Complete Record - Heirs of Hippocrates No. 526

WALTER CHARLETON (1619-17O7) Onomasticon zoicon. Apud Jacobum Allestry 1668 [20] 309 [34] pp., illus., plates (part fold.). 20 cm.

Charleton was an unusually gifted physician, zoologist, and archeologist who studied physics, theology, and natural history. He was one of the founders of the Royal Society and later served as its president. This is the first edition of his encyclopedic work on all the then-known animals, snakes, insects, birds, fish, and fossils. Charleton includes the English, Latin, and Greek name for each species as well as brief remarks on their anatomy and paleontology. The book also contains Sir George Ent's (1604-1689) first zootomical treatise, Mantissa anatomica. Ent was a friend and supporter of William Harvey and was one of the original members of the Royal Society. In this work, he describes and illustrates the anatomy of Lophius piscatorius (the toad fish or fishing frog) and Glaeus piscis. The book contains eight folding plates and there are several fine engravings in the text.

Cited references: Garrison-Morton 292; Wellcome II, p. 329

Gift of John Martin, M.D.