Zoology. Various Animals Including Dodo, Pufferfish, Beetls And Birds

27.5 x 20 cm (10.5 x 8 inches).

A Zoological engraving illustrating various animals including an excellent image of the extinct dodo bird. The first recorded mention of the Dodo was by Dutch sailors in 1598. In the following years, the bird was hunted by sailors and invasive species, while its habitat was being destroyed. The last widely accepted sighting of a dodo was in 1662. Dodo skeletons are extremely rare - there is only one known complete one and in 2016 a partial skeleton was expected to fetch close to $1 million at auction. Antique prints of dodos are aso exceedingly rare.This detailed engraving is from a the first edition of the rare "English Encyclopedia", made for George Kearsley in London in 1802. Its full title was "The English Encyclopedia being a collection of treatises and a dictionary of terms illustrative of the arts and sciences compiled from modern authors of the first eminence in the different branches of science." This is an original antique print, not a reproduction, and is in excellent condition considering it is over 200 years old.

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