Prehistoric Animals. Illustrated under the direction of the author by Zden k Burian. Translated by Dr. Greta Hort.
by Augusta, Joseph, Greta Hort, & Zden k Burian
- Used
- Hardcover
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
Moray, United Kingdom
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
London: Spring Books, [1956]. Folio. Original buff, heavy-grain cloth, titles to spine and Stegosaurus design to upper board in brown. With the dust jacket. 60 lithographic plates of which 31 are in colour. Lower corner of the binding knocked, which has also slightly creased the corner of the text block and the jacket, spine rolled. A very good copy in the bright jacket that is lightly rubbed at the extremities with a few nicks and short closed splits. First English language edition, first impression of this vibrantly illustrated work, originally published in Prague under the title Tiere der Urzeit in the same year. Rare in the dust jacket in such nice condition. Between the 1930s and 1960s "the foremost painter of dinosaur restorations was Zden k Burian (1905-1981). His canvasses were used to illustrate a number of popular books on prehistoric life by Joseph Augusta, and in the late 1950s and 1960s these were translated into English and widely circulated. So the Burian illustrations offered an alternative to those of Zallinger [responsible for the Peabody Museum mural], or of the late Charles Knight. But there was not much of a difference. Apatosaurus and Diplodocus stand quietly by their respective swamps, accompanied by partially submerged relatives. A T. rex besets a pair of Trachodon, but none of the three lifts a leg off the ground, or even seems to be moving at all" (Ashworth, Paper Dinosaurs 48). Though his dinosaurs are no longer considered anatomically accurate, Burian was highly respected in his time and his paintings were widely reproduced and copied, often without acknowledgement. In 2017 the first dinosaur discovered in the Czech Republic was named in his and Augusta's honour, Burianosaurus augustai. The author of the text, Joseph Augusta (1903-1968) was a palaeontologist at Charles University in Prague between 1933 and 1968, and is best known for his role as a science populariser. He published around twenty books on science for the general public and served as an advisor to the hit 1955 film Journey to the Beginning of Time (Cesta do Prav ku), which combined human actors with stop-motion special effects. The translator of the book, Greta Hort (1903-1967), was born in Copenhagen, the daughter of Vilhelm Hjort, astronomer royal. She earned her PhD at Newnham College, Cambridge and then became a research fellow at Girton College, publishing on mysticism and religious thought. In 1938 Hort was appointed principal of University Women's College (later University College) at the University of Melbourne. She was later made chair of English literature at Aarhus University, Denmark (Australian Dictionary of Biography).
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Details
- Bookseller
- Alembic Rare Books (GB)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 685
- Title
- Prehistoric Animals. Illustrated under the direction of the author by Zden k Burian. Translated by Dr. Greta Hort.
- Author
- Augusta, Joseph, Greta Hort, & Zden k Burian
- Book Condition
- Used
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Publisher
- Spring Books
- Place of Publication
- London
- Date Published
- [1956]
- Weight
- 0.00 lbs
- Keywords
- Popular Science|Scientific Illustration|Dust Jacket|Biology|Natural History|Zoology|Dinosaurs
Terms of Sale
Alembic Rare Books
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About the Seller
Alembic Rare Books
Biblio member since 2018
Moray
About Alembic Rare Books
We specialise in rare science books dating from the late Middle Ages to the 20th century, including first editions, signed copies, manuscripts, objects, and ephemera. We have particular expertise in natural history, genetics and evolution, anatomy, nuclear physics and the Manhattan Project, early computing, and women in science. We also carry books related to women's history and literature.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- Folio
- A folio usually indicates a large book size of 15" in height or larger when used in the context of a book description. Further,...
- Rolled
- rolled spine or spine rolled. Damage to a book created by pressure to the spine making it fold or crease in the cover. Damage...
- Text Block
- Most simply the inside pages of a book. More precisely, the block of paper formed by the cut and stacked pages of a book....