxidermist, and laid the methodological groundwork for his later ‘Classification of the Batrachia’, published a year later as well as his extensive herpetological works on the South American fauna of Peru. With its publication in the first volume of the ‘Neue Denkschriften der Allgemeinen Schweizerischen Gesellschaft für die gesammten Naturwissenschaften’, the work also takes its place in one of the most significant publication series of early Swiss natural history, in which Adolf Otth’s eponymous description of the “Discoglossus sardus” – co-discovered by Tschudi – also appeared in the same volume. As a rare standalone edition of the offprint – most library copies are only available as part of the collected volume of the Denkschriften — this slim booklet, illustrated with just one plate, ranks among the sought-after early testimonies to the history of Swiss herpetology and constitutes the bibliographically traceable starting point of von Tschudi’s later international renown as a zoologist, Peruvian explorer and diplomat. Zoology. – Herpetology. - With 2 engraved plates (1 folding). Contemporary half-cloth (binding slightly rubbed). First separately published, self-published edition of the pioneering debut work by the then only nineteen-year-old Johann Jakob von Tschudi (1818–1889), which also marks his entry into scientific research. In this first fruit of his zoological studies, Tschudi subjects the native lizard fauna of Switzerland to a systematic re-examination, arranging the species according to the broadly defined genus ‘Lacerta’ established by Linnaeus, thereby providing one of the earliest monographic treatments of the Swiss herpetofauna as a whole. The work originated within the immediate academic milieu of the Neuchâtel Museum of Natural History, with which Tschudi was affiliated as a young collector and preparator, and methodologically paved the way for his later *Classification der Batrachier*, published a year later, as well as for his extensive herpetological work on the South American fauna of Peru. Through its publication in the first volume of the “Neue Denkschriften der Allgemeinen Schweizerischen Gesellschaft für die gesammten Naturwissenschaften”, the work also takes its place within one of the most important publication series of early Swiss natural science, in which, in the same volume, Adolf Otth’s eponymous description of “Discoglossus sardus” – a species Tschudi had helped to discover – also appeared. As a rare separately issued copy of the offprint – most library holdings survive only bound and unseparated within the collective volume of the Denkschriften – this slim booklet, illustrated with just one plate, ranks amongst the sought-after early testimonies to the history of Swiss herpetology and marks the bibliographically tangible starting point of Tschudi’s later worldwide renown as a zoologist, explorer of Peru, and diplomat. This lot is subject to standard tax. A 24.95% buyer’s premium is payable on the hammer price, and 7% (Books and Art) or 19% VAT (Manuscripts, Screenprints, Offset Prints, Photographs) is payable on the final invoice amount within the European Union. This lot is subject to standard taxation. A 24.95% buyer’s premium applies to the hammer price, and 7% (books and art) or 19% VAT (manuscripts, screen prints, offset prints and photographs) applies to the final invoice amount within the European Union.
See original version (German)
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About the sale Valuable books, prints, historical photographs
Auction location
Auction time 10/24/2026 at 10:00 AM
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