The Age of Monsters: Prehistoric and Legendary

Description:

Translated by Margaret Schierl, this richly illustrated work explores a wide range of extinct mammals and other prehistoric creatures. Chapters cover mastodons, dinotheres, horned and hornless rhinoceroses, titanotheres, arsinoitheria and Basilosaurus, as well as birds of history and legend and the evolution of scientific investigation.

Josef Augusta (1903-1968) was a Czech geologist, palaeontologist and professor whose research encompassed ancient geological periods and the evolution of extinct animal life. Alongside his scientific work, he wrote extensively to popularise palaeontology, bringing the discoveries of prehistoric science to a wider readership. His collaboration, beginning in the 1930s, with the Czech painter and illustrator Zdeněk Burian (1905-1981) helped establish an influential approach to depicting extinct animals and their environments.

Burian's evocative reconstructions combine dramatic composition with close attention to anatomy, posture, texture and landscape. Rather than presenting prehistoric creatures as isolated specimens, he portrayed them within convincing natural environments, suggesting how they might have moved, fed and interacted with their surroundings. His illustrations became enormously influential in shaping the popular visual understanding of prehistoric life and remain an important contribution to the history of palaeontological illustration.

Condition

Large 4to (353x260mm), orig. cloth. Very good in d/w (minor edge wear; in removable protective sleeve); in original plain card slip case (some wear).